Two contrasting experiences on Jacksonville’s beaches.
I’m in Jacksonville, that odd and often-forgotten coastal city… the largest land acreage in America with none of the pull of a major destination city. It covers such a wide area of land that your experience of it can vary widely based on which part you visit. Where I live, only fifteen minutes from the coast, the experience is beachy, retail-saturated, and luxurious. And everyone agrees… the main thing to do is go to the beach.
“I’m sick of the beach!” a visitor to my apartments claimed.
Even after my previous trip to Charleston, I definitely was not sick of the beach. In fact, I was looking forward to it because in Charleston I got distracted by the incredible downtown scene and rarely went to the beach.
First, I went to Jacksonville Beach. It’s a huge public beach lined with high rise condominiums. Parking is easy to find and the beach is easy to access from multiple points. There’s a broad swath of sand with pure white sand and hardly any shells. Every time I’ve been there, I see a diverse range of people, and always a group learning to surf in baby-sized beginner waves.
The next-closest beach to where I live is Ponte Vedra. I set my GPS for “Ponte Vedra Beach” and ended up in a subdivision. I turned around and headed toward the coast… but couldn’t find it. All I could find was the road that led along the beach lined with mansions that completely blocked the view of the beach. There was no public access, nowhere to park. And despite a lack of bike lanes, every cyclist in Florida was on the road going about twenty miles an hour. I got the feeling Ponte Vedra doesn’t really welcome visitors like Jacksonville Beach does.
I drove for about four miles along this road without ever once glimpsing the beach. Finally I gave up and searched the web for the exact location of public beaches near me. Mickler’s Landing was near me, a bit hidden in a little cove off the main road, but still public!
So, I spent a lovely morning getting sunburned while playing in the surf and sand. The water was cleaner and the shells more numerous. The sun was full on that morning and Ponte Vedra was a great place to be, even if it had taken an hour to find the beach. Some things are worth looking for.
~ The Dauntless Princess ~