New Zion Missionary Baptist Church - Fernandina Beach, FLorida

New Zion Missionary Baptist Church is the second oldest African American Church on Amelia Island. The church was founded in 1870 by Rev. Lewis Cook and met in member's homes until a church was constructed in 1878. The the original wooden structure burned on February 11, 1907. Under the direction of Rev P.A. Callaham the current building was completed on the same spot by November of that same year. A mere six years later in 1913 the mortgage was burned. Pretty impressive!

On the naming of the church one of the members said, 

"call her New Zion and she will never grow old".

The corner stone was laid in 1907.

New Zion Missionary Baptist Church
10 South 10th Street
Fernandina Beach, Florida
Information on the history was found at New Zion Missionary Baptist Church website.

Walking Travels - Fernandina Beach, Florida

We don't have to travel far from home to find interesting places to walk. Just a short drive from Jacksonville and we're in Fernandina Beach a historic seaside town. 

Fernandina offers a lot of different places to walk. Of course there's the beach, the  historic downtown area, quaint neighborhoods, and the trails in Ft. Clinch State Park. You can even walk by the home used in the Pippi Longstocking movie.

One of our favorite places to walk is Egan's Creek Greenway. There you can enjoy 300 acres of undeveloped park that runs north and south along Egan's Creek. No motorized vehicle are allowed so it's a great place to walk and bike. You can even bring your dogs as long as they are leashed.

There's several entrances to the Greenway but we usually park at the Residence Inn on Sadler Road. The entrance to the Greenway is behind the hotel. The nice thing about parking here is they don't mind if you pop in to use the restroom. 

You'll see lots of wildlife as you walk the paths. Beware! Stay on the path. This is Florida and there will be alligators in just about every body of water you come across. 

Can you see the gator sitting on the other bank?
There were actually three
but this is as close as I dared get. 

When you don't have time to travel far check out places close to home for your walking travels.



 See all the posts in this series at 31 Days in October 2015

The Great Florida Birding Trail at Ft Clinch State Park

On the way home from Tallahassee I saw several signs for the Florida Birding Trail. Had they always been there and I just never noticed? A quick search on the Internet when we got home and I had all the info I needed. 

"The Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail (GFBWT) is a program of the Florida Fish and Wildlife conservation Commission. AT its core is a network of 515 sites throughout Florida selected for their excellent birdwatching, wildlife viewing or educational opportunities." From the  Great Florida Birding Trail website.

I just knew that one of these 515 sites would have to become our next walk. Since we are very close to Fernandina we decided to check out the trail at Ft. Clinch State Park. 

The trail begins at the parking lot for the fishing pier. A neat little kiosk provided plenty of information about Florida birds and the birding trail. 

It's a half mile walk from the parking lot to the end of the fishing pier. We were there pretty early so we decided to get walking before the noon day sun started bearing down. There were lots of people fishing from the pier. Even one guy who had a good size shark on his line. It made me glad I was walking on the pier and not swimming. You never know what might be swimming right by your ankles...Yikes!

Under the pier

On the pier

Above the pier

The walk on the fishing pier was pleasant. There was a nice cool breeze coming off the water. Several flocks of birds flew overhead while we were on the pier. I believe these are pelicans. OK I've lived in Florida my whole life with the exception of two long years in Texas. I'm ashamed to say I don't really know much about Florida birds...


 The rest of our walk wasn't quite as enjoyable. After a nice lunch in the picnic area by the fort we took the walking trail through the woods.  Not a breath of air was stirring. It was HOT! Even the birds and squirrels were smart and stayed quite in the shade. 

But that's summer in Florida...

For more information on the Great Florida Birding Trail check out their website.

The Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail

Lace up and learn something new about your area.