The beach we've been spending the most time at lately is the small strip of sand along the St. Johns River, in front of the Kingsley plantation house.
I've been enjoying solitary walks along the beach and spending time sitting on the seawall with Blaze watching "crab town".
The beach is littered with red bricks from the Fort George Hotel which burned down more than a hundred years ago.
This is the only picture I could find of the Fort George Hotel. It was built in 1875 and burned in 1889.
The same strip of beach during high tide:
If you would like to enjoy the sun, sand, and surf around the world, check out these other Corner View participants:
jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad, caitlin, joyce, ani, couturecoucou, kim, a day that is dessert, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t.,jeannette, outi, schanett, ritva, dongdong, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, ruth, dianna, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow shoes, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, jenna, skymring, elizabeth, audrey, allison, lise, cate, mon, victoria, crescent moon, erin, otli, amy, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la lune dans le ciel, nicola, malo, vanessa, britta, virgina, april, rebecca b, kyndale, sunnymama, karen, kristina, angelina, sophie, dorit,goldensunfamily,Janet, mcgillicutty, desiree,travelingmama, daan, myrtille, cris
I love learning about history. Thank you for your corner view.
ReplyDeleteSmiles, Kyndale
That grand building didn't last very long!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the sea has come in quite a lot since that hotel burned down.
ReplyDeleteThe sea has not actually come up to cover more land since the hotel burned, It's more like the bricks have migrated over the years. I don't know how they all ended up on the beach. Other buildings have been built on the island over the years (many of those now gone as well), it's possible that later builders just dumped the bricks on the beach to get them out of the way.
ReplyDeleteAfter the hotel burned, Fort George Island became the location of two private resorts, The Fort George Club and the Rebault. The remains of both clubs are now part of the National Park.The Rebault Club is still a beautiful building and can be rented for weddings and other special events. It also houses a museum. The Fort George Club's cottages are gone, but the main building is now used as the Park Rangers' offices and residence.
looks like a great beach! that hotel looks like it was absolutely beautiful. how did it burn down? was there a scandal? happy day!
ReplyDeleteGreat Corner View - thanks for sharing! I love the shot of the animal prints in the sand.
ReplyDeletepuppy paws and historic bricks? niiiiiiice.
ReplyDeletesuch a cool story.
That hotel was beautiful...what a sad loss that must have been. I think you're so lucky to get to spend so much time at Kingsley plantation.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of paw prints are those?
ReplyDeleteAlso, curious...what animal life have you found after high tide? I'm guessing crabs since you mentioned those.
I must say, Crescent Moon, your blog is just a TREAT for me to visit. There's always something to learn, see, or think about... :)
What a great post...so much to see and learn. Would love to do some crab town watching!
ReplyDeleteLike you I don´t get a tan in the sun....I just get red as a tomato. ;)
Have a great day, Jeannette
Tammy: Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThe smaller paw prints are raccoon and the larger ones are a dog. I had seen the raccoon the night before I took that picture, but those are pretty big dog paw prints and I never saw a large dog there.
The only animal we've ever found on shore are those tiny crabs. There are thousands of them.
St Johns River Fun Fact: Most of the giant prehistoric shark (Megalodon) jaws in our local natural history museum were found in the St. Johns River.
I wondered if one of the paw print sets were a raccoon. The dog ones are huge, lol!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen a crab (other than the one Emily dissected for science and it was already dead & preserved) except in photos. We have a dvd with a snippet of the crabs on Christmas Island. So fascinating to me...I'd love to see a living one someday.
These crabs are tiny. They're not even as big as a quarter.
ReplyDeleteSo cool and I love all the history.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love those footprint shots and the crabs! Perfect!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Day!
...Lisa
Great post. That's interesting that the red bricks from the hotel are still there.
ReplyDeleteLike your pictures too.
I love solitary walks along the beach.
ReplyDeleteThank you for letting us walk in your footprints and enjoy your corner.
There' something universal and beautiful about the way we can connect through beaches:)
This post was so interesting !! Loved learning about The Fort George Hotel.
ReplyDeleteAlong the river does look like a lovely place to walk !!
wonderful beach
ReplyDeleteThe footprints are the coolest, just like the dog and raccoon were strolling down the beach together in harmony.
ReplyDeleteLisa ;)