🇺🇸 Jacksonville: Forts & Beaches 🏰🌊

Starting with a fun fact: Jacksonville is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States! 🗺️📌 At first glance, Jacksonville might seem like a typical modern American city. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll find layers of history — from Indigenous tribes to European settlers. 📍 Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve Named after the Timucua people who once lived across northern Florida and southern Georgia. Sadly, European diseases and colonization reduced their population from 200,000 to zero in just a century 😢🕯️. Today, the preserve protects both natural ecosystems and historical memory. You can walk trails along quiet beaches like Little Talbot Island and Big Talbot Island 🏝️👣. 💡 Note: Some parking areas require a fee (honor system). 🦟 BUG SPRAY IS A MUST in summer! Seriously — don’t forget! I even spotted some cute mushrooms 🍄 along the trail 📍 Fort Caroline National Memorial Did you know this was originally a French fort in Spanish-French-British contested territory? 🧐🇫🇷 The original 16th-century fort was destroyed and its exact location remains unknown. What you see today is a thoughtful reconstruction based on historical records 🧱⚔️. From the visitor center, a short trail leads to the replica fort and Timucua-style huts 🛖🌿. (Why no photos? Mosquitoes. So. Many. Mosquitoes. 🦟💥 I stopped for two seconds and got bitten everywhere!) #Jacksonville #History #FloridaParks #TimucuanPreserve #FortCaroline #TravelUSA #EcoHistory #ExploreFlorida #HiddenHistory 🧭📖