Beaufort S.C. to Amelia Island Fl.

 This is Parris Island, on the Beaufort River
 as we leave that wonderful small town headed south for Florida.
Parris Island is where Marine recruits go for basic training.
 The heat index has been in triple digits for the last three days here,
those poor young men and women!
Wow,,,

This is a whole new type of boat to share
 a channel with after five hundred miles of twisty, turning, shallow channels.
Ginny and I decided to go offshore between Beaufort and Fernandina Beach, Florida.
Good decision? No,, a great decision!
This ship is waiting to enter the Savannah River
and you can see how rough it is out in the Atlantic.
The boat is on autopilot, I have my feet up and Ginny is relaxing.
The only unhappy crew member is the puppy,, very, very seasick.
 Ginny put him in his kennel/guest stateroom
and he is in his bed until he can disembark. 

We are in Florida! (but just barely)
This is Fort Clinch on Amelia Island.
The opposite shore of the inlet is Cumberland Island, Ga. 

Amelia Island is a contradiction, home to industry, shipping,
 Amelia Island Plantation, trashy beachfront dives
 as well as the quaint and picturesque small town of Fernandina Beach.

Just to show you how the view changes from the dock,

to the landing.

This town is Beaufort all over again but different.
This is not the low country anymore, it is Florida,
 but it is an older genteel Florida that we wish there was more of.

This community has gone to great efforts to preserve the character of the town
and not trample over that which makes it special just to make a buck.

Meanwhile, these pictures were taken at about six in the morning.
 This is anything but a ghost town,
what the civic leaders have done here works.

In a few hours these streets will be packed with people walking about,
shopping, dining and just enjoying being here.

The entire town is walkable
 and the trees provide some much needed shade.
Really, there will be crowds here later.

The boat is tied up on the Amelia River
right at the foot of the main street.
It is prophetic that the bow is headed south,
a couple of days here and then off we go.
We think the next stop will be Cape Canaveral
for an overnight and then down to Fort Pierce
and after that a hard right in Stuart
for the channel to Lake Okeechobee!