Caladesi Island

After two weeks in Florida, our team finally had the time and good weather to relax and head to the beach! In Jacksonville, the Coffey family went to Fernandina Beach for some sun and sand. Even though the weather wasn’t completely beach perfect, the kids still had a crazy time playing in the water, getting completely soaked in the process. The team members headed over to St. Augustine, one of the oldest towns in the US, to see some history and the ocean. We went to the lighthouse, the beach, and into the town to explore before heading back to West Meadows for the Cola War.

This past week (when we were close to Tampa, Florida), we had the entire day off. After some sleeping in and relaxing, we all headed to the causeway to rent kayaks and paddle across the channel to Caladesi Island. Stephanie and the kids went with Pastor Gotcher and his wife on their pontoon boat, which turned out to be helpful for us! After paddling to the island against the wind, we rounded the corner of the island and found ourselves heading full blown into the current. After just going a couple of hundred feet, we were all exhausted. Thankfully, Aaron called Pastor and asked if he could bring his pontoon boat over to where our kayaks were. We rigged ourselves together with a rope and attached to the pontoon boat. We were thankful that Pastor could pull us about a mile into Caladesi Island to a boat dock. 

On the island we had some subs and played at the beach, collecting shells and sponges all over! The beach is one of the America’s best all natural beaches and was almost deserted apart from us. What a fun day!