show me your pics!

oops! forgot to post all my vacation pics! i thought i had them posted and then realized they were still in draft form. well...here ya go. don't say i never gave ya nothing!

warning! the following post is a photo album in itself! you have been warned!!!

i arrived in jacksonville about 11am on wednesday. made the 30 minute drive to amelia, set down my bags and immediately b lined it to the beach. here is the first glimpse...

this lil'guy didn't want his picture taken. he insisted on running away every time i zoomed in for a great shot. and of course, in zoom mode, it's impossible to follow a quick mover. this is the best picture i snapped of him.

a size comparison with an itty bitty tree frog next to my not so itty bitty finger. i wanted to bring him back with me!!!

in the old part of fernandina beach, exists centre street. lined with touristy shops, historic buildings, quaint restaurants and bistros. this is one of my favorite buildings. the courthouse...

the palace saloon. the oldest drinking establishment in the state of florida. and no. i did not go there for an alcoholic beverage. now that i'm thinking about it...i didn't have any alcoholic beverages while on vacation!!!

i could go on and on showing you pictures of amelia island...but by far my favorites are those i took of my daytrip to cumberland island. i absolutely love it there...i left by private ferry saturday morning. it's a 20 minute ride from amelia to cumberland. here's a view of fort clinch. it sits on the northern tip of amelia island...

once on cumberland...i was greeted by the house staff of the greyfield inn. a short walk from the dock to the mansion brought back so many wonderful memories of my many previous visits to greyfield...

again...i set my bags down. went downstairs to the kitchen. packed a large thermos of iced tea. walked to the barn to pick out a bicycle. and headed to the beach. this picture was taken at the beginning of my 2 mile bike ride out to the atlantic.

did i forget to mention it was me, and just me, on the beach? well...and the following...

mr. horseshoe crab is missing his tale. well. and his innerds. he's dead. just the shell remains.

this lil'fella was very much alive. every time i tried coming in closer...you know...for a better picture...he kept puffing out his legs...warning me....stay back!!! too bad. so sad. because i snapped a good one anyway! and then...i left him alone.

this egret stood in the same spot for the entire time i was on the beach...2 hours! the surf kept coming in...the sandpipers running to catch any bit of food they could. and egret...kept standing. he occasionally changed his stance. but never moved from that spot.

i decided to head back to greyfield. a luxurious shower. an ice cold beverage. a delicious lunch. all these things awaited me back at the mansion. the bike ride back was exhausting...trekking the bike up white powdery soft sand dunes was close to impossible. my motivation? the amazing shower house and this...

before i reached the greyfield, here are a few photos i took along the way...

this would be me!

the horses you see are descendants of domesticated horses. these horses are now "wild." better yet...feral. they roam the island in groups and this particular family lives around the greyfield. if i remember correctly, there were 8.

this colt decided to take a nap while the others grazed. i watched him plop down and remain motionless for about 5 minutes. when he looked up (as you see here...) he realized the group had moved on without him. of course, they were only a few meters away. but out of his immediate sight. i also caught a picture of him getting up...but this was the one i had to post. what a cutie!

after one of the best showers in my life...seriously. the shower house is a small cabin. with an enormous shower head raining down the softest, sweetest water ever. the window was open, overlooking the coast. a white cotton curtain flapping in the breeze. the horses grazing in the field. one so close, i could reach out and pet it. l'occitane products to wash with...i stayed in there for what seemed like a small eternity. hey. sand is a bitch to wash off. hehe.

when i was finished, i grabbed my picnic basket from the cooler and wandered upstairs to the porch. remember my motivation for getting up those powdery soft sand dunes? well. i plopped my tired self on the porch swing, opened up my picnic basket and found this...

an amazing honey dijon chicken breast, pasta salad loaded with crunchy veggies, a fat wedge of pineapple, salt&pepper kettle chips and 2 gingerbread cookies. not hard gingerbread. moist, chewy gingerbread. yum. i grabbed an orangina from the "honest john" bar and enjoyed every morsel of my lunch. i'm a foody. i can't help it. lunch was a bittersweet moment for me. it was the end of my visit at greyfield. but soon. very soon. i will be back there again.