We arrived after sunset; awoke to rain; and by lunchtime we were drenched in sunshine.
Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park includes 1.5 miles of undeveloped sandy beach and hundreds of acres of woodland acquired by the City of Jacksonville, Florida in the 1960s and ‘70s. According to Wikipedia, part of Hanna Park used to be known as Manhattan Beach for the first four decades of the 20th century, Florida’s first beach community for African Americans working on the Florida East Coast Railway. At its height this Manhattan Beach included amenities such as picnic pavilions, cottages, and an amusement park. See also the history of Manhattan Beach in California – interesting parallels to Bruce’s Beach can be traced.
Today, with 300 campsites for RVs and tents, there is not much space between each site, but the jungle vegetation provides a screen of privacy and the design of the campground includes twists and turns which cleverly provide a unique layout at each spot.
Exploring enchanted hiking trails through the jungle, we met a small group of children attending their outdoor school. Joe remarked that Sarah would make a great pandemic teacher for small children as she also sings her way down pathways and finds joy in the natural arrangement of leaves and twigs and sunshine! We noted that the bike trails are designated one-way by the day of the week, reducing head-on accidents in the woods, presumably. It did not take long for us to hike out to another huge, empty, beautiful beach.
GEOQUIZ: What is the term for a forest that grows as an ecological island in contrast to surrounding wetlands?
Where in the world are the Gills? 