We were coming back from Juniper Springs on highway 19 when we saw a sign that said ‘Ferry’ as we were heading into Salt Springs.  This whole area is rather sparse and we couldn’t believe that there was a ferry to cross the St. Johns River.

We stopped in at the Salt Springs Welcome Center and asked about the Ferry.  They said it was still operating and that we should take the next road with the Ferry sign and go for about 7 miles and when it dead ended, just flash our lights.  They also said the road was a little rough.

Being reasonably adventurous, we decided to try it out.  We made the turn as instructed and headed down the road.

After just a little bit, it turned into a dirt road and continued on through the woods.  About 5 miles in were wondering if we made a wrong turn.  I felt like I was in the back woods and we hadn’t seen anything for the last 5 miles.  We decided to continue on and finally we came to a dock on the river.  There was nothing around and couldn’t see anything across the river, but we did as instructed and flashed our lights and waited.  About that time, the blind mosquitos had found us and we retreated to the car.  Nothing seemed to be happening so we flashed our lights again.  After about 5 minutes we saw a little spot on the river moving toward us.  As it got closer, we saw a little tugboat with a flat barge and now we were wondering if we had made a mistake.  It was too late to back our now so we waited for the boat to dock.  Once it docked and we drove on to the barge, we found some interesting things.

This ferry was started in 1863 to move the federal troops across the river from Fort Gates during the Seminole wars.  The confederacy also used the Ferry to move troops across the river.  The tugboat and ferry are over 100 years old and the ferryman, Don Yale, has been doing this for the last 16 years.

Once you got over the concern of being on a 2 car ferry, it turned out to be a really great 1/2 hour trip for only $10.00.  When you reach the other side, you are about 1 mile from county road 309 just south of Welaka.  It turn out to be an amazing trip and we learned some more about the history of Florida.  All in all, a rather good day.

This is the video of our trip to Singletons Seafood Shack. The video gives you a better look at one of the best kept secrets in Jacksonville. See the video at MandT.tv by clicking on this link: Go To MandT.tv

Let them know you saw this on Mermaids and Tales when you go out to see them.

We were watching ‘Diners, Drive-ins and Dives’ on the food channel one night (the food channel is becoming addictive) and they were doing the show from a seafood place in Mayport. We decided to watch the show and see name of the restaurant.  They were at Singleton’s Seafood Shack right before the ferry and they just raved about the food.

Plus, the place looked neat.  So we decided that Singletons would be our next ‘destinations’ trip.  Leaving early (it is an hours drive to Mayport), we set out driving up A1A on our road trip (would have been more fun by boat, but conditions didn’t favor it).  We enjoy Mayport and will just take a trip and ride the Ferry across the St. Johns River. In all the time that we have been doing this, we never notice Singletons. Part of the reason is because it is a Shack, a big shack but still a shack..in an old fishing village…at the mouth of the St. Johns. Being already prepared for what it would look like, we went in and we felt like we were home.  It has been in business for 67 years which explains some of the down home feeling.  We ordered mahi-mahi and just enjoyed the view.  The food came quickly and the taste…wow.This was probably the freshest fish I have had in a long time.  I would swear it was caught the day before (it is a fishing village), so we settled down and ate a meal that made the trip worth while.  As I was asking for permission to film and do the story, John (manager and bartender) said ‘don’t miss the model boat museum’.  So we went to the other end of the restaurant and went into the museum. What we saw just made our jaws drop. Even if you didn’t like the food, it would have been worth the trip just coming to the museum. Every where you looked are beautiful handmade wood model shrimp/fish boats along some antique outboards, a weird mummified fish and just enough stuff to keep you in there for awhile. Its a great place to hang out while you get your food. As you can tell from the picture, people are too busy eating the food to even talk. I highly recommend the trip to Mayport and Singletons. Just take A1A north until it deadends into the river. You can go by boat and it is the docks just before the ferry terminal. The video will be available Sunday. Bon Appetite.

Every year a major boating event happens in south Florida and it is called the ‘Dania Flea Market’. This is the largest boating flea market in the country. No matter what you are looking for, you can find it here. I went with Sorry Dog to this one because I wanted to see it and he was looking for some old boat parts. He found the boat parts and ended up getting a number of other items. If you are around for the next one, it is worth the trip. I found it totally amazing and alot of fun. The following pictures will show you about 1/20th of the entire market.

This is a must for any boater.

For those of you who have been living in the Jacksonville area may remember a fish camp and restaurant called Oscars. It was a great place to have lunch and watch the boats on the intracoastal and the airplanes at St. Augustine. It burned down many years ago and only the fish camp remained.

 

 

The cat was the boss at the fish camp and it still is.

 

 

 

 

 

The Restaurant has been completely rebuilt and is now called Aunt Kates.  They kept some of the good features of Oscars such as great food at inexpensive prices and fantastic views and wrapped all of that in a very friendly building and deck.

 

 

 

 

 

Entering the restaurant, you will see the bar area to the right.

 

 

 

 

You can sit inside or outside on the deck. On the weekends, they have entertainment and he was so good, I actually gave him a tip.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The back Deck is the place to be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
By leaving the trees, they kept a nice feature that was also part of Oscars.

 

 

 

 

 

With the fish camp right there, you can get to Aunt Kates by either boat or car.

 

 

 

 

 

 
The best part of Aunt Kates is having dinner, a drink and a great sunset. Kind of a triple threat.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
End the day with a little romance and you can’t ask for a better place to enjoy the Florida Lifestyle.