We started out the day with a delicious bag of mangoes. With 3 bags left and just after 9 am, we set out pedaling down Canopy Road to the entrance of the park. We turned back towards Fernandina Beach to explore and search for some breakfast. While sipping on some coffee at a local cafe, we were joined by several other cyclists, many of whom seemed like regulars catching up with each other on their lives. On the way out of town, we stopped by the harbor for some bird watching and a surprise siting of old man in a captain's outfit driving a boat shaped car. Was this our first glimpse of Florida man?
Back on route, we followed lightly wooded roads with comfy shoulders and moderate traffic out of town. We passed through a series of state parks: Amelia Island, Big Talbot Island, Little Talbot Island and finally Fort George Island. The views of woods and waterways here were breathtaking. We had plenty of company as our path zipped followed miles of off-road trails mixed with safe stretches on bridges and roads.
At Fort George Island we took a quick ferry across to Mayport before continuing on our way. En route, we chatted with a guy hanging out of his truck about the trip. He shared some of his own adventures and wished us like. We downed another bag of mangoes, only 2 more to go.
We reached Atlantic Beach around 1pm and stopped for some custard a couple blocks from the ocean. The next dozen or so miles followed along roads pretty near to the beach but never with a great view. The city streets were lined with businesses, hotels occasional residences and more rarely entrances to the beach. Here we might catch a quick glimpse of the ocean.
As we continued on, our surroundings transitioned to residential neighborhoods. We were closer to the water, but as the houses kept growing larger, our view of the nearby didn't improve. Some of the mansions along this stretch had interesting architecture in a variety of styles, but especially farther along, many had landscaping that blocked any view of the property aside from the start of the driveway. For at least 10 miles, it continued like this and we spent a lot of time dwelling on how wrong it seemed for all of this beach to be so private.
As we entered the Guana River Wildlife Management Area, any development abruptly disappeared. We were on a narrow strip of land with the Atlantic Ocean to our east and the Guana River to our west. Unfortunately, even with water a short distance away on both sides, we still couldn't often see any water. Dunes or more often just thick forest blocked our view. The highlight of this stretch was really a number of small lizards scurrying away and a live armadillo chomping on some plants just a few feet from the bike trail.
South of the wildlife management area, we started to pass by a number of residences again but now not quite as grand. There actually seemed to be wonderful variety to the houses with plenty more mansions, many new ones under construction and others that looked like typical suburban homes. There were even a couple that seemed more like shacks and we couldn't help picturing some person/family holding out as their neighbors sold to the ultra wealthy. Between most of the houses, we enjoyed beautiful unobstructed views of the water.
As we reached the end of the strip, we turned east crossing a bridge into St. Augustine. The view was beautiful on all sides. The sun was almost set but had already settled behind a bank of clouds producing some spectacular colors.
We checked into the hotel and snacked a bit before dinner. One bag to go. We walked a few blocks to Ayara Thai and Sushi Cuisine. The restaurant was operated by a young couple and they were helped by their very young daughter. She was very social and kept sitting at patron's tables and interacting with them. We split some delicious curry (green w/scallops and red w/salmon) before walking back to the hotel.
