Dressed in a designer track suit with a matching baseball cap, she stopped the few cars travelling on the main road to allow the safe crossing of a tortoise. This is the way of life on Florida’s Amelia Island, pretty as a picture, slow in pace and shaped by nature, allowing holidays to unfold naturally, unhurried, uncrowded and stress-free. With tortoises, tides and tall oaks, join me on the porch on Amelia Island.
Three hours away from the adrenalin-fuelled excitement dancing around Orlando’s theme parks, this idyllic hush-hush secret in Florida partners soft tourism with its many sustainable eco efforts to preserve its natural resources where a third of the island is protected. Floating in the Atlantic Ocean with a population of around 12,000, it covers around 18 square miles, 13 miles long and two miles wide, separated from mainland Florida by the winding rivers and marshlands of the Intracoastal Waterway and two bridges which lead to its sandy beaches, wildlife and abundance of nature.
The island’s main town is Fernandina Beach, once a vibrant Victorian seaport village favoured by Gilded Age millionaires, pirates, and shrimpers. Today, it offers a charming downtown district of independent eclectic stores – not a chain store in sight. Friendly shopkeepers greet you like a neighbour, rich aromas escape from Sand & Sage Mystic Shoppe, a cabaret of vivid colours plays across the fashion and accessories in Twisted Sisters and ice cream blends are hard to resist in the Cinnamon Bear Country Store. Old Town Fernandina is a 50-block National Historic District of 400 buildings, shaded by oaks and showcasing colourful Victorian-era architecture. Styles reflect the island’s heritage of Victorian homes decked with wrap-around porches and unique facades that expose the island’s affluent past. And still standing is The Palace, the oldest pub in Florida, a saloon complete with a spit-and-sawdust interior, captivating secrets and music from a jukebox.
Exploring can be on foot, bike, golf cart or hire car. Expect to drive under canopies of oak trees draped with Spanish moss like tassled old beards. Fort Clinch State Park is laced with hiking and biking trails around a well-preserved Civil War era fort and three miles of shoreline popular for beach combing in search of shark’s teeth. From the harbour there are regular cruise tours, some 2.5 hours delivering narratives of the rich history of the island and its status as the shrimping capital of the USA. Best to take notes as the historians jam-pack the voyage with fascinating facts while passing views of the wild horses of Cumberland Island and the ruins of the Carnegie family’s Dungeness Mansion.
Also, on the island is American Beach, the state’s first African American Beach community. In the early 1930s AL Lewis, president of the Afro American Insurance Company bought 200 acres of beachfront so his employees could enjoy the shore during days of segregation which they enjoyed for 40 years as a holiday destination. It is also where Florida’s tallest sand dune sits. The dune system, called NANA, is a protected landmark due to the efforts of MaVynne Betsch known as the beach lady who once performed opera in London but returned in 1975. She used her resources and talents for the preservation of nature and the African-American community. The island’s history is brought to life at the Amelia Island Museum of History, and staged in events like the Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival in May and Dickens on Centre Christmas Market which transforms the town into a Victorian London.
Wrap-around porches and neighbourhood lawns become the stage for intimate live music bringing together the local community while embracing new faces. Stay there long enough you would soon become a local. I listened to the Deputy County Commissioner playing a guitar in the garden of Ash Street Cigar Parlor, the next day, he was the lead of the band, The Honey Badgers in another venue.
Accommodation is very much locally styled. The two large resorts include the Omni Amelia Island Resort & Spa where golf is firmly part of its personality and the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island, one of the most popular beach destinations located on a stretch of the island’s 13 miles of coastline. The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island is a luxury resort with 446 guest rooms over eight floors, seven dining venues and a heavenly spa spreading relaxation over 27,500 sq.ft which incorporates a wet and dry lounge, a meditation chair (highly recommended) and an airy fitness centre. The resort shines a spotlight on its eco-system with a focus on its protected sand dune backdrop. Three boardwalks lead over the dunes, where sea turtles find safety in nesting and where the sun rises in radiant hues. This is also home for Gopher tortoises. I spotted one enjoying the limelight on the lawn. According to Nick, a resort naturalist with an encyclopaedic knowledge of local wildlife claims to speak the language of dolphins. He studies dolphin behaviour and includes guests in his field research. The tortoise, he informs me, is called “Culinary” named for his regular appearance at outdoor events especially at weddings, a sort of celebrity, who enchants flower girls.
The Addison Amelia Island is a charming bed and breakfast featuring 14 guest rooms designed to reflect an elegance of a bygone era blended with the modern amenities and a homely feel. Breakfasts are formal and served by the owners in the dining room with Sandy, the friendly dog never far away. The aroma of freshly baked muffins provides the taster to the freshly prepared entrée course. And guests are invited for complimentary wine or beer for a very popular happy hour in the front parlor or together on the outside veranda.
The culinary scene here punches above its weight with a landscape of fine dining restaurants serving a variety of flavourful dish creations in the form of Lamb lollipops, lump crab cakes, fresh wild-caught fried shrimp and even crispy brussels sprouts. Michael McCarroll, chef-owner of Kitchen 251 serves a menu that includes a soup flight, bison burger and BYO fish where they will clean the fish then fry, blacken or grill accordingly. Brian Grimley originating in Swindon, UK, serves a Louisiana French Creole menu in his restaurant, Lagniappe.
It’s hard to believe I’m in Florida as I sit on the swing chair, looking out to the dunes and the sea beyond, calm and quiet, a place with no high-rise buildings, no neon lights, just quiet roads and a right of way for tortoises crossing. With its tortoises, tides and tall oaks, Amelia Island embraces slow tourism blending Southern charm with community spirit and natural coastal beauty. It is no wonder legal thriller writer John Grisham has chosen to make it his home.
Come take a seat on the porch – www.AmeliaIsland.com
