April 23rd, 2014 - Part One
We will divide this day into two parts as there are a lot of pictures that we want to share with you.
We decided to go on a road trip today and see some history. We went through Mayport Village and took the
St. Johns River Ferry across the river to Fort George Island. I got excited when I saw we were behind a car with a UK UK registration number on the ferry but Bryan told me it was for University of Kentucky.
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| This pelican came to say goodbye as we set sail |
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| "Tilly" is the second car looking a little dwarfed here |
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| Bryan admiring the view |
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Getting ready to dock on the other side
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The ferry ride was only about 6 minutes but it was something different.
Our next stop was the
Kingsley Plantation which is in the process of being renovated. The roads to the plantation were very interesting and we got some good pictures.
Once we got there we looked around.
The walls of the barn and the slave quarters are made of
Tabby which is a construction material made of lime, sand, water & crushed shells. Slaves cooked oyster shells in a kiln to make lime.
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| The Barn |
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| Wildflowers |
We took a path that lead to the beach.
It was like another world but beautiful.
There were a lot of little crabs scurrying around and disappearing into holes as soon as we got too close.
This
VIDEO will give you some idea. We were joking that the crabs that had disappeared down the holes were probably all going to come out at once and grab us!!!
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| Bryan took this picture. The pattern on the shell fascinates me. I can see a man or a woman with an apron on!! |
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| Protected Gopher Tortoise Habitat |
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| Gopher Tortoise |
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| Walking around the grounds toward the river |
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| The Owners House-The Widow's Walk is on the top of the house |
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| Fort George Clubhouse |
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| Sue reading about the plantation |
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| Covered walkway between the kitchen & main house |
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| Kitchen |
The picture below shows the kitchen building with Anna's quarters above so she could keep an eye on the slaves.
"Anna"" was Kingsley's African wife, Anta Madgigine Jai, from Senegal and he purchased her as a slave in Havana, Cuba in 1806 when she was about 13 years old. He freed her and their children in 1811 before moving to Fort George Island in 1814.
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| Kitchen |
There weren't many people looking around this plantation and I found it really interesting and tried to transport myself back in time to imagine what it was like. Sorry but here is my rant for the day. Bryan & I walked in the kitchen house and it asked that you close the door behind you which we did. We were talking about the small kitchen and a group of women who had been with a tour just outside came in, which was fine except, first they left the door open, secondly they were loud and acting silly, one said loudly "where is the freezer". I'm sorry but I didn't find it amusing, completely ruined the atmosphere of imagination I had put myself in. I know I have been known to act silly and still do but there is a time and a place for everything. I sound like a boring old person but these women were not young, probably the same age group as us. If this had been a vineyard I would probably have put it down to drinking too much wine but seeing as there was no sign of any wine around I don't think that was it. I don't mind having fun, this could have been me in a group of women but there is a time and place for everything and if they had been in there by themselves they could have made as many idiotic comments as they wanted but I feel they should have respected the fact that we were there. We didn't say anything to each other but we both made a quick exit and once we were outside we looked at each other. I said, "Really, where is the freezer" and Bryan was still annoyed that they had left the door open. Oh my gosh we are turning into miserable old fogies aren't we. I would still rather be me than them at this stage of my life.
We continued on to look at what remains of the slave quarters.
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| Renovated Slave quarters. This larger one is thought to have been given to the driver |
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| Slave Quarters Ruins |
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| Fireplace used as kitchen |
We took a different road out of the plantation and saw this church.
and this house "Nelmar" built circa 1877
We continued our trip northward to Amelia Island which I will tell you about in Part 2.
The walls of the barn and the slave quarters are made of Tabby which is a construction material made of lime, sand, water & crushed shells. Slaves cooked oyster shells in a kiln to make lime.
It was like another world but beautiful.
There were a lot of little crabs scurrying around and disappearing into holes as soon as we got too close.
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