Last Stop in Florida

Our stay in Jacksonville was 5 days, 4 of which were either raining or cold or both.   The park where we stayed was probably not bad in dry weather, but given that that was not the condition at the time we were there, we found ourselves surrounded by standing water and mud everywhere.  Thankfully, it stopped raining for a couple of days so we could get out and see a few things.

B&B have relatives in St. Augustine that were anxious to show us their city, and had set aside a day to give the four of us their private tour.  Looking at the weather forecast, we chose the least inclement day and made the drive there.  St. Augustine is indeed picturesque, and the city capitalizes on its history.  Here are some of the highlights of our walk through the city.

The Old Spanish Trail roadway, built in the early 1900's, began in St. Augustine and ended in San Diego, CA.  A monument is erected at the site of the Zero Milestone.  The roadway ran along what became US90 in the east and US80 in the west, and was a precursor to Interstate 10.

St. Augustine was a walled city, and its gateway is still standing.

As expected, many of the buildings in the city have a Spanish influence in their architecture.  In the late 1800's, a very wealthy gentleman by the name of Henry Flagler commissioned the construction of the luxury Ponce de Leon Hotel.  In 1968 a liberal arts college was established in St. Augustine, and the hotel became part of it, now housing assembly rooms and student dining hall.  The college was named Flagler College.  There is extensive original Tiffany glass windows in some of the rooms, but we weren't able to get into any of them that day.

A couple of Spanish tall ship replicas are currently visiting ports of call along the Atlantic, and one of them was in St. Augustine.  El Galeon is a 1:1 replica of the ships used in days of Magellan and Ponce de Leon.

The remains of Castillo de San Marcos is now part of the National Park Service, and is a popular attraction.  On weekends, cannons are fired by park personnel and volunteers, all dressed in period uniforms and shouting orders in Castilian Spanish.

The day before we left Jacksonville, the sun came out and the temperatures warmed to a pleasant 70 degrees.  We took a brief outing into downtown Jacksonville and had lunch at The Landing along the banks of the St. Johns River.  It was nice to be out in the warmth and sunshine again!

This was our last stop in Florida.  We'll make a short move to Savannah, Georgia next.