The morning was a tad chilly but the sun was shining and the skies were bluer than blue. Exciting...
The morning chores consisted of a few odds and sods, but mostly getting dinghy on Banyan's deck, seeing as how we were going to be leaving for a few days and we didn't want to be leaving her flip-flopping in the water unattended.
When the work was done, we packed ourselves a picnic lunch (chicken salad sandwiches and some chips and fruit, and some water and couple cans of beer just in case) and off we went to find ourselves a beach.
And find one we did. Miles and miles of beach...
Miles and miles of beach...
Would you believe walking on the beach is "free" but walking on the boardwalk required passes ?
The wind was blowing, but hard, the waves were surfing, but wow, and we went walking.
We totally enjoyed a day where there's just the will to go off the beaten path, follow the road and discover something new... and that is how we stumbled into this National Park.
The walking trails led us to some decidedly different but just as spectacular scenery,
much much warmer in here with the protection of the trees.
We sat back to enjoy the sun while we were waiting for the ferry to take us to Rattlesnake Island,
and look what came wading in,
right across the way was the Fort Matanzas (originally built to guard St-Augustine's river approach).
And this was life for the soldiers... the beds were half the size of what many of us now own, and believe you me, the mattress was VERY lumpy (no 6 inch memory foam there folks !). Food ? T.V. ? Electricity ? Bathrooms ?
The Officer was a tad more lucky, he had his own room, guarding the gunpowder.
And this is where we learned that Matanzas means killing or slaughter in Spanish, referring to the slaughter of the French Huguenots here in the mid 1500's. Yesterday we thought it was just the name of the river.
History revisited (and learned) as of late has contained so many factualizations of such violent times, such bloodshed, that I was most grateful for the freedom today, to visit in peace, and enjoy our day.
And being in the land of the America's, a most Happy Thanksgiving to each and every one !!