Huguenot

Now that's a Florida scene, isn't it? That's how the state really should look. Never mind coconuts and condos and hibiscus and early-bird specials. Before the Spaniards showed up in the 1500s -- and for several centuries after -- this was the landscape, at least here in North Florida: intertwined oaks covered with resurrection ferns, mingled with cabbage palms and pines.

That's the dirt road leading to Kingsley Plantation on Fort George Island. We drove out there yesterday after lunch at the Sandollar (with one "d") restaurant on the St. Johns River. We didn't actually go to the plantation, which we've visited before. We just drove the loop road that leads to it, and also drove out to the beach at Huguenot Memorial Park.

There were some hardy souls out there, driving around on the hard compacted sand, but I didn't put on sunscreen so I barely got out of the car. We stayed just long enough to walk down to the water and back again. The place was like an Easy-Bake Oven.

Even the seagulls looked hot.

Then we drove to the ferry that carries cars across the river to Mayport. My younger niece, Kate, really wanted to ride the ferry, so we made that happen. As we waited to board, we were amused by a root lying on the ground that my older niece, Jane, said looked like a lobster:

She's right!

We gave my mom a break yesterday but I'll go back and visit her today.

My brother and his kids are doing their best to educate me on areas of pop culture that have slipped past me. Kate had me watch "Annie," with Kathy Bates, Alan Cumming and Kristin Chenoweth, and I did enjoy it. (Kate's summer camp group performed a song from Annie in their revue on Wednesday night.) I'm not sure I've ever seen any version of "Annie," to be honest, though of course I've been hearing about it all my life. I remember when it was originally on Broadway in the late '70s with Andrea McArdle and later, I believe, Sarah Jessica Parker.

And Jane is an expert on all things Marvel, and can get into detailed and circuitous conversations with my brother about the Marvel movies. We watched "Guardians of the Galaxy," which I must admit was a lot of fun, though I'm still confused about why one of the characters is a raccoon.