Jacksonville & the First Coast

"The fishing village next door. Shrimp boats, fresh catch."

Mayport Village has been a fishing village since the 1500s and still operates working shrimp boats. Safe Harbor buys directly from the fleet — the shrimp is so fresh it's different. Peel-and-eat shrimp, fried fish baskets, and a dock view. Get the shrimp.

"Jacksonville's best restaurant. Nationally recognized."

Chef Aaron Kosicki's Underbelly has put Jacksonville on the culinary map — creative, locally-sourced cuisine in the Brooklyn neighborhood. The menu rotates with what's available from Florida farms and waters. Reserve ahead.

"The neighborhood breakfast spot you'll go to every weekend."

The kind of casual, reliable beach-town breakfast spot that a shore assignment needs. Good eggs, good coffee, a patio for sunny mornings. The Atlantic Beach neighborhood is walkable, low-key, and exactly the opposite of Daytona or Miami.

"The oldest surviving plantation structure in Florida. The story is complicated."

On Fort George Island north of Mayport, the Kingsley Plantation preserves the story of Zephaniah Kingsley — a slave trader who married a formerly enslaved African woman, Anna Kingsley, who managed the plantation and became a free woman of property. The slave cabins, main house, and the Kingsley family's contradictory history make this one of the more morally complex historic sites in the South.

"Undeveloped barrier island beach. Manatees, dolphins, and driftwood."

Little Talbot Island State Park north of Mayport has 5 miles of undeveloped Atlantic beach with a campground, sea turtle nesting, shore birds, and the kind of wild beach that Florida used to have before condos. Big Talbot Island has spectacular driftwood "boneyard beach" formations.

"One of the few north-flowing rivers in North America. Manatees everywhere."

The St. Johns River flows north through Jacksonville and empties near Mayport. Kayak launch points throughout the city reach manatee-rich backwaters, cypress swamps, and dolphin feeding zones. Blue Spring State Park (winter manatee aggregation) is 2 hours south.

"Founded 1565. The oldest permanently occupied European settlement in the US."

St. Augustine is genuinely extraordinary — the Castillo de San Marcos (a 17th-century Spanish fort still intact), the narrow streets of the historic district, the Flagler College building (a converted Gilded Age hotel), and a food scene that has grown into a real destination. 40 miles south on A1A.

"One of Florida's better zoos. Wild Florida and Range of the Jaguar standouts."

A full-scale zoo with a strong Florida wildlife exhibit, okapi, great apes, and one of the best jaguar exhibits in the country. The Gardens of Tropic Ocean are well-maintained.