St. Augustine

One of Flagler's many hotels

Saturday, April 8…

Tourist time. We boarded the Old Town Trolley at the jail and enjoyed a narrated drive through St. Augustine’s historic district. Ponce de Leon (who landed somewhere along this part of Florida’s coast in 1513) may be the name most often associated w/ St Aug, but Henry Flagler probably had the greatest impact on its development. Flagler (1830-1913), a successful industrialist who founded Standard Oil, liked to visit St. Aug but found hotel accommodations sorely lacking in both style and amenities. He set out to remedy that, hoping to turn St. Aug into a "Winter Newport (RI)." The architecture of his buildings (now Flagler College) is very distinct. 

(Learn more at http://staugustine.com/history/henry-flagler)

Whetstone Chocolates

Dressed for the tour

When the Trolley stopped just steps from a distillery, a winery, and a chocolate factory, we knew it was time to exit. The chocolate tour included lots of samples, which was a nice bonus. Greg skipped the distillery but enjoyed the tasting room of the winery. 

copper blending machine

one of several churches where MLK held meetings

After the winery we wandered on our own, stopping for lunch at the Cafe de Hildalgo (where my panini included turkey, brie, apple slices, and cherry preserves - yum!). Then we visited Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in the U.S. (first construction completed in 1695). The shell mixture used is similar to limestone, and enemy cannonballs tended to either become imbedded or simply repelled by the substance. After a  battle, soldiers would slip out in the evening to remove and retrieve the balls. When the enemy approached again, the fort appeared to have suffered no damage. 

waiting for the cannon to fire

aerial view 

Looking out over Matanzas Bay, drawbridge open.
Later we would drive over this bridge to check out Anastasia Island.

BlogThoughts... This campground rocks! Great folks in the office, numerous social activities w/o pressure to participate, and an immaculate laundry room. My tummy was somewhat out of sorts this morning, but Greg joined others for a tasty $3 all-you-can-eat pancakes & sausage breakfast. Walking the campground last night, I stopped to chat w/ a gentleman whose RV had a WA license plate. He was a bit hard of hearing, but when he finally understood my "Where are you from?" he grinned – “ England!” (which was obvious the minute he spoke). His wife joined us then and, after a short chat about how wonderful Williamsburg is, we discovered we were also the same age and had both been middle/high school English teachers. She was delightful. Tonight there was a live concert (conveniently right in front of our MH). And again, a young boy joined the group on stage, grabbed a percussion "shaker" and stole the show. He had the rhythm down and even had his own moves as he kept that shaker going. Great fun.

poor picture, great sound
(I don't think the kid is onstage yet)

Full moon over Old Glory