Sebastian Inlet State Park, Melbourne Beach, Florida
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. ~ Matthew 3:13-15 Can you just imagine being John the Baptist and having Jesus – God Himself in human form – telling you that you need to baptize Him?!?!? Remember, John’s baptism was for repentance. This is Jesus we’re talking about. He certainly doesn’t need to repent. So what’s really happening? Well, first of all, Jesus is changing baptism. It is no longer a cleansing of sin because now that Jesus is here, cleansing is no longer needed. We need His Righteousness. What does that mean? I found this definition on Christianitytoday.com: “Righteousness is the quality of being right in the eyes of God, including character (nature), conscience (attitude), conduct (action), and command (word). Righteousness is therefore, based upon God’s standard because He is the ultimate Lawgiver (Isaiah 33:22).” The other thing going on here is that all God’s righteous requirements are met in Jesus and what He’s about to do (life, death and resurrection) so that, as we accept the gift of salvation, we are seen as righteous before God. Are you righteous? Have you ever thought of yourself in that way?
We drove about three times as far as we’ve been moving lately! Plus the wind, traffic and length of drive, made today’s 3 ½ hour, 201-mile travel day tiring and a bit nerve wracking for Blaine. Especially because he’s not had to drive this far for quite a while, nor has he had this much traffic to try to be aware of. Crazy drivers!
We were amazed the Tiki roof didn’t blow off. It sure was flapping.
So to explain a bit for future reference if nothing else, Blaine has to make Florida reservations eleven months to the minute in advance, vying for a spot along with thousands of other people trying to do the same. You have to use the internet to do this, so no phone calls.
In this case, he was unable to get a place along the coast for the time slot we needed to fill, so he came inland a little but just for two nights. So here’s where we are . . .
Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park, Keystone Heights, Florida
One of Florida’s first state parks, Gold Head Branch became part of the Florida state park system in 1935. The initial property was donated by Martin J. “Mike” Roess (pronounced “Race”) and developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).
The CCC was launched in 1933 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt to combat unemployment during the Depression.
In 1935, twenty-five seasoned craftsmen from Company 2444 were sent to the Gold Head site where they were joined by hundreds of CCC youth and established Camp SP-5. Together they planted trees, cleared areas for campsites, built roads and constructed many of the buildings still in use today at the park.
The state park was officially dedicated on April 15, 1939. For years the park was simply known as “Gold Head Branch,” until 1966 when the Florida Board of Parks and Historical Monuments changed the name to honor the late Mike Roess. He died in 1952. ~ Floridastateparks.org
According to local lore, there are a couple of stories for the Gold Head part of the name, none substantiated. The most popular is that Union soldiers were bringing a gold shipment through the area during the Civil War. Supposedly, the gold was buried at what is now the park.
And supposedly, the soldiers were ambushed and killed. Another version puts it during the Second Seminole War, which took place from 1835-42, though not much credence is given to either story.
Others claim that its original name was Cold Head Branch because of its cold spring-fed water, and the name changed over time from cold to gold. ~ Jacksonville.com
So. Don’t you find it odd that something spelled ‘r-o-e-s-s’ could possibly be pronounced ‘race’? I did. So I Googled to find the nationality. Seems no one really knows, I guess. The first said France; the second, US, UK, Canada and Scotland; the third, Yorkshire England; the fourth, Irish Gaelic. Hmmmmm . . . . .
Anyway, we’re here for two nights and one day. It seems like a very nice park and we’ll only have tomorrow to check out everything there is to do here. Should be a full day!
Looks like the drought is still here.