After our whirlwind tour yesterday, we were a bit pokey heading out this morning. Looks like we might need a taste from the Fountain of Youth waters none too soon! Anastasia State Park has a beautiful campground and we'd love to come back to spend a little more time. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the beach. We did however have time for a tour at the Whetstone Chocolate factory. Priorities, priorities. We've done lots of other chocolate tours on our travels, but this one was my favorite. We had a very engaging tour guide named Chauncey, who is also a local pastor. He was quite knowledgeable on chocolate and what I especially liked was the detailed history he provided. There were quite a few visual aids and lots of chocolate sampling too. Ned, Mr. Chocolatier, wasn't quite as easily bribed by chocolate as I was, but he thought it was a pretty good tour as well. Turns out they don't roast their own cocoa beans, the mark of a true chocolate maker. Nonetheless, they had some pretty darn good samples! Next on the agenda was riding our bikes thru town and visiting the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest fort in the US. The highlight for us here was seeing the beautiful ornately decorated bronze cannons some of them still in working condition. After a little more bike riding we finally made it to The Fountain of Youth Park, a mere 4700 miles to drink the magic elixir!! (crowd roar). We spent several hours roaming around seeing the Indian Diorama displays, the 1950's state of the art audio visual presentation complete with a 32 ft. diameter glowing globe of the earth, and strutting peacocks. After toasting to our youth with the magical waters, I can honestly say we found the secret to staying young...it's going on road trips and stopping at goofy roadside attractions. It definitely helps to have a sense of humor and appreciate the quirkiness of local folklore. In the late afternoon, we sadly bid adieu to Florida and crossed into Georgia, turning Winnie oh so slightly toward the West. We will never forget Florida, but for now we have Georgia on our mind.today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Gordonia Alatamaha State Park
