In a Clinch - Feb 12 - 13, 2015

Before this, all I knew about Amelia Island is that it’s where reporters like to flock when a hurricane is coming ashore. For me, the weather was great, I had a view of the ocean from my campsite, and there was an interesting but nearly deserted attraction nearby.

Amelia Island is at the extreme northeast corner of Florida. There is one road for access near the south end, and one more near the north end. I drove from south to north. Along the way, there are some attractive seaside communities. At the north end of the island is Fort Clinch State Park, where I stayed. I got a site in the northeast branch of the campground where every site is a very short walk from the beach:

You can also walk out on that long pier you see in the photo above:

My reservation was for two nights, and it was so peaceful that I would have been content to do nothing more than soak it in, but the fort for which the park is named is well preserved and open for touring:

 The entrance is on the south side of the fort:

 East wall of the parade ground:

 Northeast corner of the parade ground:

 Northwest corner of the parade ground:

 Southwest corner of the parade ground:

Behind the building at the right of the picture above is an alley separating it from other rooms built into the fort wall:

 There are long covered passages from the interior of the fort out to the wall:

 and numerous stairways to the top:

 At the top, there are - guess what! - cannon:

I like how the mounts for the cannon are marked in degrees to take the guesswork out of aiming:

The interior spaces of the fort are well furnished and equipped. The officers’ quarters:

 Enlisted quarters:

 Officers’ mess:

 Enlisted mess:

 Kitchen:

 Enlisted lounge:

 Quartermaster desk:

 Provisions:

 Uniforms:

 Laundry:

 Blacksmith shop:

 Powder room:

 No, not a bowling alley:

One of two latrines, officers and enlisted separate but identical:

In some ways, I enjoyed Fort Clinch more than I enjoyed the fort at St. Augustine; Fort Clinch is much more completely furnished and feels “lived in”.

You can see Cumberland Island, off the coast of Georgia, from Amelia Island, but getting there is not as easy as you might think. That’s the topic of my next post.