Fort Clinch State Park

Day 201
Fernandina Beach- FL

Fort Clinch is a old civil war era fort that never saw the action it expected. Construction began in 1847 in an effort to fortify the shores of America and the 28 states it represented. Work was contracted to private citizens to construct this place. Progress was slow and left the fort 2/3 complete in the year 1860. Civil war broke out in 1861 and then things started to change. The fort fell into the hands of the confederates, then into the control of federal forces. The fort was never finished and went into caretaker status from 1869 to 1898. During that time the brick work was finally completed.

In 1898 the Spanish American War broke out. Fort clinch was pulled back into action and finally received finishing touches and a full armament. The Spanish War came and went. Fort Clinch fell back into idle status and was then sold to private owners. The state of Florida thought it was so cool they purchased it in 1935. In 1942 the federal government stepped in and said they had one more task for this place to complete. It would serve as a communication and surveillance station. No battles were ever fought from this post. That being said, the masonry work is amazing.

It's worth pointing out that we had to pay an admission fee in addition to our camping fees to see the fort. This is the first time we have ever had to pay a fee inside a state park to see the main feature of the park. It was only $2.50 each, but we almost didn't go out of principal. Florida State Parks; this was a real jerk move on your part.

The day slipped into early afternoon. Katie heads down to soak up some sun on the beach while I stay behind and sit on the couch for a bit. Eventually I am able to make the trek down with a chair and join in the beach environment. The joys of life on the road.

A little bug is crawling on the sand between my feet. I lean in for a closer look and find a tiny creature.

This beach has crabs.

Evening settles in and Katie takes a shower. Much to our surprise the grey tank has filled all the way up before the second night. Wow. Guess we went a little crazy with the showers and now I've go to pull a 100 lbs of water to the dump station. The jeep seems like overkill. I pull my bike off the back and strap the tank on to the rack. We'll give this a shot and see how it goes.