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Going to America
  • Keith Eckersall
  • Jayne Eckersall
  • Keith Eckersall
  • Jayne Eckersall

Going to America

A 18-day adventure by Keith & Jayne Read more
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  • Trip start
    April 26, 2022
    Going to America

    Planes, Trains and Automobiles

    April 26, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    Passports - check
    Plane Tickets - check
    Flight Connection Document - check
    Train Tickets - check
    Covid Vaccination Form - check
    Proof of Negative Covid Lateral Flow Test - check
    Proof of purchase of Security Fasttrack - check
    Escape Lounge Booking Confirmation - check
    US Dollars - check

    04:00 Jayne's up before the birds 🐦 and in the shower.
    04:20 Phone call from Florida wishing us a safe and to say they were just going to bed 🛌.
    05:15 Suitcases are closed, locked and by the door 🚪
    05:30 Taxi arrives to take us to Poulton Train Station for the 06:02 train to Manchester Airport.
    07:30 Arrive Manchester Airport and take the long walk to Terminal 2 Departures and join the queue to check-in at the Virgin Atlantic Desk, before taking the slow fast track way through Security and having both our bags pulled for additional scrutiny.
    09:15 Finally get to the Escape Lounge, only to be told we are too early to check-in as our reservation only starts at 12:00 the time we are probably due to board our flight - thanks Holiday Extras. Anyway the receptionist took pity on us and said come back in 1/2 hour and we can sit on high bar stools as all the tables are pre-booked.
    11:40 Hurray the Departure Board tells us to go to Gate A12 and be ready for boarding.
    We're off 😁🥳🥳    Read more

  • Going to America

    Lets get ready to roll

    April 26, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Up, up and away in our silver and red flying machine called Uptown Girl.
    We even joined the Mile High Club ....... Afternoon Tea version 😇😇

  • Going to America

    Are we nearly there yet

    April 26, 2022 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    Nearly there Just one connection to make.
    Welcome to New York says the sign as we queue for nearly an hour to be let into the USA 🇺🇸.
    Finally through after a 20 question interrogation by the Border Force Control. Now to find our bags.
    Through customs and the connection bag drop is just around the corner. We are off to our connection but 1st we join a 30 minute security queue 😷
    Take the 8 minute shuttle bus to Gate C70 and wait for the aircrew who have just flown in from Washington to fly us out to Jacksonville in Florida. Unfortunately our flight was delayed nearly an hour and at 11:00 pm local time (04:00 am UK 🇬🇧 time) we arrive at our destination 24 hours after we got up 😵‍💫🥱🥱    Read more

  • Going to America

    At home at Greg & Patti's

    April 27, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Morning has broken sang Cat Stevens and the WOW factor kicks in with where Greg and Patti live. It's like Mi££ionaires Row on a gated and exclusive luxury complex. I keep expecting to be thrown out!!! 😅
    So we have:
    The main guest bedroom with its ensuite.
    The guest lounge.
    The dining area.
    The kitchen area.
    The games room.
    The rear view and back of the house.    Read more

  • Going to America
    1

    An after breakfast stroll

    April 27, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    So just exactly are we........
    Well during breakfast on the veranda we saw the resident alligator and the we watched an Osprey swoop down and take a fish 🐟 out of the lake.
    Front of Greg and Patti's house
    How nice their neighbours have even put the flags 🇺🇲🇺🇲 out to welcome us here 😀
    Walking down the street we saw a squirrel and a Mocking bird both wondering who had let us in!!
    We then came across the golf ⛳️ course and clubhouse.
    Before going back to the house for a ☕️ and write up this morning's Find Penguin.    Read more

  • Going to America

    Light lunch at the golf club

    April 27, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    If in doubt just follow the signs.
    I'm just wondering 🤔 how many golf ⛳️ balls I will lose on this hole 😂
    A very impressive 1st impression.
    Checking out the specials board ...... and yes I went for the meat balls whilst Jayne went for the healthy Tuna sandwich.
    And finally the locals are still wondering 🤔 who let us in......    Read more

  • Going to America

    On Amelia City Waterfront

    April 27, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Jayne; the Honky Tonk Woman, quietly relaxing before we hit downtown Amelia City.
    The view of the "back garden" just gets better and better.
    Finally, introducing the "Americans" Greg and Patti.
    Honouring David L Yulee, who; in 1855 and before the American Civil War, was responsible for the 6 year construction of first railroad across Florida from Fernandina; Amelia Island, on the Atlantic Ocean across to Cedar Key on the Gulf of Mexico side. He was later imprisoned for 9 months for assisting in the Escape of Jefferson Davis; the President of the Confederate States.
    Selfie with a Pirate outside of the oldest bar on Amelia Island. In the 27th and 18th century Amelia Island was a safe haven for pirates including the infamous Blackbeard an English pirate.    Read more

  • Going to America

    Sunset River Cruise

    April 27, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Greg and Patti took us on a 1 hour sunset 🌇 River Cruise. Before we had even left the jetty Greg had got the wine 🍷 out and we weren't the only ones either.
    There was so much to see as we journeyed along the St. Mary river; we saw the State of Geogia and its wild horses that live on an island bequeathed to the State by the Rockefeller family, shrimp boats; one loaded with seagulls on its rigging, an historic fort called; Fort Clinch; dating back to the American Civil War, pelicans flying overhead then diving into the river for fish and finally dolphins 🐬.Read more

  • Going to America

    And finally the sunset

    April 27, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Really fabulous cruise not only did we see the amazing wildlife but also an amazing sunset, which to be honest seemed in doubt when we left the house.
    The captain of the boat 🚢 kept us all amused with his repertoire of jokes and tales from the river along with interesting bits of history. He then maneuvered the boat around to ensure we all had the perfect photo opportunity for some really good and interesting sunset 🌇 photographs 📸.
    This is a trip we would really recommend but don't complain if it isn't as perfect ad ours 📸📸😁🤞👍    Read more

  • Going to America
    1

    Lazy Thursday morning

    April 28, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Up for the sun rise and it looks like, in the words of the Bill Withers song "its going to be a lovely day (lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day).
    It was lovely and very peaceful just watching the locals (Great Blue Heron) walking around the lake looking for the best fishing 🎣 spot.
    After breakfast Greg and Patti took us out for a drive around the island and for some reason I was the only one who got out of the car to get up close to an alligator, just to put these photos 📸 on Find Penguin!!    Read more

  • Going to America

    Fun on the Beach

    April 28, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Quick visit to the American Beach ⛱️

    Founded in 1935 by Abraham Lincoln Lewis, Florida's first black millionaire & president of Afro-American Insurance Company, American Beach was created as a vacation haven for African-Americans, for whom access to other resorts was denied in the days before desegregation. Currently located between two upscale resorts - the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island and Omni Amelia Island Resort.Read more

  • Going to America

    Kingslay Plantation

    April 28, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many people came to Florida. Some, like Zephaniah Kingsley, sought to make their fortunes by obtaining land and establishing plantations. Others were forced to come to Florida to work on those plantations, their labor providing wealth to the people who owned them. Some of the enslaved would later become free landowners, struggling to keep their footing in a dangerous time of shifting alliances and politics. All of these people played a part in the history of Kingsley Plantation.Read more

  • Going to America

    Boneyard Beach

    April 28, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Same day another beach but one with a difference. Bones beach just full of bleached driftwood trees that appear to have just been dropped there.

    Boneyard Beach is a favorite Jacksonville retreat and close-kept secret. Three miles of shoreline along the Nassau Sound at the very northeast corner of the city limits form a spectacular visual and ecological wonderland.

    No skyscrapers are in sight, because the beach tucked into Big Talbot Island State Park is within the bounds of the federally protected area of the Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve. Sculpted by nature, this shoreline boasts 30-foot bluffs and a striking beach peppered with massive driftwood trees that recall images of an elephant graveyard.    Read more

  • Going to America

    Lunch closely followed by dinner

    April 28, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    14:36 After a quick lunch at Marche Burette it was time to drive home for a quick shower 🚿, change of clothes and get back to downtown Amelia Island for our 17:00 dinner reservation at a French restaurant called Le Clos. Funnily enough there seemed to be a lot of shrimp 🍤 on the menu. So that was our starter followed by beef and duck meat roll for me and salmon for Jayne. The it was time for the Shrimp Festival to begin with a an hour long procession.Read more

  • Going to America

    The Procession

    April 28, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    The Shrimp 🍤 Festival begins with a procession through the mains streets of Downtown Amelia City.
    I went and did the tourist thing whilst Jayne, Greg and Patti stayed at the restaurant protecting the wine 🍷 we bought.Read more

  • Going to America
    Despair at being so close

    Time for golf

    April 28, 2022 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    After the procession Jayne and Patti went to the local theatre to watch an amateur dramatics performance of Matilda. Greg and I had time on our hands so decided to play quick 18 holes of golf ⛳️

  • Going to America

    Out, out....

    April 28, 2022 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    Well what do you do when your wives are at a show and they will need a lift home?
    ......Welcome to the Palace Saloon Bar established in 1903 and the destination bar in Florida .......... Between 1880-1910 Fernandina's docks were among the busiest in the south. Basking in her heyday, she welcomed ships from the far corners of the globe. Of the many saloons that lined the lively streets of the harbour district, only one bore the distinction of being the "Shipcaptain's Bar." and that was the Palace.

    It was an amazing night ...drinking and playing 🎱 with "real" pirates.... unfortunately everyone started walking over me when I showed them my plank!!    Read more

  • Going to America
    1

    Real Golf

    April 29, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    So just a short drive 🚘 from Greg and Patti's 🏡 (about 2 minutes) we arrived at the golf ⛳️ course. Its very different from playing at my local Poulton and Staining golf courses.
    First you drive up to the club house and stay in your car, whilst your golf clubs are taken out of the boot or in this case the trunk and taken to your golf cart. They even ask who is driving so that the clubs are put on the correct side.Read more

  • Going to America
    1

    A few golf course hazards..

    April 29, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    1. It's hard to tee off when a Mocking Bird 🐦 is behind you.
    2. A Double Crested Cormorant is sat drying its wing feathers.
    3. A turtle beats you to your ball.
    4. They put a pond in front of the hole.
    5. Vultures follow your every move.
    6. Canadian geese say you will have to play around us.
    7. The odd bunker or a hundred.
    8 And you wood not to end up to far in the trees.    Read more

  • Going to America

    The 19th hole

    April 29, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Best hole of the day some 4 hours later and it's nice to have a refreshing cold beer 🍺 in the bar at Greg's Golf Club. Not only can we relax having a beer but our golf clubs get taken off the golf cart and cleaned; in my case of all the sand and bits of fairway I collected.

    Thanks for the game Greg I thoroughly enjoyed I thoroughly enjoyed it. 🏌 🤝🤜🤛👍    Read more

  • Going to America

    Dinner at home 🏡 with the Kuisels

    April 29, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    So tonight we are eating in with Jim and Shay, friends of Greg and Patti.
    Patti cleans, whilst Jayne and I under Greg's ever watching eyes 👀 de- shell 🐚 and de-vein the shrimps 🍤.
    Then it's over to Chef 👨‍🍳 Greg to work his magic.

    ...... and they were delicious 😋 clean plates 🍽 all around with only the ends to tell the tale 🍤    Read more

  • Going to America

    The Shrimp 🍤 Festival

    April 30, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Downtown Fernandina Beach where parking is at a premium well $20 a car 🚗 🤑 that's piracy 🏴‍☠️ if you ask me ...... so we must be in the right place 🤣

    The festivities begin with the telling of the history of the island and of the Eight flags that have flown over it and that Amelia Island is the only place in America where eight different flags have flown:
    French Flag 1562-1564
    Spanish Flag 1565-1763 and 1783-1821
    British Flag 1763-1783
    Patriots Flag 1812 -
    With the approval of U.S. President James Madison and Georgia Governor George Mathews in 1812-1813, insurgents known as the "Patriots of Amelia Island" overthrew the Spanish and seized the island
    Green Cross Flag 1817 
    Scottish born soldier of fortune, Sir Gregor MacGregor, received a document from Lino de Clemente, Pedro Gual, and Martin Thompson, each of whom claimed to speak for one or more of the Latin American republics. They called themselves the "deputies of free America" and called upon MacGregor to take possession of "both the Floridas, East and West" as soon as possible. MacGregor led a small band of musketeers to capture Fort San Carlos and claim the island from its Spanish defenders on June 29, 1817 without either side firing a single shot.
    Mexican Revolutionary Flag 1817
    Spanish soldiers forced MacGregor's withdrawal, but their attempt to regain complete control was foiled by American irregulars
    National Flag of the Confederacy 1861-1862
    On January 8, 1861, two days before Florida's secession, Confederate sympathizers (the Third Regiment of Florida Volunteers) took control of Fort Clinch, already abandoned by Federal workers who had been constructing the fort. General Robert E. Lee visited Fort Clinch in November 1861.
    United States 1862-Present 
    Union forces, consisting of 28 gunboats commanded by Commodore Samuel Dupont, restore Federal control of the island on March 3, 1862 and raise the American Flag. 

    Originally Held To Celebrate Blessing of Shrimp Fleet
    Fernandina is known as “birthplace of the modern shrimping industry in America.” The Festival began back in 1964 to celebrate the blessing of the shrimp fleet and featured shrimp boat races (formally called the “Shrimp Boat Festival”). This year in 2022, the blessing of the fleet is happening Sunday, May 1st at 1 p.m., followed by the “Decorated Shrimp Boat Parade & Contest.”    Read more

  • Going to America

    Many faces of Shrimp Fest

    April 30, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Enjoying the atmosphere from the Shrimp Fest, from Greg once again photo 📸 bombing photographs, people dressed as shrimps 🍤 or wearing 🍤 hats, a brown pelican; a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water, the little egret, a species of small heron in the family Ardeidae. It is a white bird with a slender black beak, long black legs and, in the western race, yellow feet. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on land, consuming a variety of small creatures and a Black Vulture, one of 2 types that live in Florida General characteristics of vultures include a large heavy body, a hunched over posture, and shaggy-looking feathers.
    Then there were the pirates ☠️ roaming around the town looking vicious brandishing weapons and then finally the scariest bunch of all 🤣🤣🤣☠️    Read more

  • Going to America

    Refreshment Stop

    April 30, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Back into the Palace bar for a quick cold beer 🍺.
    And we weren't the only ones to have that idea.....

  • Going to America

    Its going to get messy

    April 30, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Sun, music, cold beer, and having a good time is probably not a good combination as we only came in for 1 beer........

    ... anyway at least we made some new friends 🤪 🤣🤣🍻🍻🍺🍺

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