Today was a day to relax and Fort Clinch State Park is the right place for that particular activity. I did another dawn patrol on the shark tooth hunt but a number of claim jumpers and poachers had already beaten me to it. The sand was lined with the footprints of even earlier birds who had gotten up to win the prize teeth along the wrack lines of shells and jetsam on the beach. I did manage to collect a beautiful sunrise and a nice cool dip in the rivers waters, something those scallawags couldn’t get to first. Actually, I did find a few really nice teeth that the eager beavers had overlooked. Slowly ambling along the water’s edge is a wonderful way to begin a morning and sets the mood for the rest of the day.

Sunrises for us early birds!

We put in a few serious hours sitting in the shade behind the RV watching the cardinals, jays and birds I’m not familiar with playing in the oaks. We spent some time researching and plotting the rest of our route to New England. We booked ourselves through, something we don’t usually do but since Memorial Day arrives this weekend, the nicer places to stay might start filling up and we wouldn’t want to end up in some parking lot RV park on the I-95. State and County Parks are our go to for natural habitats and more open spaces.

In the heat of the day, we ventured out for another walk down the beach. I went first then PJ came along after an afternoon nap. We scouted for teeth and waded in the brackish water. The fishermen today were having a bit of luck hauling in a couple of flounders to filet up for dinner. PJ found the mother of all shark teeth, well at least the biggest one that either of us has found. It was like finding gold in them thar hills!

PJ’s Treasures

We claimed our spot on our sunset watching bench and took delight in yet another Amelia River sunset. Again, dolphins, sharks and turtles joined us for the show. The silent glide of the shark fin cutting the water in a straight line speaks to the fact that it was all business. One jumped out of the water in the chase. The turtle would pop up quickly, spot us and dive back down. The dolphins were a ways off out near the buoys working a single area for a while where the fish must be plentiful. A beautiful end to our last full day at Fort Clinch.