Current ride of Magna's owner Tom

Why a motorcycle as the lead picture for a blog on the 10th anniversary of a local salon?  With good reason, since the inspiration and name for the salon “Magna’s – A Full  Body Salon” came to Tom Hughes as he was riding his Honda Magna motorcycle in the days before opening (his current ride is pictured above).  The Latin meaning for magna is large, great , powerful or mighty and Tom felt it captured the concept he had in mind for his salon and spa.   Tom and his partner Stacye chose to match their decor with this theme and create a space that would appeal to both sexes.  Hence the decor includes light hardwood floors, recessed lighting,  earthtone colors,  Roman style columns and a mixture of both masculine and feminine decorating.   Tom and Stacye  recently celebrated their 10th anniversary on Amelia Island and held an open house for clients and friends.  We utilize Magna’s often for weddings and spa packages and Deborah has been the beneficiary of several of their relaxation packages on birthdays and anniversaries.  It was a nice evening with the opportunity to meet their staff, visit with other locals and see the full range of the spa and salon at one time.  Wine, beer and treats were available and enjoyed by all.  It’s great to see local businesses succeed and we appreciate having the services available to provide for guests of the Williams House.  Come to Amelia Island, stay at the Williams House and enjoy a trip to Magna’s!  Our congratulations to Tom and Stacye and our hope for many more successful years here on Amelia Island!

Tom greets Deborah in front of Salon and Shrimp art

Magna's waiting room/retail shop

Front desk view of Magna's salon

Guests enjoy Magna's hospitality

Deborah enjoys snacks while Tom chats

Relaxing space inside Magna's salon

The Garden Show welcomes visitors to Amelia Island

We are always looking forward to new and growing events on the Island and this weekend is the start of the Garden Show for the Island.  It is a Saturday/Sunday event held at central park and was very crowded as we visited this morning.  Cars are parked all along the streets and lots making it look like a typical Shrimp Festival day.  A large variety of vendors were on hand with quite a diversity of flowers, herbs, bushes and even small trees.  Food vendors were set up with some interesting choices, and live music appeared to be getting started as we left.  It appeared a lot of people need new plants after the chilly winter we have had, and we are among those getting some replacements.

We have  a weekly Saturday morning farmer’s market in downtown Fernandina Beach, and some of the same vendors were at the Garden Show, but also a lot of new ones.  We hope this becomes at least an annual event and grows in scope as vendors find willing customers for spring flowers.

Visitors survey the food booths

One booth had birds on display

Beautiful flowers abound

Brilliant colors catch your eye

Herbs of all types

Bonsai also were represented

A tent full of live butterflies was impressive

Lot's of booths = lot's of choices

Fernandina Beach Christmas tree before lighting

The Christmas season is always enjoyable for the traditions and excitement that seems to draw everyone into the joy and unique feeling of these holidays.  The annual tree lighting downtown is one of those fun and exciting events.  Though not quite as large as the tree at Rockefeller center, ours is attractive and of good size.  A nice crowd of about 100 to 150 folks gathered for the event including many kids that were likely thinking of Christmas gift giving just around the corner.  The event included some local musicians followed by the traditional count down from ten before the lights were turned on.  We are looking forward to the upcoming holidays and our Christmas special where Deborah prepares a wonderful Christmas buffet.

The tree twinkles as people look on

Crowds await the tree lighting

Honor Guard leads Veterans Day Parade

As I have said before we love parades here in Fernandina, and what better parade is there than one honoring our veterans.  It was another great fall day with above normal temperatures and it brought out many of our locals to both participate in and cheer on our veterans.  Families lined the streets and police, fire and all manner of uniformed services marched.  I love to see the American flag being honored and remember how many photos from wars show our military raising the flag in victory.  It is hard to really fathom how many have sacrificed their lives for our country and all of us are living in a free and democaratic country because of their belief, sacrifice and valour.  Thanks to all our service personnel both past, present and future and their dedicated efforts to keep us safe and secure.  I hope you enjoy these photos!

Police & Fire vehicles lead parade

We love a good parade in Fernandina Beach and almost any excuse will do to have one.  Last week it was the local high school homecoming parade complete with homecoming queen and court, football players, and local supporters of the high school team.  As always youngsters lined the streets and plenty of candy was given out as a prelude for the trick or treating action coming soon.  It was a beautiful sunny day with near record temps!

Cheerleaders lead the way

Football team gets a lift

Pirate ships remind us of Fernandina's history

An old car joins the parade

Pirate float ends the parade

One Beautiful Car

The annual Amelia Cruisers car show was held last weekend under clear skies and cool temps (that’s 65 degrees) in downtown Fernandina.  The streets were closed to traffic and a superb lineup of restored and specialty cars/trucks/fire engines/dragsters, etc. were  put on display.  Its hard to imagine the total combined hours of work all these owners put into the restoration and make-overs of these historic cars.  The collection varied from a Volkswagen beetle to RollsRoyce and everything in between.

A restored fire engine

Crowds were good and everyone was impressed by the quality of the restorations and the variety of cars represented.  Most of our weekend guests visited the display and found it to be enjoyable even if they weren’t hard core car folks.  One was tempted to buy one of the cars from his youth but regained control of his wallet with help from a spouse. We definitely relate to the hard work of restoring and maintaining something historical as we  do it nearly every day in maintaining a 152 year old house. It’s hard work but rewarding when a part of history is maintained.  Attached are a series of pictures from the wonderful cars on display.  Enjoy!

Don't you wish you were here?

Autumn is a great time to stay at our Florida Bed and Breakfast in Fernandina Beach. Sometimes the weather can be a bit stormy, but rain gives us a great excuse to hunker down and treat ourselves to good food and perhaps a glass of wine with our sweetie or friends. But this is Florida, and most of the time, the weather is just glorious. To help create an autumnal mood, we offer an October Weekend Special that includes a walking ghost tour on Friday evenings, lots of wine and hors d’oeuvres, and a carriage ghost tour on Saturday nights. You’ll learn all about the fascinating history of Fernandina Beach and Amelia Island, and hear some great historic ghost stories to boot.

Another good reason to head to our inn is the upcoming Amelia Island Jazz Festival. Jazz fans should know that some of the finest musicians around will be playing  October 2 – 11 throughout the island. Venues vary, from the Amelia Park Town Square to The Historic Palace Saloon. There will be New Orleans style jazz, Latin jazz, and everything in between – don’t forget your dancing shoes.

No matter what your reasons for traveling: the urge to stroll on a moonlit beach, the desire to hear historic ghost tales in a charming town, or the need to listen to great jazz, you’ll feel at home in our Fernandina Beach bed and breakfast.

Former Bank of America building being remodeled

We love to see the downtown area of Fernandina Beach being restored and maintained.  Don Shaw owns a building he built further west on Centre Street that houses his own book store, Books Plus and Magna’s Salon.  Recently he purchased the former Bank of America building and is now in the process of renovating it for its next life.  The plan the last I talked to Don is to establish both a restaurant and retail option within the building.  It appears they are going to add old brick to the exterior as well as completely reworking the interior.  We wish Don much success and are pleased to see his dedication to continuing to utilize and maintain this historic area.  We also look forward to the potential for both a new restaurant and more shopping! 

Restoration looking from the other side

Saturday Farmer's Market entrance

Fernandina’s Farmer’s market began a couple of years ago and has steadily grown in members and variety.  It operates every Saturday on 6th street between Centre and Alachua streets and has a variety of interesting vendors.  So far we have enjoyed baked goods, fresh vegetables and fruit, purchased garden plants, enjoyed the local music, and experienced the interesting dry pasta varieties.  There seems to be something for everyone and it gets busier every week.

Come on down!

I noticed this past weekend, it is also a gathering place for folks to bring their dogs and we saw a large variety of sizes and types.  There were two different musical groups playing this past week and of course, it was basically country.

Local produce for sale

A dog checks out the market

Plant varieties abound

Colorful offerings

Entertaining shoppers

Peg Leg the pirate awaits visitors near welcome center

One of the must have pictures when you visit Fernandina Beach is with Peg Leg the pirate standing near the downtown visitors center.  He was created by a local artist to honore the Iland’s pirate history and was restored about a year ago after the Florida sun worked him over.  He stands just before the railroad tracks that run along side the marina and city docks and is honored to welcome all guests to our historic town.  The visitor/welcome center has all the information one could need regarding lodging, attractions, events, restaurants, maps, etc. that any visitor can find useful.  It’s also the first place you can meet the very friendly folks who live on our Island and volunteer at the center. In addition to the quaint town, great restaurants, beautiful historic homes, and unique shops, the vast majority of our guests comment on how friendly people are on this Island and in the historic town.  We definitely agree and believe its  because they have all found a little slice of heaven by living here, are enjoying the “Island Time” pace of the area, realize how fortunate we are to not have traffic jams and the busy-ness of many locales or perhaps just naturally friendly people find this place! Regardless we know from experience with thousands of guests each year that you will find this unique place one that you won’t soon forget and will plan to return whenever you can.  

Peg Leg gueards the Marina

Fernandina Beach Visitor Center

Historic fountain in front of visitors center

Placard on historic fountain