Jacksonville Beach - Fun in the Sun

Jacksonville, FL is the largest city in FL in area

with a population of approximately 1,300,000.

It is called the River City by many because we have the Intracoastal Waterway which is 3000 miles long and runs most of the length of the east coast of the U.S.

We also have the St. John's River which is significant for commercial and recreational use. Needless to say with all this water, many people own boats from the small dingy, to gorgeous sail boats and there are some yachts as well.

We are known as a military town also. We have the Mayport Naval Air Station that is home to 55 tenant commands and houses cruisers, destroyers and guided-missile frigates; plus we are hoping to get a nuclear carrier in the coming years. We have NAS, which is a Naval Air Station and there are many, many military retirees living in Jacksonville.

I wanted to give you a quick overview of the city but the beaches are what I want to show you today.

You will also find miles of white sandy beach usually with a crowd of people. There are small residential cities along the ocean that offer numerous types of small businesses, oceanfront hotels and great dining, along with many fast food establishments.

Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and Jacksonville Beach are the 3 small towns starting east of the Intracoastal Waterway and continue to the Atlantic Ocean. Jacksonville Beach is really the main beach resort area and a nice place for a beach vacation.

There are numerous activities at the beach all the time.

In November, there is also the Right Whale Festival which celebrates the annual return to the whale’s only calving area in the Southeast U.S. There are only 350 whales remaining so there is much local effort to lessen the human impact on the right whales.

Spring and summer are festival and concert seasons in this city by the sea. Fans of the blues, jazz, classical music, and movies are just a few of the many who are drawn to the nearly weekly events in Jacksonville Beach offering family entertainment.

There are races for things like cancer awareness and other worthy charities, volleyball tournaments and there is a Buddy walk for the Down Syndromes Association.

Of course, being on the ocean there is a surfing contest in November while the waves are high.

Some other things to do are golfing at an eighteen-hole municipal golf course, attend craft shows, and attend the opening beach parade, which had been happening for the past 60 years, is in the spring in April.

I certainly can't leave out the fact that if you head down the road south a couple of miles into Ponte Vedra, you will find the TPC Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort and Spa, with the golf course considered to be in the top ten in the world.  It is certainly beautiful.

People who live at the beach tend to be laid back and friendly. When you arrive at the beach later in the day it will be crowded with families and young people. If the waves are up you will see some surfers, usually around the pier. There is plenty of parking also.

The City of Jacksonville Beach will notify people of emergency evacuation plans through the First Call Emergency Notification system. We are all aware that hurricanes are a possibility when you live on the ocean, and they have a very good notification system in Jacksonville.

The copyright to this article is owned by Pamela Oglesby. Permission to republish this article in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.