11/29/13-12/1/13 St. Augustine, FL

Pirate ship in St. Augustine

We left Jacksonville Beach the day after Thanksgiving, heading for St. Augustine.  It was an easy 28 mile trip.  We picked up a mooring ball around noon and waited for the water taxi to take us to town.  I absolutely love St. Augustine.  It is the country's oldest city and so historic and quaint.  Did you know that the first slaves in the United States were brought to St. Augustine in 1565?  A Spanish king gave a three-year contract to the founder of St. Augustine to import 500 African slaves.  There are a number of homes that date to the early 1700's, most with Spanish architecture.  We walked around a bit and then had an early dinner at O.C. White's before taking the water taxi back to the boat at 6 o'clock.

On Saturday, we toured the Lightner Museum.  It was originally a hotel that boasted a steam room, massage parlor, gymnasium, and sulfur baths, as well as the world's largest indoor swimming pool.  Henry Flagler, a prominent citizen of St. Augustine and railroad magnate had it built in 1887 to appeal to wealthy tourists who traveled there on his railroad.  The hotel closed in 1932 and was later purchased in 1946 by a wealthy Chicago man as a place to house his extensive collection of antiques that he had bought from people "down on their luck" during the Depression.  When he died, he left the building and everything in it to the City of St. Augustine.  They had some beautiful antiques but I forgot the camera so I only have a picture that I took with my phone.  The architecture of the building is every bit as pretty as the antiques.

cradle from 1860

After spending the afternoon in the museum, we went to the Oldest Bar in the Oldest City (St. George's Tavern) to watch college football.  South Carolina beat Clemson, 31 - 17.

Gay and Terry came on Sunday and we walked St. George Street.  If you ever go to St. Augustine, don't miss St. George Street.  It is very historic and closed to vehicles for several blocks.  Lots of shops and restaurants, but we didn't buy a thing.  After dinner at one of the restaurants, we walked around looking at their Christmas lights.  Just about everything in the town is lit this time of year.

John and I in St. Augustine

As you can see by the above picture, it's still cold.  We thought this was sunny Florida!?!?!

Off to Daytona tomorrow.  Today we are 944 miles south of the Bohemia River.