Fort Matanzas and a Sticky Situation - March 24, 2015

March 24, 2015

Fort Matanzas and A Sticky Situation

We left Anastasia State Park in the morning and headed down to the other fort near St. Augustine, Fort Matanzas. This was another fort where we had to take a ferry. This one was a lot smaller though. Halfway there Carl and I had the discussion as to whether they would have room for us to park the van and the camper. We turned into the parking lot and our hearts sank. There was no room for us. Carl dropped me off and I went in to see if the ranger had any suggestions as to where to park. He did but the spot he told us was already taken with cars. He came and tried to guide us to a better spot. We ended up backing up into a grassy area and found out the ground was a lot softer than we thought. We got the van completely stuck in the ground. We are talking not going anywhere unless we get a huge truck and lots of ropes kind of stuck.

I just laughed because my first thought was that it would make an awesome blog post. The Lord must have thought that our lives were too boring. I immediately began praying for peace and for deliverance from the problem. I decided to take the kids inside to the visitor’s center while Carl and the ranger tried to work out getting the van and camper unstuck. I am not sure what they did but they got it unstuck. I worked on the Junior Ranger books with the kids and stood in line to wait for the tickets on the ferry. The tickets are free but you have to wait in line for them. They pass them out one hour before the ferry boards. I was right there because they only have 30 spots and I needed 10. We finished the Junior Ranger books while waiting for the ferry. Carl was also able to make some phone calls about our stays over the next few days. He called down to Salt Springs and found out that if we could not make it by 6pm then we would not have a place to stay for the night. Carl figured it out that if we left at 4:30 we would get there with 15 minutes to spare.

We took the ferry at 3:30 and went over to the fort which was the smallest of all the ones we have been on. I know why they limit the ferry passengers. There was barely enough room for us all. The fort was basically designed for 6 soldiers and their commanding officer to keep look out at the ships coming into St. Augustine. We got to climb up a vertical ladder to the top. We did not get much time but we knew we had to get on the road anyway.

After the ferry docked we ran to the Ranger office to get the badges and jumped in the van. We were out of there by 4:30 and made it, with no stops, by 5:45. We set up and then went in search of a grocery store. We found one 30 minutes away. This was by far the most remote campsite yet and there was not even any phone coverage. We were able to walk down to the springs to look before it got dark and we went in search of food. We found a Zaxby’s and a Walmart. It was funny because Carl’s parents were supposed to meet us that night. They ended up having car trouble and had to stay overnight at a hotel. They posted on Facebook that the exact time that we were eating at Zaxby’s…so were they. We all got a kick out of that. We went grocery shopping and bought food and swimming equipment. The kids are so excited to go swimming at the springs tomorrow. They saw the clear water tonight and were ecstatic.

We came home…late. We tried to be as quiet as we could with putting away the groceries and putting the kids to bed. It was waaaay past quiet hour. I prayed that we did not disturb someone’s sleep with all our noise. It was an event filled day that was only marred by the fact that Carl’s parents were not able to meet us that night. We are so looking forward to seeing them tomorrow.

"Come on, Mommy. You can do it."

Carl chronicled my journey up the stairs. I did it just because one of the kids said I would not fit. I proved them wrong.

William falling up the stairs

Salt Springs!!!!!

Oh, my heart just can't take the cuteness.

I was amazed today at the peace that I received from the Lord. In the midst of what could have been a very tricky situation I did not panic but let the love of Christ shine through. In the parking lot of Fort Matanzas I knew that people were watching us. It is not every day that you get to see a 15 passenger van hauling an 8000 pound 36 foot trailer get stuck in the dirt, especially when kids keep coming out of it like clowns in a clown car. I knew that I could laugh and praise the Lord in this situation or whine and complain and basically make life difficult for Carl. I chose to be joyful and to laugh. I chose to obey the Lord’s leading and take the kids so Carl could deal with the situation without distraction. It was only by the grace of God that I was able to do this as my first thought was to complain and throw a pity party. I chose JOY though and I am so happy I did because we were able to use it as a way to show the love of Christ to all those people visiting the Fort that day. They will certainly not soon forget us. I am so glad I chose JOY over frustration and whining. I hope that I can be an example to my children in this. When trials come, we can choose JOY or we can choose frustration. The blessings that come from choosing JOY is so much better than anything else that we can choose. It is getting easier to choose JOY in this journey we are on. This sluggish soul is learning slowly and I am so thankful that the Lord is patient with me as a struggle along the way.