Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

Creatures of the Night – St. Augustine, FL

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Come dressed in your favorite costume to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park and we will provide the candy, a creepy creature experience, animal trading cards, and a great time! Young ghosts

and goblins can wander the wild walkway and encounter costumed animal keepers with creepy creatures and candy! There will be an alligator feeding show and a drawing for free annual passes and other prizes.

Call 904.824.3337 or visit our website http://www.AlligatorFarm.com for more information.

This event is located at St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. $7 for adults, $5 for children for Annual Pass holders, and $8 for adults, $6 for children for non-pass holders.

Voted “best of” Ghost Tours Locally and Nationally – St Augustine

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Ghost Tours of St. Augustine
(Saint Augustine, FL) – Based on voting by the public, Ghost Tours of St.Augustine has been voted Best Ghost Tour in Saint Augustine by the St. Augustine Record’s annual poll, #1 Ghost Tour in Florida by Monthly Magazine and voted 7th Best Ghost Tour in the nation by Haunted America. The original walking tour “A Ghostly Experience” has been featured on numerous television
shows on the Travel and Discovery Channels, such as “Secrets,” “Sightings,” “Montel Williams” and more. These two new awards add to a host of previous honors, proving people are not fooled by imitators.

Ghost Tours of St. Augustine, presents a spine tingling, bone chilling night to remember for Halloween. This year the fright night will include a walk, ride and scare tour. Nightmares will be included for some free of charge along with an appendage or two. The Halloween activities will be Friday October 31st starting at 7PM:

“Insanity” begins at the north end of St. George Street at the Ghostly Experience Store. Your Ghost Host will take you on a brief stroll by St. Augustine’s famous cemetery, dropping you off at the trolley for a ride through town and some ghastly tales. Disembark at Potter’s Wax Museum for a guided tour with a unique host. Beware of the sculptor, he’s been working so hard that he’s come down with a case of cabin fever and Insanity is starting to set in. Reservations are suggested for this tour and the terror will last approximately 90 minutes.

Those who prefer a walking tour may want to test the fortitude of their fear factor with “A Ghostly Experience”. The guide will lead the group by candle light through the quaint, but eerie streets telling stories about murders, sightings, unexplained deaths, and tales about being buried alive. Enjoy
visiting cemeteries, bed & breakfasts, restaurants, residential properties, the fort, and of course unmarked cemeteries. Reservations are suggested for this tour and the terror will last approximately 60 minutes.

If your sea legs need a workout, come aboard the 72-foot schooner Freedom for “Ghost of the Matanzas”, an interactive experience out on the dark night waters where a spectral pirate captain tells tales, provides you with grog and rations, and won’t make you walk the plank as long as you co-operate. Reservations are suggested for this tour and the terror will last 60 minutes.

Ghost Tours of St. Augustine guides you through the quaint pathways of old Saint Augustine every night of the year presenting stories of the paranormal and supernatural from the archived vaults of the ancient city. Stories from “A Ghostly Experience” are also available in books, CD, cassette tape and videotape that may be purchased online or at Ghost Central located 2 St.George Street Unit 101.

For more information about special Halloween programs, including prices and tour times, call 904-829-1122 or 904-825-0087 ext. 208

Fernandina Welcomes 12 Cyclists Journeying 2,000 Miles to Promote Life

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The 2008 Five Points of Life Ride, covering over 2,000 miles in a 30- day period, will make a stop in Fernandina Beach Sunday, October 26. The Ride is traveling through six southeastern states and participating in events in more than 30 cities, including Fernandina. The free community-wide event will be held at 3:30 p.m. at the Fernandina Beach dock and will include entertainment, refreshments and a short program featuring individuals who have been touched by donation.

“We are so happy to have this group come to our community to help spread the word about these life-saving donations,” said local businessman and organ donor father, David Caples. “Please come and out support the riders for their personal commitment to donation and hear how transplantation has touched so many lives right here in our community.”

The team members include a donor who has given more than 50 gallons of blood, a rider whose marrow donation saved the life of a nurse in Australia, and a rider who is able to pedal a bike because she received a kidney transplant. There are 12 riders from around the country, seven of whom are from Florida.

The Riders will come to Fernandina from St. Mary’s, Ga. via the Cumberland Sound Ferry. The ferry ride is considered an extension of the Coastal Georgia Greenway, a 450-mile long bike trail through the state.

“It is exciting for us to be utilizing the Greenway for the first time and for such a meaningful endeavor. It’s also nice to have a national group of riders being exposed to our beautiful community,” said Cumberland Sound Ferry owner/operator, Kevin McCarthy.

The timeline for the day is:

1:30 – Riders arrive in St. Mary’s at Spencer House

2:30 – Riders & VIP’s depart St. Mary’s via ferry

3:30 – Ferry arrives Fernandina Beach, mingle for a short while, enjoy entertainment

4-4:30 pm – Educational program at Fernandina Beach dock

4:30 – 5pm – mingle & media interviews

The Ride, which started in Alabama October 1, is designed to raise awareness of the need for the five ways we can save lives through donation: whole blood, apheresis, marrow and blood stem cells, cord blood and organ & tissue. A group of 12 nonprofessional cyclists from across the United States, each with a personal connection to one or more of the five points, is riding from Alabama to Florida to share their messages. The Ride will end October 29 in Cedar Key, Fla.

With the support of many of the national donor organizations and the financial support of corporate sponsors, LifeSouth organized the first cross-country Five Points of Life ride in 1997. You can learn more about LifeSouth by visiting their Web site at www.lifesouth.org.

Local groups assisting in this event are The Katie Caples Foundation (www.katierideforlife.org), LifeQuest Organ Recovery Services (www.lifequestfla.org), SETA (www.donorcare.org) and the Blood Alliance (www.igiveblood.com).

Florida Gators vs Georgia Bulldogs welcomed on Amelia Island Florida

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One of college football’s Top 10 rivalries will unfold November 1 at Jacksonville’s Alltel stadium. As the University of Florida Gators take on the University of Georgia Bulldogs during the popular Football Classic, fans of both teams will return to their annual tailgate headquarters of Amelia Island.

During the weekend, Centre Street will be filled with street musicians offering patrons at the downtown shops and restaurants a special treat. Amelia Island Plantation is offering its own special fan-friendly activities. On Friday, October 31, The Spa & Shops at Amelia Island Plantation is throwing a pre-party from noon to 5 p.m., complete with complimentary beer, wine and Island Oasis frozen drinks. At 5 p.m. the party continues at the Dawg/Gator Boardwalk Bash, featuring dollar beers, live entertainment and much more. Beginning at 8 p.m., the “Frat Bash” kicks off at the Grand Pavilion. This exciting ticketed event will offer a dance party with two of America’s favorite recording acts, the legendary Tams, and The Swingin’ Medallions, “The Party Band of the South.”

6th Annual Ponte Vedra Winefest

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Enjoy a weekend of grapes and flavors as the Ponte Vedra Beach Chamber of Commerce presents their 6th Annual Winefest at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort in Ponte Vedra Beach.
Sawgrass Marriott Resort.
Friday, Nov. 7 – Sunday, Nov. 9, 2008
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
904.285.2004