“Look farmor”! For those uninitiated in Swedish language the latter stands for grandma. “There’s a big bird, take a picture”! That was my fellow photographer, aged 5, pointing at the foggy skies. As you can see, I followed her advice. A Brown Pelican was indeed flying in the mist over the ocean scanning for fish. Unfortunately it was not successful, but who would’ve been? The fog effectively merged the sky and the white hats on the ocean.
Despite the fog and the wind, our trip to Little Talbot Island, one of the few undeveloped barrier islands in North Florida, was one of discovery. We had a wonderful, energetic “guide”, aged less than 2, who picked up some of the small treasures in the sand for closer examination.
And pointed out a few big ones. Like this mysterious palm trunk that had spent a considerable time traveling in the ocean. It had to be investigated.
We also spotted a lone soul on the ocean braving the wind and the rough seas. And a gull keeping an eye on him.
On a sunny day, this beautiful beach would probably have been very busy, but we had it all for ourselves. Apart from a couple of Western Sandpipers.
Walking back from the beach with a bag full of treasures, the Leap Pad photographer took pictures of the boardwalk and the sand dunes. She already has a well developed eye for discovering interesting items to shoot in the nature.
But the excitement was not over yet. Our journey continued to Amelia Island. Despite the dense fog we could enjoy some beautiful views from the car windows.
Once on Amelia Island, we drove along the Canopy Road leading to Fort Clinch State Park.
Our adventure would continue at this historic fort, built in 1847. It served as a military post during the Civil War, Spanish-American War and World War II.
The fort stands on a hill facing open waters. Already the draw bridge and the outer walls were impressive.
And the buildings inside the fort were surrounded by big cannons. Quite a few out of the originally 77 big guns still remained in place.
We climbed up to the watch tower ruins through some very narrow, winding iron stairs. Those days they didn’t bother about railings, and it was more like climbing up inside a chimney, but up we came. On a clear day the view would’ve been fantastic, but now we could hardly distinguish the water from the sky.
To our delight, we could also tour many of the buildings. We found sleeping quarters, dining halls, captains quarters, and a prison. All of which had to be documented by the two photographers. By this time, our guide was out of energy and had to replenish it by taking a short nap.
When we had climbed enough and examined everything, a Union soldier entertained us by playing jolly old melodies on his flute.
From the fort, our adventure continued to the historic district of Amelia Island. A fun and “artsy” place. Art works were displayed inside and outside the galleries, Christmas decorated shop windows and streets dotted with pirates and birds that didn’t fly away from the photographers. Cool shops where our young photographer and the little guide, now reinvigorated, could try their hand on all kinds of modern inventions. Entertaining indeed.
By the time our shopping was done it was getting dark. Our troops were ready for dinner at the seaside. Tired, but happy like the shrimp greeting us outside the restaurant.
That was a foggy good adventure! Thank you for tagging along.
TINY LESSONS BLOG 
You should post some pictures by that young photographer!
I hope to do that at some point. She’s very interested in photography so I’m thinking to get her a real small camera with better pixels than her Leap Pad.
What a beautiful outing with your granddaughter, Tiny, such precious times! My eldest grandson is coming to stay with us this weekend on his own, this will be his first time away from his family. You had quite an adventure, and yes, maybe you could post some of your young explorer’s pics farmor:-) Thanks for sharing such interesting and beautiful islands in Florida.
Both these girls enjoyed the adventure with parent and farmor! The 5 y.o. is very interested in nature, she sees every flower and every bird, and is now into photography. That makes farmor happy 🙂 The weather could have been better, but since it didn’t rain until during dinner time, we had a great day.
How sweet, the 5 year old will be the one you pass on your heritage to, that is awonderful thing about being a grandparent, sharing with them:-)
I forgot to say ‘a young birder in the making!’
Looks like a fund day was had by all! Love the spooky shots and that shrimp head!! xo
It was great fun, Val. The dense fog made it just a tad mysterious and spooky 🙂 The shrimp was a great predictor for really good food! XO
Thank you for taking me back to Amelia Island. We spent a few days there visiting friends and were thrilled with Amelia and neighboring places. You showed some inviting pictures of places we did not get to. Must plan a return visit soon!
You’re welcome. The weather could have been better, but at least it didn’t rain, so we could enjoy the outdoors the whole day. There’s so much to see!!
What a lovely adventure with your young granddaughter. Amelia Island looks like a really fun place and the old fort must have been so fascinating to explore.It’s always wonderful to see things through a child’s eyes, and it seems that your little companion enjoyed everything she saw. 🙂
My fellow photographer had a blast, even at the fort, so much exciting stuff to explore. She made me climb up to the tower 🙂 The second one, the little “guide”, had her high point on the beach where she could run around and dig in the sand. She was “done” by the time we went to the fort and took a nap 🙂 It’s a great place to visit, gorgeous in the spring!
I am sure you will pass on your wonderful gift of photography and story telling Tiny! Looks like a great day together amidst the fog and weather. 🙂
It was a wonderful day for the troops of three generations. Such an adventure for the girls even in foggy weather 🙂
What a gorgeous shrimp to finish your wonderful adventure with! 😉
That shrimp was a predictor for excellent cuisine in the restaurant! Everything was absolutely delicious. A great ending to our three generations’ adventure day 🙂
Amelia Island is one of my favorite places! And I loved visiting that fort some years ago. Your photos are marvelous!
Thank you! I’m sure we will repeat the trip in the spring/summer. There is so much to see for all age groups. Including the young like me 🙂
Sounds like a most excellent adventure and how fun to explore it with a young person!
We had two in the youngest age group, and both of them enjoyed the adventures. The little one took a short nap in the afternoon and was soon ready to run again 🙂
What wonderful photos of a place I have heard a lot about but never been. I want to visit Cumberland Island and Amelia looks fabulous.
It is a wonderful place to explore. So much to see, and very beautiful everywhere you go, but the weather was in its foggy mood. We were happy it didn’t rain until we sat down for dinner.
Always great to see a place in the mist, as the softness melds and the shapes dominate. Thanks for sharing
Happy you enjoyed the misty island adventure!
Lucky children to have you to take them out and about. I loved that shrimp too.
This was a great three generational trip. So much to explore that I hope we can go there again with a bit better weather. That shrimp advertised excellent cuisine 🙂
Goes right to the heart, Tiny! >3
It was a heart-warming adventure for all three generations 🙂 Thank you Dina.
How much fun!!! You did very well considering the apparent energy of your guide!! 😉 I love Amelia Island…I have some fond memories there through the years. Thanks, Tiny…many blessings to you ♡♡
Yes, it was fun! And I hope your little guide will take us there again in better weather. I’m up to the challenge 😉 Many blessings to you too, Lorrie ❤
About three years ago our son and daughter-in-law, who live in Georgia near the Florida border, took us to Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island. My husband is fond of turtles and they couldn’t wait to show him the turtles living in the dunes between the parking lot and the beach. We stayed on the boardwalk for the longest time watching them go about their business. It was a wonderful treat! Now, after reading your post, I can see there is a lot more we can see and do on Amelia Island!
Yes, there is so much to do! We only scratched the surface in one day. We didn’t go to Fernandina beach as we had already explored the Little Talbot Island beach on our way there. Next time it’ll be the turtles 🙂
What fun!
It was! I hope we can do it again with better weather. There’s so much to see.
Such a fun family adventure, even the fog (which looked lovely)
It was a great adventure and seeing the joy of discovery by the young ones was fascinating.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful adventures! So enjoy these beautiful photos. 🙂
Thanks for coming along Amy! I was hoping for a bit more colorful photos, but sometimes the fog also feels a bit mysterious 🙂
Very interesting photos Tiny. You’re a terrific Farmor! Blessed you be! 🙂
Thank you H.J., for the vote of confidence 😀
Great pictures, make me feel I was there myself. Thanks for sharing.
Happy you came along to Amelia Island, Cecilia.
Love Amelia Island. Love these shots. A walk down memory lane. Thank you Helen.
That’s a beautiful place to walk down memory lane, David. These were my first memories from there, but I hope for more. And will order sunshine for that day.
Looks like a grand outing, thanks for sharing.
It was nice despite the weather, thanks for coming along Maverick.
Enjoyed the tour.
Great to hear that, Carl!
Thanks for taking us along on your adventure, Tiny, it looks like a good time was had by all. Sometimes those adventures, when you’re surrounded by fog and not a lot of tourists, turn out to be the best.
Yes, it was lots of fun, and due to the fog many people were not out and about, so we had lots of space to run around 🙂 Thanks for your visit and kind comment, Jet.
Great pictures-It looks like an awesome day with family .
Love the day trip, so many wonderful photos! I enjoy going to old forts, and coastal shopping & eating! Love seeing another budding young photographer, I bought my grandson for his 4th birthday a small Nikon Coolpix refurbished zoom lens camera thru Amazon for $79, figured if it got broke, oh well. It was the best $79 I ever spent! He’s 4 3/4’s now and I am blown-away with his talent & interest already! When we get together, we take pictures together, even if it’s just a walk around the yard. And, of course, he loves taking duck photos. 🙂
Wonderful to have places like this which offer something for every age.