Jacksonville, Florida. An unlikely vacation spot and a place that I wouldn’t have necessarily picked, or a place that I would have thought that I would be spending any real time in. But, low and behold, Easter Weekend comes a calling and Jacksonville Beach looks like the perfect place to slow down after a week of traveling.
Picture a white sand beach with sand so fine that it’s like a fine spun sugar. Even if you get a layer of sand on your legs, you don’t even feel it! But truly the best part about this beach is that it wasn’t that busy. I don’t think you could go to another Florida beach (Daytona, Miami, etc) during Easter Weekend/Spring Break and have as much space to yourself as at Jacksonville (Jax) Beach.
This beach trip reminded me of all of those beach family vacations that we went on when I was young. Let’s just say, I was an avid shell collector. I think I spent most of my beach vacations hunched over staring at the sand, picking through the seashell mounds scattered on the beach at Sanibel Island and hunting for petrified shark teeth on the black sand beaches of Hawaii. I’m pretty sure I even had a shell book as a reference guide on what I was looking for on the beach. Well, I wouldn’t say this was as full of treasures as those other beaches, but you can’t stop a shell collector from collecting! I walked up and down that beach in the morning, weaving in and out of the way of the tides. The only thing that distracted me from the shells were the sandpipers scurrying back and forth with the tides beside me. They fascinated me! I followed them around for a while and when I saw that they were actually digging up little butterfly shells and feasting as quick as they were, well, I was amazed that they knew where to dig to find their breakfast and could do it so quickly before the next wave came up.
On the hunt for seashells and stalking some sandpipers
All in all a great stay. Our beach base was the Hampton Inn, which was situated right at the beach so it was the perfect way to enjoy the beach and their beachfront tiki bar. It was only a quick walk down the beach to get to the main drag of restaurants. Once you hit the pier, you know you’re close!
JAX Beach Pier
Flock of Pelicans overhead
Sunset at Jax Beach
A great weekend getaway with a killer view of sunsets and sunrises. Now you know where to go if you find yourself near Jacksonville, FL.
Adventures On the Road 
