When I was a little girl my Daddy would take us to Mayport to see the big shrimp boats and eat at the restaurant sitting out in the water.  It was a special treat and I looked forward to it every time he said, “Let’s go eat shrimp.”

Once we got there we would run from the car and try to catch the seagulls flying above us.  There were tons of seagulls because there were tons of shrimp boats unloading their catch for the day.  The seagull sounds are permanently a part of my memory bank and the fishy smells are as well.

After dinner we would catch the ferry and take the long way home.  The ferry was another fun experience as Daddy drove his big car onto the boat.  I always worried we would drop into the water but we never did.  We would jump back out of the car and stand against the railing as the ferry slowly moved us towards the other side.  The wind whipped my hair (I didn’t care about my hair not looking good back then) and the salt air tingled against my skin.  Those were such wonderfully great days and I am thrilled to hear — Mayport may rise again.

JaxPort has given up an abandoned piece of property next to the ferry and released it back to the City for redevelopment.  I’m not always for the city owning property — but this is the way it has been done and now we wait to see if they can indeed pull off a great development idea.  We need it.  Mayport needs it.  Our children need it.

You can read more here:  Let’s make memories at Mayport

Mayport Shrimp – can it get any better than this?  No sir!