Anastasia Island is a barrier island, located off the northeast Atlantic Coast of Florida. It is east of St. Augustine, Florida, running north-south, in a slightly southeast direction to Matanzas Inlet. The "sand fort" shown in the photo, could be a reference to an actual coquina fort that is in the city of St. Augustine, just across the inlet, called Castillo de San Marcos. The quary used to build the fortress was mined on Anastasia Island, and so the old Spanish Quarry Site on the island, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places!
Since the island is 14 miles long (and about one mile wide), there is plenty of room to spread out.
Seeing this man looking for treasure with a metal detector, may account for why one of the communities on Anastasia Island is called "Treasure Beach". The other communities are St. Augustine Beach, Coquina Gables, Butler Beach, and Crescent Beach.
The contingent of five birds, flying in formation, is a common sight to see, as Anastasia Island is located on the Atlantic Flyway for Migratory Birds. Anastasia State Park is also a stop along the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail. The state park also contains hiking trails, camp sites, restrooms, and paddlesport rentals. One may call 904-461-2033 for the most up to date information on this premier Florida State Park.
This photo shows the St. John's County Ocean Pier on Anastasia Island. The orange sphere in the middle of the photo is actually the sun, but it provides an opportunity to tell the reader that a different kind of "orange sphere" played a significant part in the history of Anastasia Island. That is because the island was part of a 10,000 acre land grant from the Spanish crown to Jessie Fish, who established a plantation "El Vergel", which means "The Orchard". Mr. Fish planted orange groves on the property, which produced fruit known as far away as London, for its juiciness and sweetness. His production increased annually until 1776, when he shipped a total of 65,000 oranges from Florida. I was amazed to learn that Florida's fame for growing oranges went so far back!
There is a small fee to walk out onto the pier, and it is a popular gathering place for both locals and tourists. Once you have paid the fee, you have access to a covered pavilion, showers, restrooms, fishing, and sightseeing.
One can walk under the pier for no fee, and it is a serene spot to sit and meditate in the morning, with a cup of coffee, as you watch the sunrise. I am using this photo of a lady I saw "being watchful" as the visual aid for one of my First Place 4 Health ( www.FirstPlace4Health.com ) memory verses that says, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." Colossians 4:2 You may be sure, I was also praying, and giving thanks to God, for the opportunity to be enjoying this beautiful location!
I was also thankful that I was able to be enjoying this trip to Florida, with my hiking friend, Diane, shown here as we give the "V" for victory salute, on our beach hike.
This photo shows Diane and I with a new friend from Chicago that we met, during our week of participation in a Road Scholar program ( www.RoadScholar.org ) in St. Augustine. As you can see from the expanse of beach behind us, this is a great area for not only walking on the beach, but also running, beachcombing, and shelling. I am holding a green plastic bag full of shells. I like to collect the empty shells that have a small hole in them, so I can hang them on my "souvenir fish net" at home, after I have written the date and location where I found it, on the shell.
The beach is also used early in the morning for yoga. This orange cone was the marker that the yoga leader used to tell her class where they were supposed to gather, in order to "salute the sun" that morning!
This photo shows the beach side of the hotel where our Road Scholar group spent the week. It was a treat to be able to have beach access right outside our door.
Just as many ancient structures were designed to have special designs that would allow a beam of sunshine to go through a specific opening during the equinox, so the pier at Anastasia Island points east, so that one can position themselves at sunrise, to catch it beaming down the row of columns supporting the pier.
This visit to Anastasia Island provided me "MILES OF SMILES", strolling another beautiful beach, in God's Great Outdoors!
Anastasia Island is a barrier island, located off the northeast Atlantic Coast of Florida. It is east of St. Augustine, Florida, running north-south, in a slightly southeast direction to Matanzas Inlet. The "sand fort" shown in the photo, could be a reference to an actual coquina fort that is in the city of St. Augustine, just across the inlet, called Castillo de San Marcos. The quary used to build the fortress was mined on Anastasia Island, and so the old Spanish Quarry Site on the island, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places!
