A Visit to Jacksonville Landing on the St. Johns River, Jacksonville, FL
The Jacksonville waterfront is 13 miles off the AICW on the St. Johns River and Jacksonville Landing is a downtown shopping mall/food court with a stage area for special events and concerts. The city marina Wade mentions is the Metropolitan Park Marina located northwest of St. Johns River flashing red marker #82.
This morning the tides/current were in our favor, so Shady Lady cruised about 19 miles up the St. Johns River to Jacksonville, stopping at the “free” dock downtown at Jacksonville Landing. As we approached we smelled coffee, then saw the Maxwell House factory near the river. “Free,” I say? Well, we walked around for a good part of the day, and at
5pm the monthly art festival and fashion show began. Many establishments feature the work of local artists, and some offer wine and snacks as well. The fashion show was kind of tacky, but the art displays got better after the 3rd glass of wine. Unfortunately for me we then went into a jewelry store to look at the art displayed there. Susie saw a necklace she “loved,” and the “free” dock suddenly became kind of pricey. One of our walks today took us down to the football stadium, where there is a city-run marina. If you have bikes on board, or like to walk, it’s a great deal! Free floating docks, free pump-out and free water. If you want electricity, there’s a kiosk that accepts your credit card and you purchase (for around $8 for 24 hours) electric power. The place was absolutely empty. Of course, there’s a charge if an event is going on.
Back to Jacksonville Landing. The sign says rafting up to 5 deep can be required. There are only 3 other boats tonight, though, with plenty of empty dock space. The potty/manatee police also came by; very friendly and informative, but he carried a bottle of blue dye to test your holding tank if he became suspicious.
The plan for tomorrow is to continue cruising up the river for a few hours, then turn back and dock for the night by the stadium.
Wade Ehlen aboard MT36 Shady Lady
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Metropolitan Park Marina
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