For twenty odd years, I traveled south with my mother to visit my grandparents in Atlanta, Ga. Seven years ago, my grandfather retired and, with my grandmother, decided the build his retirement home on Amelia Island off the coast of Jacksonville, Fl. where he used to spend his boyhood summers. The town has changed, of course, dramatically since those days. Once Fernandina Beach was scattered with colorful wooden beach houses and the island was sparce with local flavor. The island is home to america’s first saloon and the historic downtown still is paved in brick.
Today it is far more commercial, With a wal-mart and a Ritz-Carlton and many subdivions developing. But, if you walk through historic downtown you can stand on an old pier and watch the Blue Herons and the boats float by.