![]() Because its descent barely exceeds an inch a mile, sometimes the river flows backward, seasonally filling Lake George a hundred miles upstream with shrimp sought by netters from everywhere. Its 310 north-flowing miles reach from shallowest marsh west of Vero Beach to the Atlantic east of Jacksonville. Though the river has its issues, the way to its embrace is playfully. On other nearby islands, you can step from a kayak onto isles of whitest sand and walk to the ends of old bridges, now fishing pier, or horses for hire will carry you beside the sea. Low causeways cross creeks once poled across by islanders. In Little Talbot Island State Park, on the north end, driftwood pruned by wind and salt lay about like elk antlers left hopelessly entangled after battle. Johns on the car ferry named for Jean Ribault, leader of the French expedition. History abides, too, in ways of getting around. On Fort George Island, the restored Kingsley Plantation is the oldest still standing plantation home. Augustine, where Jacques Le Moyne's drawings leave us first impressions of Native Americans. They call the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve "Jacksonville's Central Park." Its 46,000 acres of creeks, rivers, marsh, wetlands and islands exceed New York's great park by more than five times.Īlmost a half-millennium of history abides here in re-constructed Fort Caroline, a settlement attempted two years before St. Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve The entire area is one of the most scenic places in Florida to visit. At the western end of Santa Rosa Island, Fort Pickens, one of three forts that once guarded Pensacola Bay, forms an outdoors museum. Coreopsis and goldenrod yellow the roadsides.Įast of Gulf Breeze, remnant live oaks in a section once used for shaping the hulls of early American sailing ships stand preserved, known as the Naval Live Oaks Reservation Area. Waves crash, their wake pecked by sandpipers. They were 30 feet off shore, then 20, whipping their tails, chopping away, rising up supremely!īeneath the sun the sea becomes a sequined image. One spring, I stared at the sea when a pod of dolphins suddenly barraged into a school of food fish. On such long beaches, we experience the joy of walking just to lose ourselves. Families enjoy some last swims before winter. Children mimic the monarchs' caprice, jumping with winged animation. The air flaunts orange and black tattoos against white sand and emerald waters. We don't want newcomers trampling the golden egg.In fall, the migration of monarch butterflies from Mexico pauses along the Gulf Islands National Seashore near Pensacola. It does remind us, though, that we don't want the demand for land and houses to overpower our reasoning, and our plans for holding growth to sustainable levels. That doesn't mean we should stop the celebration. Even in this boom season, it's hard to believe another bust isn't lurking just around the corner. Granted, over the years, Florida has seen a number of real estate booms and busts. Many longtime homeowners also are cashing in, either by selling, refinancing or taking out loans on what is now a considerable buildup of equity. Two examples: A home in the Rock Creek Park subdivision, purchased in May 2001 for $44,500, is on the market for $105,000 a home in the Prospect Park subdivision, bought in March for $68,000, is going for $99,000. And things haven't cooled off much, even with the slight rise in interest rates. For a while, in north Englewood, potential buyers bid against each other at levels above the asking price. Some houses in good, but not prime, locations have several offers the day they go on the market. And guess what? There's only so much of that land, too. People have figured if they can't get on the water, they'll get close to it. While most of the media's attention has focused on the high-end waterfront property, the cost of so-called "starter homes" and "investment properties," the type suitable for rentals, have risen with the tide. Over the past two years, the real estate market in Englewood, Port Charlotte, and Punta Gorda has been in a frenzy. People want to move here, and there's only so much land, particularly on or near the water, for them to buy. The increase reflects impact fees, more stringent codes, and a rise in the cost of wood and construction, but supply and demand has also played a major role. The same home nowadays would go for three to four times that much. In 1987, my wife and I were astounded to discover we could build a 1,600-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home with cedar beams and many other extras in Englewood East for about $55,000. ![]()
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