I haven’t gone a 10 day trip in a very long time, since 2013 to be exact, so it was way overdue!
If you have read my past posts about my travels, you know that I am a very serious trip planner. I first pick the main destination or attraction, start planning 6-12 months before the trip, and book the flights, if flying, the rental car, and the lodging. For the past 7 years, I have stayed at Airbnbs. After all of that is set in place, I research the heck out of the area for other smaller attractions, great restaurants, shopping, and antiques shops. I also map out the directions from place to place on Google Earth and see if there is anything to stop at in between.
I usually start with TripAdvisor and look for the top 5 attractions, restaurants, and shopping, which I usually go to at least 3 of each. I also write reviews on TripAdvisor as well, but I am very behind on them. That is on my list to catch up on those personal reviews.
So for this trip, the main goal to visit 2 very close friends in FL. One is in Amelia Island, about 45 minutes from the Jacksonville airport. The other friend is in Port St Lucie, about 4 hours south of Jacksonville.
My boyfriend and I just got back and it was a great trip! Here is what we did in 10 days;
Day 1. We flew into Jacksonville in the morning and drove to Amelia Island. We met my friend in Historic Downtown Fernandina Beach. There you can find some great gift shops, antique stores, and restaurants. We had lunch at the Garden Street Bistro https://www.gardenstreetbistro.com/ which was so delicious. We then went back to my friends house and met some of her friends and ate some good food. It was a nice relaxing 1st day.
We stayed at an AirBnb, which was just 3 minutes from our friend’s house, for 4 nights. It was very nice, comfortable and close to the beach. There was a pool as well. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/775313383374262260?source_impression_id=p3_1745926990_P3aeKSBYAW-uD7zi
Day 2. We had a really good breakfast at the Magnolia Cafe, which was a great way to start the day. https://magnoliascafe.co/
Then, we headed to Fort Clinch State Park, which was so beautiful.
https://www.floridastateparks.org/fortclinch
We capped off the day with a yummy dinner at the Down Under Restaurant, http://www.downunderfb.com/
Day 3. We started the day at the Fernandina Beach farmers market, where we got some snacks for the day, like some great fresh strawberries, blueberries, tzatziki and chips, YUM! https://fernandinabeachmarketplace.com/
Then we went to the Turtle Fest, and I got a very cute stained glass turtle suncatcher and some new sunglasses. https://www.beachjunki.org/seaturtlefest/
We went to the beach for a couple of hours, then went to dinner at Salty Pelican Bar & Grill, where I had some really great shrimp. https://thesaltypelicanamelia.com/
We capped off the evening with sunset from my friends boat. What a great day!!
Day 4. I would highly recommend our first stop, which was Boneyard Beach! This is a unique beach located in Big Talbot Island State Park in Florida, near Jacksonville. I felt like I was on an abandoned island.
https://www.floridastateparks.org/learn/boneyard-beach
Our next stop was Kingsley Plantation. This was very interesting and educational. This reminds us of such different times in our history.
https://www.nps.gov/timu/learn/historyculture/kp.htm
We then drove around more, then headed back to my friends house for our last dinner together. Thank you to Lilly and Arden for showing us around beautiful Amelia Island, FL. We had such a great time! Love you and hope to see you soon!
Day 5. Next on our list was Port St Lucie, to see 2 more friends. Since it was a 4 hour drive south, we made some stops on the way, to break up the trip.
We stopped at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park in Palm Coast FL. What a beautiful park!! I love the different plants that are in the south.
https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/washington-oaks-gardens-state-park
Part of Washington Oaks was the Blowing Rocks across the street. The goal was to be there at high tide, but we arrived too early. We still walked the beach a bit and saw some really cool rock formations but no crashing waves.
http://www.washingtonoaks.org/beachside.html
We visited with one friend/past coworker, for a couple of hours. It was a short but good visit and great to catch up. Thank you Andrea and Jim, it was great to see you.
We made it to our last destination of the day, which was to my 2nd friend/past coworker’s house, where we stayed for 2 nights. They have a stunning home. We felt like we were staying in a 5 star hotel. They made us a delicious dinner the first night and a yummy breakfast both mornings.
We even got to see a SpaceX launch from their house. Pretty cool.
Both friends live in golf course communities. The houses and grounds were beautiful! In the 2nd friends neighborhood, the speed limit signs were too funny. We asked if it was a golf reference but they had no idea.
Day 6. We went to the Elliott Museum, which was really cool. If you like antique cars and other transportation, this is the place to go. We also went to the House of Refuge, which was designated as havens for shipwrecked sailors.
Across the street from the Elliott Museum is the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center. Here, you can learn about all of sorts of ocean creatures in FL. We also walked the boardwalk trails and learned about all of the native trees and plants in the area as well. A great place for families!
Afterward, we met our friends at the Blowing Rocks Preserve in Jupiter Island, Hobe Sound. This time, we were there for high tide, but it just wasn’t high enough to create the great wave crashing on the rocks. We still saw something cool.
We ended this day with a great dinner at Guanabanas Restaurant, which was right on the water. We also got to see a kayak and paddle board race, which was fun. https://www.guanabanas.com/
Thank you Pat and Keith for your hospitality and the great visit. It was fun catching up with you and I hope to see again soon.
Day 7. After another great breakfast from our hosts, we left our friends for our next destination, which was St Augustine, about 3 hours back north. But to break up the trip, we stopped at The National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum. This was very interesting with indoor and outdoor exhibits. Tons to see.
https://www.navysealmuseum.org/fort-pierce
Next, for a change of pace, we did what we love and went to the Wildwood Antique Mall of Vero Beach. Dave and I were in our glory. I didn’t find anything that I had to have, but Dave found a bottle to add to his collection. This place was very cool place was amazing! https://www.facebook.com/wamverobeach
After shopping, we went to the McKee Botanical Gardens in Vero Beach. Wow, what a beautiful place! A must see when you are in the area.
We made it to our 2nd AirBnb, which was a 43′ yacht docked at a marina in St Augustine. We stayed there for 2 nights. We have never stayed on a boat, so we thought it would be fun. It did not disappoint! And the restaurant Hurricane Patty’s is at the marina as well, so we had dinner there the first night.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1212549544741419909?source_impression_id=p3_1745947308_P3IQc-ldnBXaYpvq
Day 8. We started off the day with this beautiful sunrise from the boat.
We went to the Metro Diner for breakfast. https://metrodiner.com/locations/florida/st-augustine/
Then, we checked out the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. I have seen several Forts in my travels and I am glad to check this one off my list.
https://www.nps.gov/casa/index.htm
We did some shopping on St George Street https://www.visitstaugustine.com/thing-to-do/st-george-street
Next, we went to the The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum. This was a beautiful old lighthouse. Dave climbed the 219 steps but I did not. We also saw the keepers house and other historical artifacts. It was definitely worth stopping here.
https://www.staugustinelighthouse.org/
And the last attraction of the day was The Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park. This was another great park with lots of history, as well as beautiful peacocks all over the property.
https://www.fountainofyouthflorida.com/
We ended the night with dinner from Smokin D’s BBQ https://smokindbbq.com/
Day 9. Our first stop was the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. I always make it a point to get a zoo or animal preserve of some sort when I am on vacation. I know I shouldn’t go to these places when it is so hot out, because the animals are usually hiding in the shade. I did manage to get some great pics and here are 3 of them.
https://www.jacksonvillezoo.org/
We did a little more antiquing at Cool Stuff Vintage https://coolstuffvintage.com/
We then headed to our last AirBnb in Jacksonville, which was very nice!! This place was pristine. It had everything we could have wanted and needed inside and the property was beautiful. This location also had a pool, which was very refreshing. It was only 6 minutes from the airport, which was very convenient.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1255854612103604721?source_impression_id=p3_1746182353_P3yyuVcMQBlkNTnc
Day 10. Our last full day in Jacksonville, we had a yummy breakfast at the Aloha Waffle Bar https://alohawafflebar.com/
Then we headed to the Riverside Arts Market. This was a really great market with tons of food and artisans. It was under an overpass, so it was protected by the hot sun. It’s open ever Saturday, so stop by if you are in the area. https://riversideartsmarket.org/
Next, we found another Antique store, 5 Points Vintage and then found the Avonlea Antiques & Interiors. This place was amazing! 35,000 square feet of shopping. We were both in our glory. I can’t believe that I didn’t find anything that I had to have but Dave found 5 old bottles that he had to add to his ever growing bottle collection. He was a very happy camper.
Our last dinner at the Flying Fish Taphouse, https://www.flyingfishtaphouse.com/
Day 11. Sadly, it was time to go home.
What a trip! We had fun catching up with friends, saw some great attractions, ate some delicious food, and stayed in comfortable places. We walked around 80,000 steps, and boy do my legs, knees, and feet feel it! We drove around 600-700 miles. No regrets at all!
I hope that I gave you a couple good ideas if you are in these areas of FL. I can’t wait to start planning my next trip…I just need to pick the location. Happy Travels!
He Left, Look at ME Now! 