With some water spray and wind in our hair it felt like an exhilarating theme park ride but it was in the open air with natural surroundings and real wildlife. Wild Florida, just outside Orlando, features exciting, hour long airboat rides through the shallow, boggy edges of Cypress Lake. A large sign at the entrance gives credit to Nova Scotia where Alexander Graham Bell invented the shallow bottomed airboat driven by a large aircraft type propeller mounted over its stern. Then, as we slowed down after speeding past alligators and a rich variety of bird life, Captain Mike gave verbal credit to Canada for presenting the United States with more than 30 breeding pairs of bald eagles in the 1930s. This generosity, he noted, basically kept the U.S. bald eagle population from extinction. It was a gesture we particularly appreciated after a few weeks of tense Canada-U.S. relations.
Captain Mike
Our main goal for a week-long road trip from Orlando to the northeast coast of Florida was to explore the fascinating history and culture of the area as well as sampling the cuisine, especially seafood for which the state is justly famous.
We found that renting a car at Orlando airport was relatively easy with no shuttle required to reach the rental lot. Unfortunately, printed road maps are no longer available at check-in so an effective GPS is a necessity, especially with Orlando’s heavy traffic and complex highway system.
Our tour included hotels and a B&B while visiting Orlando, St. Augustine and Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island. All three communities love to share their rich history and vibrant culture with guests like us. Here are some of the attractions we particularly enjoyed:
ORLANDO
- Winter Garden, a small city (pop 48,000) that’s part of greater Orlando, has a charming downtown filled with small, unique boutiques (no chain stores in sight) and a welcoming vibe we found very attractive. Two no-charge museums stand out. The Winter Garden Heritage Museum has a well maintained caboose out front and an interior focused on the community’s native and African American heritage as well as the rise and fall of the citrus industry. Dozens of labels from former orange producers fill the walls. Winter Garden was also a significant railway centre served by both the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Coast Line. The Central Florida Railway Museum honours those past years with photos, models and railway memorabilia. Knowledgeable volunteers like Bill Puckett are delighted to discuss their passion for railroading.
Railroad enthusiast Bill Puckett in the Central Florida Railway Museum
- The SOBO Art Gallery and Studio (named for its location on South Boyd Street), features excellent local art for sale and monthly art exhibits. In a back room, aspiring artists have classes and workshops.
- Since 2014 downtown Orlando has included the magnificent Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The venue includes both 2700-seat and 1700-seat theatres. We were fortunate to be able to attend a more intimate concert by a local neo-soul, rhythm and blues band in the Judson’s Live auditorium with table settings for just 150 guests and a menu of exotic cocktails and small, creative plates.
Soulful entertainment at Judson’s Live
ST. AUGUSTINE
- St. Augustine, founded by the Spanish in 1565, is the oldest continuously inhabited European established settlement in the United States. The city core is very walkable but we found the best way to absorb and appreciate its remarkable history is with the 90 minute, 22 stop, Hop-on, Hop-off narrated Trolley Tour.
- Several attractions on the Trolley Tour stood out for us. Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the United States. The Spanish started construction in 1672 to defend Florida and protect the Atlantic trade route. It is remarkably well preserved.
Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine
Also well preserved is the oldest wooden schoolhouse in the United States where an animatronic teacher and “Dunce” student provide humourous commentary. Two former luxury hotels in St. Augustine were built in the Spanish Renaissance Revival style by oil and railway magnate Henry Flagler and were among the first buildings in the world to use poured concrete. Hotel Alcazar, built in 1887, is now the Lightner Museum, housing a grand collection of Gilded Age antiques. The 1888 Ponce de Leon Hotel is now the 2500 student, Flagler College. Design of its glorious interior was headed by Louis Tiffany. The woodwork, gold gilding and stained glass windows are stunning. In fact the college has the largest private collection of Tiffany stained glass in North America. It’s insured for more than 100 million dollars.
The oldest wooden schoolhouse in the U.S.
- Our final stop in St. Augustine was among the most moving. The three-story Ximenez-Fatio House, built in 1798, was a boarding house for many years during the American slave era. An hour long tour includes talented, costumed actors performing short scenes that relive those dark days. A vivid eye-opener.
Slave era drama at Ximenez Fatio House
AMELIA ISLAND
- A happy surprise for us was our far-from-ordinary Bed & Breakfast accommodation in the historic district of Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, close to the border with Georgia. Fairbanks House is a glorious 8,000 square foot Italianate villa built in 1885 at the height of Fernandina’s Golden Era. The upscale neighbourhood has dozens of other stunning homes built in the late 1800s in Victorian or Classical Revival style. The city has published a complimentary pamphlet showcasing many of them.
Fairbanks House, historic Amelia Island B&B
- Like many visitors we took the Cumberland Coastal Tour (Amelia River Cruises), sailing between Florida and Georgia along the shorelines of Amelia and Cumberland Islands. Wildlife sightings included playful dolphins and Cumberland wild horses. Several colourful shrimp boats are tied to docks on this pristine island but, sadly, the mood is broken by a huge, steaming shoreside pulp mill.
- For a small city (population, 14,000) Fernandina Beach has an excellent Museum of History in a former jail and a well-preserved Civil War era coastal garrison called Fort Clinch. The fort promotes living history and we enjoyed interacting with a knowledgeable gentleman in period costume.
Fort Clinch on Amelia Island
CUISINE
We love fresh seafood so we were looking forward to stuffing ourselves with Florida’s famous shrimp and local fish like grouper, mahi-mahi and pompano. Large (often too large) portions are common in Florida restaurants but we were usually impressed with the quality of our meals:
- Our excellent Orlando accommodation (The Terraces at The Grove) had a dinner restaurant, Valencia, more like an aging Denny’s but its breakfast had outstanding coffee and a good choice of standard fare. Plant Street Market in Winter Garden is an indoor artisan venue featuring the Crooked Can Brewery and 20 local vendors serving wonderful natural, organic food. We enjoyed a delicious lunch with Bento Sushi and BBQ pork and beef. At the Judson’s Live venue in downtown Orlando (mentioned earlier), creative small plates prevailed.
Crooked Can Brewery and the Plant Street Market. Local, ethnic food vendors.
- Two shrimp dishes stood out in St. Augustine. Our best large shrimps came from the Salt Life Food Shack. They were served on skewers with glazed pineapple and pineapple fried rice. O.C. White’s Seafood Restaurant combines history (it’s located in the Worth House, circa 1790) with excellent cuisine. Its blackened shrimp and grits with cheese, bacon, and green onions was a hit with both of us. The Columbia Restaurant is a huge Spanish/Cuban eatery holding 700 guests. It’s usually full but service is very efficient and the food, especially our fresh grouper topped with local blue crab, was succulent. Being in Florida we expected fresh salads and two restaurants delivered. La Cocino, part of the San Sebastian Winery, had an excellent winter salad with roasted squash, cucumber curls, and local red datil peppers. The Ice House, a tall, spacious converted 1927 ice storage warehouse, now a popular farm to table restaurant, served our best arugula and kale salad with apple, fennel, hazelnuts, and pomegranate. A creative chef!
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- Winter salad with roasted squash at La Cocino
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- Delicious Shrimp & Grits at O.C. White’s Restaurant
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- Florida’s lucrative shrimp industry had its beginnings in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island in the early 1900s. As expected, even its fried fish take-out was extraordinary. Our golden basket at Timoti’s included deep fried shrimp, fries, hush puppies, and a giant fish sandwich. At The Salty Pelican, a busy waterfront restaurant and sports bar, we enjoyed its signature dish, blue crab dip. We could also choose among Shrimp & Oysters, a pound or half pound of local ‘peel ‘n eat’ shrimp, or fried gator bits. We can’t talk about food on Amelia Island without mentioning the breakfast at our historic B&B, Fairbanks House. The full breakfast, served with real silverware and nice china, included juice, fresh blueberries with sweet cream, blackberry waffles with chicken sausage and banana bread. A wonderful ending to a week of outstanding hospitality.
Locals love their seafood take-out. Shrimp and fish at Timoti’s
Sadly, there is now some tension in U.S.-Canada relations because of the tariff threats and talk of Canada becoming the “51st State”. Florida tourism officials we met were very concerned about a drop off in Canadian tourists. Hopefully relations can soon return to their normal friendly state.
A few more images from our trip. Click for full size images.
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A former ice plant.
Now the Ice Plant Bar and Restaurant
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Flagler College,
the former Ponce de Leon Hotel
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- The charming SOBO Art Gallery featuring local artists
Photo Credits
All photos by Sandra and John Nowlan – All Rights Reserved
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