Monday, January 16, 2012

Road Trip - Part 1 - Amelia Island

I hope you are all doing well and enjoyed your weekend!! We just got back from three days on Amelia Island in Florida. Remember we had spent the day there with Winslow recently (click here for more pictures - especially of some of the beautiful victorian homes)?
Well, we decided to go back without dog this weekend and really explore the area. The longer we live here, the more we are starting to appreciate southern Georgia and northern Florida. And Amelia Island is turning out to be a true treasure.
Fernandina Beach is a quaint little historic town right on the water and filled with little shops, cafes and excellent restaurants.
We tried all two cafes we found, visited both bookstores (what a treat!) and found a wonderful restaurant, Cafe Karibo, we'd eat at again anytime!
This picture made ma laugh - doesn't it look like I was trying to abscond with my tea and pastry? Maybe I was...
Or not! Just a little quiet time for a few minutes...
It was good to have some indoor places to warm up once in a while - it was cold while we were down there. Cold and windy!
That's why we are so bundled up in most photos.
This time around, we spent lots of time at the marina during the spectacular sunsets!
We both love looking at boats and working harbors.
And this one was really beautiful.
Shark anyone?
Beautiful colors!
Even the industrial look of this factory somehow fit into the overall scene.

What am I so fascinated by?
The sunset, of course.
Had it not been so cold, we would have stayed out there for hours!
But even a glass of red wine didn't heat us up sufficiently.

So, we made our way back to the hotel - across the train tracks.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn because of the excellent location (right in Fernandino Beach and on the water) and it was one one of the nicest Hampton Inns we've stayed at.
I especially enjoyed warming up by the fireplace in the lobby!

And this was the view from our hotel room. I think Daniel was a little afraid I might just want to sit by the window and stare at the water instead of going out to explore... :-)
Yesterday, before we left, we went to visit the house below. As a kid (and even now if I'm honest) I was a big fan of the original Pippi Langstrumpf (Pippi Longstocking). I saw them all dubbed in German. The last time just recently with my nephews when I was staying at my sister's...

In 1988 an American/Swedish remake of the original movie was filmed and this was Pippi Longstocking's house, the Villa Villekulla, right in historic Fernandina. So, of course we had to find it and take a picture... Even though I've never seen the remake. I think I like the original too much.
I've had to divvy up the photos of our trip into probably three blog posts. I can't believe how many beautiful things we found to take pictures of in just three days and I want to share some of them with you. I think you'd enjoy them.

So, in my next blog post, I'll take you with us to Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve, which includes Fort Caroline and Kingsley Plantation and beautiful hiking trails.

Until then, I wish you a beautiful start to the week...

10 comments:

  1. Was...♥ für eine schöne Seite hier mit so schönen Bildern. Ganz große Klasse. Ich könnte versuchen, etwas englisch zu schreiben, oder?

    greetings from Berta

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  2. Liebe Silke,
    was für eine tolle Reise. Der Sonnenuntergang ist wirklich schön. So kalt und windig sieht es auf den Bildern gar nicht aus. Euer Hotel war eine richtige Residenz. Sehr einladend.
    LG Sabine

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  3. Wow Silkie you really are bundled up warm!! for Florida! I know whenever Im there in the thick of "winter" so many people have scarfs and hats and mittens and I have to chuckle! I stay often in N. Ft. Myers-near Sanibel Island-so is quite a bit further south then where you are! Love the photos-thanks for sharing-enjoy the rest of your trip!!
    ~~Rain

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  4. Un magnifique reportage d'un voyage sans aucun doute rempli de moments passionnants...
    Merci à vous.
    Gros bisous

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  5. Beautiful post! Can't wait to see the hiking trails!
    Love,
    Kay

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  6. what fun! i was watching sunsets too, silke. the only better than appreciating scenes like this is being astonished by them. (mary oliver paraphrased) :^)

    i have a feeling if you and daniel didn't have your animal family you'd be traveling the whole wide world by now...

    :^)

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  7. What fun, Silke. Your photos and stories sometimes make me wish we hadn't moved back here from South Carolina. There is so much to do and see further down South and the water can cast spells on you. I am eager to see more photos.
    ♥ audrey

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  8. Sehr schöne Bilder liebe Silke!

    lg Rein

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  9. Liebe Silke,

    ein Gedicht.

    Herzliche Grüße

    Elisabeth

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  10. Really great post ,i link this article.

    ReplyDelete