(c) 2011 Lydia Hinshaw
Sub headed for Kings Bay
Passing close to my spot on the beach
FERNANDINA BEACH, FL -- The weather has turned fine for camping here in Florida, which means it's nearly impossible to reserve a campsite at one of our many lovely state parks.
We happened to locate an available site for one night only at Fort Clinch State Park here Thursday. Fort Clinch is just across the water from Georgia, and the Kings Bay Submarine Base.
Friday morning, one of our campground neighbors told us he'd heard a sub would be coming home within half an hour, so several campers headed to the beach with cameras and binoculars.
The rumor was true, but the time estimate was off -- it was more like 90 minutes before I spotted the first hazy view with my binocs. By this time, Prince Charming had set out on a long hike to the entrance station to see if we could luck into a campsite for one more night. He missed the show.
I walked north up the beach to the point where the St. Marys River reaches the ocean, where I had my own private front-row seat as the sub headed up the channel, with as many as nine vessels as escorts. Some were fast gunboats, with their deck guns manned by helmeted coast-guardsmen. I half-expected Marines to charge out of the dunes and confiscate my camera and long lens.
The sub passed my vantage point and soon began a turn to starboard toward Kings Bay. Just as I got back to the campground, my phone rang. There was no campsite available for us Friday night.
But I'd surely gotten our money's worth for a one-night stand.
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