Osprey on alert
At the end of his ropeCopyright 2008 Lydia Hinshaw
FERNANDINA BEACH, FL -- Sunday we drove 100+ miles up the coast to this small town, just across the river from St. Marys, GA.
I got to know Fernandina Beach while covering a tennis tournament here every April for about 10 years in my past life. It's a town with an old fashioned, beautified and popular main street (called Centre Street) that leads down to the harbor. Their are shops, galleries and restaurants, historic homes and B&Bs. Significantly, the place has not been overrun with T-shirt stops and places selling snowstorm paperweights, which so often happens in attractive places.
Travel east out of the historic district on Centre Street and you'll pass churches, always busy on Sunday mornings, the courthouse, post office, a mom & pop grocery store, a shady residential area that could be in the Carolinas, a large state park (Fort Clinch), a lighthouse and finally, the ocean.
It's a great town for walking around, having lunch, people-watching and seeing what's changed since the last time we were here, probably 11 months ago.
Before we even got to Fernandina Beach, my day as a wildlife photographer was made. An osprey stood on a Big Talbot Island bridge railing just a few feet from the traffic lane, and refused to budge even when we stopped the car right next to him.
My other photo of the day was this dog dozing outside a closed-on-Sunday business. He didn't look like he wanted to run off anywhere, but his human had tied him to the door handle just in case.
We had lunch in a Centre Street seafood restaurant that gave you a choice of three vegetables with your entrée. Lurking amid the squash, asparagus and butter beans on the list of "vegetables" was banana pudding. What a cool way to give your customers dessert!
I got to know Fernandina Beach while covering a tennis tournament here every April for about 10 years in my past life. It's a town with an old fashioned, beautified and popular main street (called Centre Street) that leads down to the harbor. Their are shops, galleries and restaurants, historic homes and B&Bs. Significantly, the place has not been overrun with T-shirt stops and places selling snowstorm paperweights, which so often happens in attractive places.
Travel east out of the historic district on Centre Street and you'll pass churches, always busy on Sunday mornings, the courthouse, post office, a mom & pop grocery store, a shady residential area that could be in the Carolinas, a large state park (Fort Clinch), a lighthouse and finally, the ocean.
It's a great town for walking around, having lunch, people-watching and seeing what's changed since the last time we were here, probably 11 months ago.
Before we even got to Fernandina Beach, my day as a wildlife photographer was made. An osprey stood on a Big Talbot Island bridge railing just a few feet from the traffic lane, and refused to budge even when we stopped the car right next to him.
My other photo of the day was this dog dozing outside a closed-on-Sunday business. He didn't look like he wanted to run off anywhere, but his human had tied him to the door handle just in case.
We had lunch in a Centre Street seafood restaurant that gave you a choice of three vegetables with your entrée. Lurking amid the squash, asparagus and butter beans on the list of "vegetables" was banana pudding. What a cool way to give your customers dessert!
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