Kingsley Plantation, St. George's Island, FL 

       I wrote this complete blog out once already, but the other guy/site wouldn't let me post it. Then the next day I was informed that the blogs would no longer be so this journey has been rolling around my head ever since and just didn't find its home yet. Once I found out the the blog area was closed I went and copied all my other blogs and will be posting them here so if you read any and think gee I think I've read this already you just might have. I myself like to go places that I haven't gone before regardless of how many miles or hours it takes to get there. Since I self date myself most of the time I might as well go where i want to go and when I want to go. Somethings dating your self is better than actually dating another person cause ya don't have to put up with their shit. So, It was a nice enough day a great one to be out side and enjoy walking around the humidity was rather low for the south, however it was a cooler day with tempretures reaching to 55, light winds and bluest of skies with very few white puffy clouds. I wanted to be outside, go for a ride, gone most the day, but not that far of a ride for the chill factor. Yes, I have lived long enough in the south now that 55 in January is chilli, I admit full on that I am a weather pussy. My northren friends just laugh at me and what a difference a few years makes.
        I believe around 10:30 or so I left the house pulling the purple people eater out of the garage and heading out to A1A or better known here as South Fletcher Ave. I head south off the island with the beach to my left, between the houses, hotels, and condos I got the glimps of greenish blue Atlantic Ocean. The sun was well above the horizon now and the swells of the sea glittered and shined reflecting back a white blinding sparkling mas if one gazed to long at it. I could feel the chill in the air on my cheeks as I reached the gut blasting island speed of 25 LOL! Down past the Surf with very little traffic still. Folks were getting there Sunday tennis games on, they were already on the golf course playing the back nine and empting the Ritz's supply of Bloody Mary Mix. Once around the first round about or circle I am on the southern section of the island heading for Amelia Sound. It is here that the old oak trees covered in spanish moss form a canopy over the roadway. There is some very romantic about this stretch of A1A, its usually cooler here but the trees give that old south feeling. Wake up fast caouse the next 3 round abouts are right up ahead and well many seniors live in the area and almost anything can happen. Soon I will be at the sound bridge, once on the bridge I can speed up to 65, as this is a 45 mph now. Its a rather long bridge with Amelia island State park on the left. They let drive out there in 4x4 so ya can fish, swim, shrip sunbathe, and on the right side in and old bridge that folks all go and fish off of. Some of those folks have some set ups with umbrellias, coolers, 4x4 wagons packed with crap for the day.
          I crossed the Amelia Sound Bridge and easily made the night left sweeper as I speed up. Here keep a look out for folks towing their fishing boats. Once through the curve we are on the northern marsh area of Big Talbot island. There are a few channels where there is usually kaykakers but not today just fisherman. The road winds through Big Talbot to Little Talbot and I pass the State Park Campgrounds and come to the opening of the St. John's River. Here if the timing is right ya can see the carnaval ship out of Jacksonville going out, to see it go down the water way is just amazing, though she is the smallest cruise ships here in this settting she's huge. But not today, now there are only the navy ships sitting in port at Mayport. Their Masts tower above the sand dunes along Hecksure Drive. Here the smooth flow of the river meets the swells of ocean. Here sea birds are an annoying problem, ever get hit by a bird bomb while doing 60? Because of the meeting of channels the water is in great turbulence but there is always a rocking breeze here. There are allways wind surfers and parasufers here. They are pretty amazing to watch. The skies a blue, sands white, here the waters at times can be aqua blue then all the bright sails from the surfers. A true summer scene any time of the year.
       I go over a few more bridges pass a few fish camps and campgrounds some homes, and there on St. George's Island across from the St. John's River Ferry is the enterence to The Kingsley Plantation. Its a small paved road that have some rather quick sharp turns that wind along the inlet there, then it changes as the fork in the road is reached. I bare left and the paved road changes to gravel which chances to hard packed sand? dirt? clay? not sure really but it was whitish. Anyway this road is winding and has some amazing creeks, wildlife, and trees, like big cypress, and oak, cedar, and pine. I come upon of some ruins called Tabby ruins, its a house with seashell looking walls, but I continue further, I pass the National Park Service sign and cruise into the grounds, to get to the parking area ya have to pass by these white bulidings all in ruins. I did so, so I could park. From the parking area the kitchen, Big House and Work shed are seen along with a hotel or Inn that used to function there. The white of the buildings, green lush foliage and grey river really do make a lovely scene.
     I walked into the info center and learned that the Bigh House was built in 1765 or there abouts, this plantations was self suficent plantation and grew rice, sea cotton, small amount of cane sugar, kept few chickens, cow, grew veggies for Big House and was a major player in slave trading. Anna Kingsley or Mrs Kingsley was from the dominican republic and she herself a slave, she was a wife and property owner, business owner, slave trador and mother. For some reason I found that really very fasinating and conflicting at the same time. Anyway they let me gin some cotton and spin some thread that was neat. I walked from building to building and learned Tabby is a mixture of oyster shells, sand, and water. It was poured into molds to make bricks then the bricks were set into molds to make walls and such. Tabby flooring kept the kitchens and home warm in the winter and sweltering in the summer, all the building were of tabby construction except for the big house that was mixed materials. The kingsley used the task system where each slave was assigned a task when they finished they were done for the day. I also learnd that they would keep slaves in stockaides until there were enough to punish. Amazing how little we thought of others.
    The Work shop had the cane bowl in it and great fires were build to boil the sugar out of the cane then it was spread out to dry, hot work to say the least. An 1/4 of a mile away from the Big House was the slave quarters. There were 60 of them, all made of Tabby. The Kingsley's let their slaves keep their first African names and allowed parents to name their own children. Some traditions were kept as thing were burried under the doorways of the quarters. Its hard to imagine a happy life here but beyond the horrible conditions, and humiliation the people of Kingsley Plantation when on to have families any way. There are stories of parents come home from the fields to find children gone or parts of children as the aligators ate them, or dead as snake and spider bites killed them. Even facing those horors it is said that the Kingsleys from 112 different countries can be traced back to this plantation.
     I decied to go and stroll the sandy paths, was a little concerned as the shadows were growing long indeed but I head out towards the paths anyway. The paths were hard to walk in with riding boots on as they were mostly sugar sand in the begining but be came firm after they turned into the wooded areas. The path opened up to at one point looking down over the river which was at low tide and must have been a 10 drop to the sandy beach. I reached that beach by going down some stairs by an old oyster bed area/ canal area. This was the most beautiful part of the hike. There was quite and the noises of man were gone just the gentle lapping of the river along the shore line with the ocational bird call, a mild breeze that follow the current of the river, and slowly the sun was fading behind the trees high above. I made it back to the bike about 30 minutes before the park closed. This is a National Park however admissions is always free, so if your in the area come on down its a good stop for an hour or two. I was back home as the sun was setting leaving the sky orange and dark blue with streaks of white. It was a nice short trip and I got to learn a little about those that settled the area before I did. Have a great day "T"