Old St. Augustine, rich in 400+ years of Spanish, French, British and American history, is a boating destination and a good place to get away from the weekend crowds on the ICW. Its old town section has narrow cobblestone streets lined with historical registry homes with courtyards and overhanging Spanish moss-laden trees and the air is fragrant with flowering jasmine. We took a tram tour late Friday so that we could get orientated. The tickets are good for 3 days and when there is so much to see and do and only 2 days here, the tram is the way to go. We had dinner with Peg and Dave from “See Ya” at O.C. White’s which is right across from the St. Augustine Municipal Marina. Even though there is still construction on the Bridge of Lions, it is a good marina with helpful staff and a great location.
On Saturday, I toured the Dow Museum of Old Homes which has 8 homes from the 18-20th Century—the coral jewel is the Murat House which was once occupied by a nephew of Napoleon. The décor is simple compared to Henry Flagler’s Ponce de Leon Hotel, now Flagler College. The elite dined in an exquisite room lined with Tiffany glass windows and imprinted with gold-leaf murals depicting religious and nautical themes. Flagler developed 3 luxury hotels in the area and also built the FL railroad to transport the elite here for the winter season. Stepping back in time, Bob and I toured the Castillo de San Marcos which is a 17th Century Spanish fort that withstood many sieges but never surrendered in battle. The National Park Service oversees it now and volunteers reenact battles complete with cannon fire.
Our tram tickets included a bus ride to Anastasia Island and so early on Sunday morning, we packed up for the beach and went out to Anastasia State Park, rented beach chairs and an umbrella, read the Sunday paper and enjoyed a brunch on the beach—heaven. In the afternoon, we toured the Leitner Museum which has displays of the Flagler hotel opulence, including the 3rd floor Ballroom and the Turkish baths. We definitely enjoyed the San Sebastian Winery tour as an experience but their wines are very young and a bit sweet. The winery does have a Jazz Bar on the upper floor deck and it was a great place to spend Sunday night.
Got zincs????? Here’s a picture of a new zinc (used to protect the underwater metal parts of the boat) and here’s our old one eaten away by the warm salt sea water but hopefully, sacrificially sparing our boat parts.
I couldn’t resist this picture of Bob in front of the Bob t-shirt display.
On Saturday, I toured the Dow Museum of Old Homes which has 8 homes from the 18-20th Century—the coral jewel is the Murat House which was once occupied by a nephew of Napoleon. The décor is simple compared to Henry Flagler’s Ponce de Leon Hotel, now Flagler College. The elite dined in an exquisite room lined with Tiffany glass windows and imprinted with gold-leaf murals depicting religious and nautical themes. Flagler developed 3 luxury hotels in the area and also built the FL railroad to transport the elite here for the winter season. Stepping back in time, Bob and I toured the Castillo de San Marcos which is a 17th Century Spanish fort that withstood many sieges but never surrendered in battle. The National Park Service oversees it now and volunteers reenact battles complete with cannon fire.
Our tram tickets included a bus ride to Anastasia Island and so early on Sunday morning, we packed up for the beach and went out to Anastasia State Park, rented beach chairs and an umbrella, read the Sunday paper and enjoyed a brunch on the beach—heaven. In the afternoon, we toured the Leitner Museum which has displays of the Flagler hotel opulence, including the 3rd floor Ballroom and the Turkish baths. We definitely enjoyed the San Sebastian Winery tour as an experience but their wines are very young and a bit sweet. The winery does have a Jazz Bar on the upper floor deck and it was a great place to spend Sunday night.
Got zincs????? Here’s a picture of a new zinc (used to protect the underwater metal parts of the boat) and here’s our old one eaten away by the warm salt sea water but hopefully, sacrificially sparing our boat parts.
I couldn’t resist this picture of Bob in front of the Bob t-shirt display.
