26 May - Beachwalk, Safe Harbor Seafood Restaurant, St Johns River Light

 

This morning we got up early to try and catch part of the lunar eclipse, but due to some clouds it was not visible.  As long as we were up we decided to have a beach walk early, maybe before the other shell hunters show up.  I think Doreen said her iPhone logged over 7000 steps, so we went a ways.  It was a gorgeous morning.  The St Johns River and Mayport Basin were very active.  Both military ships as well as various cargo ships passed by the campground and were visible from the beach.  

We weren't the only ones cruising the beach this early, but their were not many.  Some sailors showed up and were training on something there.  As we walked along we were amazed at the number of cannonball jellyfish that had washed up onto the beach.  These jellyfish do not have long tentacles like others or like the Portugese Man of War that had invaded the waters at Cape Canaveral. They also are not as poisonous to humans as the others, but we did not pick any up and play with them!

The Cannonball Jellyfish

A few more beach pictures.  The surf was fairly calm and the wind light and variable.  It was just a beautiful morning

This rock jetty extends out a long ways

 Doreen harvested another load of shells.  Nothing huge, but some nice ones for sure.

So we headed back to the RV to clean up and stow the booty.  We decided to drive around the northwestern side of the base to Mayport for lunch.  Our neighbor here at the campground gave us some intel on a great seafood restaurant called Safe Harbor.  They have both a restaurant and a seafood market across the street.  They also distribute seafood from there, so it is a pretty big operation, and of course it does not get any fresher!

We arrived just in time as this place got crazy busy for lunch.  Doreen is not a huge fan of seafood but she will eat fish such as fish sticks and Long John Silvers!  Today she ordered a haddock sandwich and she said it was delicious. It came with slaw and fries, and the sandwich was huge!

 I order a dozen oysters on the half shell of course and a cup of seafood gumbo.  In retrospect I should have just ordered a half dozen oysters and skipped the gumbo because the oysters we really big, and so delicious! 

We waddled out of the restaurant and both said we need to come back here before we leave Jacksonville next Tuesday.  Just a few blocks away was the St James River Light, or so we thought.  When I was using Google Maps to get the coordinates I missed the fact that this light is actually on base, and we were on the civilian side of the fence coming from the restaurant, but we still got a nice picture.  This lighthouse is completely closed, so we could not climb it anyway, and no stamp for Doreen's lighthouse passport, but she will make a manual entry for it.  It is too bad it is nor accessible to the public.

We returned to the base and stopped by the NEX (Naval Exchange) to pick up a few things and then back to the RV for a relaxing afternoon here.  The Cubs are at the Pirates and the game was delayed slightly due to rain, but we tuned in outside and enjoyed the cool ocean breezy.

No firm plans for tomorrow yet.  We may stop at the Commissary which is located off base.