Kathie and I spent the better part of the afternoon walking up and down the beach, picking up shells and enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun. We watched the boats as they were returning from the ocean and entering lighthouse point. The lighthouse could be seen from just about everywhere on the island. I'm sure the boaters used it as well when returning from the ocean to find the channel inbound.
The sun was starting to sink low in the afternoon sky and there was another stop I wanted to make. So I started coaxing my wife back toward the jetty and where our truck was parked.
There were plenty of fishermen still casting and dragging in their catch as we again walked past them in the surf. The sun bathers were packing up and making ready to leave as were we.
Something I had noticed on this trip back to St. Augustine, was the growth and change that had taken place. It had been eleven years since I had moved out of state. While all the years I lived and enjoyed my life here, it did have it's issues. Living in a tourist town you get tired of the constant crowds, heavy traffic and high cost of everything. The place had changed in so many different ways. Some of the businesses I had known were gone, sold to new owners. A lot of new construction and places that weren't there before. I'm sure that's all part of progress. There use to be a castle just up the road a few miles. I wanted to drive up and see if it was still there.
The castle was indeed still there, just where I last saw it, ha ha. It is strange to be driving north on A1A and see this castle sticking above the scrub of dunes. There was another reason I also wanted to venture up here. There was a restaurant located at the end of the street, right on the intracoastal. I wanted to assure myself that it too was still here. That would be the crowning jewel of this vacation. To have a nice romantic dinner on our last night in St Augustine.
This is Castle Otttis, located three miles from St. Augustine on A1A ( costal highway). It was built to resemble a 1000 year old Irish Castle. I have no info on the builder except after building he donated it to the Catholic Church. It's used for events such as weddings and other events. It's closed to the public and we couldn't get any pictures of the inside. Look it up on the web. The name is spelled with three t's, ( Otttis )
After taking a few pictures of the old castle. We headed back to town. Making a stop at the old jail. The chain gang of convicts were hard at work. I thought I might have known some of those guys.
Having never been in jail, well not on the gang anyway. I did get arrested for kissing my wife in a public place. One of those old laws still on the books. I guess I didn't know any of those fellows after all . Why would I want to associate with the harden criminal element of this ancient old city? Besides my wife had a plan to break me out. Until then I would be a man of constant sorrow :)
The high sheriff has a weakness for the ladies. So Kathie pleaded my case, when she schmoozed up to that old boy. It seems that love got me in here and love was going to get me out, ha ha.
Once free to roam at will, it was off to new places. We headed over to Gator Bob's Trading Post. I needed a new outfit, anything but stripes. I never did look good in Bumble Bee attire. We didn't have enough cash and not wanting to go back to the slammer, Gator Bob took us out back, where his pet was chained up.
Kathie tried her hand at alligator wrestling. "Watch out there girl, one slip and I'll have to change your name to stumpy." That old gator was as gentle as a kitten. Of course now Kathie wants to be called Gator Girl, ha ha. But she did make a point, no way I was going to play with that reptilian.
Having all her limbs in tact, we ventured back to St George St and the city gates. These old tall gates are said to have been the actual gates of St. Augustine, when the Spaniards built the city. It's the center of action for all the visitors and tourists. Kathie had read about the oldest school house in the USA and wanted to see it.
The old wooden structure did indeed look like the oldest building in the USA. It had a big logging chain wrapped around it for support, to keeping it from falling in on itself.
Sometimes you just got to wonder! Is this really the original school house built back in the 1600's or is it just some old building placed here to fool all us naive tourist?
I bet that woman, seen in the 2nd floor window is also the oldest teacher. Well, she might be. She has been there for as long as I can recall. She must have drank water from the Fountain of Youth, she hasn't aged at all.
Keeping with the theme of OLDEST. (oldest jail, oldest school and now) We went around the corner to the oldest drug store. Well at least it was in my days of living here. But like some of the others, change had occurred and it too had been sold. It was now, Ripley's Wax Museum. We did see someone we knew, Jack Sparrow.
Leaving Jack we ventured to this little bar with no name. Actually it did have a name, no name bar. Really, it's name was No Name Bar.
It also had no customers, until we arrived. It had a great view of the harbor and the Castillo de San Marcos, looking outward and to the left. That grassy hill is where the old fort is, just out of sight. Kathie and I noticed the juke box and how out of touch we are with electronics. A flat screen much like a television, it took up little space. What we noticed was the ability to take a picture and upload to social media. There's no place you can hide anymore, ha ha.
We had enough fun and were ready to call it a day. We made our way across the street where we had parked,. and then headed home. Where our Vaca House was parked. We had enjoyed another fun filled day. We hadn't seen much of our Fiver since arriving. It was out early and back later every day. We had no complaints except just too little time to do all that we wanted to do. Five days is just not enough time in Paradise :)
I had no idea as to what the rest of the world was doing. I hadn't watched TV or the news since we had gotten there. We had everything in the campground except cable. I had left the tripod and satellite at home. Even if we had brought it, no time for watching. The world never stopped turning and I was doing ok without being informed of global events. Just a few more days and then I could spend time catching up, ha ha. For now I was going to bed and get an early start on day four.
Day four ( Dec. 21st, Saturday) Today was all about water and boat rides. We would start off with a ride aboard a Parks Service boat. We were headed to Fort Matanzas. This was the defensive out post, placed to the south of St. Augustine. It's purpose was to stop any enemy ships from entering the river leading to the city just a few miles north. It was also the scene of a bloody slaughter. 200 French soldiers surrendered and were murdered by the Spaniards at this very location. Take no prisoners, give no quarters. Yes war can be hell, especially if your on the loosing side.
Before leaving St. Augustine for Fort Matanzas. I made a quick stop at the local KOA campground located just off Hwy 312 and A1A. I wanted to see what a $90.00 a night campsite looked like. Their rates are $65 to $90.00 a night. That was a little rich for my blood and I wanted to see what they offered that I didn't have for the $40.00 a night I was paying.
There was a canal with log cabins lined alongside it's banks. The other side of the canal were pull thru RV sites. They had paved roads and concrete pads. Lots of shopping area's around them as well.
As for me the extra $50.00 a night bought a lot of beer or a nice meal. It wasn't worth the cost, not to me. Perhaps if we had planned to be in the park more and want the convinces of the city life. I was fine with the grass and gravel where I was. But the KOA is nice and I'm sure those who stayed there enjoyed their vacation as much as we did.
Back on A1A we continued south to Fort Matanzas. It was such another beautiful Florida day. It was 80 degrees and going up to 88. It was like summer to us and we were loving it. There was little traffic on the road for a Saturday. There was some event at St. Augustine Beach, some sort of a beach parade or something or another. We stayed clear of that area, not wanting to get bogged down in traffic. We arrived just as the boat was pulling away from the dock. It was 11:30, the boat leaves on the half hour. There wouldn't be another boat until after lunch. That was to be 1:30. We had about two hours until the next scheduled departure. We went into the gift shop, got our tickets and watched the movie, all about the history of the fort. The tickets and admission were FREE. The Florida Park Service provide it free to all who want to take the time to come and visit. Across the street on the other side of A1A was Matanzas Beach. It too was part of the park service. We walked over to check it out.
My wife loves the beach. She could have stayed there all day. She's not a fan of boats or boating. Put her on the beach and she could stay there forever. First thing I noticed about this beach was the sand. It was almost white and very smooth, not the course brown sand and shell of the St. Augustine beach just a few miles to the north.
The second thing I noticed was the jelly fish, a big blob washed up in the surf. These leave a nasty sting and hard on adults and children alike. The swimmers seemed to pay no mind as they went into the water.
I could see over the dunes and across the road thru the tree's. The Rangers were returning from lunch and headed to the boat. Not really, but what the heck. This is my story and you have no choice except to believe everything I write, ha ha. We walked for an hour on the smooth sands and then headed back. It was time for a bathroom break, none of which were on the beach for the public's use.
Since Kathie doesn't like boats I was afraid she wouldn't like this adventure. We had to board a small shuttle boat and ride about ten minutes to the other side of the river. You could see the fort from the park side of the river. It didn't look to be that far. But with the telephoto lens of the camera, nothing looks that far away. I'm always surprised to see in the photo all that I couldn't see with the naked eye.
For example, all those people on the fort. With the zoom of the camera it's almost like binoculars. I took that picture after the last boat had left at 11:30. Soon we would be where those folks had been.
When it came time to get on the boat Kathie was all smiles. Maybe it was her fear that she hid behind that big smile. I think she will smile all the way to her grave. The things I have always adored about her was all the little things. Those things she doesn't even knows she does. If she had any fear she didn't show it. Just maybe we can start Kayaking, maybe not.
The above picture is that of a model, showing how the fort would have looked. There was a group of seven soldiers who's tour of duty was 30 days at a time. One officer, two noncoms' and four privates. There were two rooms, one large one on the first level, where the enlisted bunked . The second level was for the officer. Each had it's own fireplace. The top of the fort was a lookout. Seven cannons were in place to cover the river and it's waterways.
During the time the fort was in service, access was gained by the use of a ladder. Today visitors can use steps to gain access to the fort. Today it looks much like it did in the 1700's. At one point in it's history it fell into ruins. Used by hunters and others who just wanted something to shoot at. The Park Service took it over and restored it. Much like it's mother fort Castillo de San Marcos, it is a national monument.
The first floor room was the sleeping area of the men who would have been assigned here for a period of 30 days. I was reminded of a period in my own life and the sand bag bunkers of Vietnam. Soldiers have always lived pretty much the same in all army's. I'm sure as comfortable as we may think they had it, hardships were plenty.
To better give you an idea of how far a range a three mile cannon has. That bridge, on the horizon is said to be only 1/4 of a mile away. Can you imagine trying to hit a dot three miles away, bouncing up and down on the waves and moving under sail or on the currents. I wonder how many expert cannoneers they had? It was also mentioned that their supplies had to come by ship from Cuba or Mexico a trip that took as much as two months. For that reason the cannons and other weapons were test fired once a week. Never the same weapons each week, switched around to ensure all remained in working order. Firing drills however were daily, all day long.
The back side of Fort Matanzas faced St. Augustine and had no cannon placements, only a window on each of the two floors and the open top deck or roof used for observation. Perhaps a design flaw, perhaps not. During all of it's service it never fell to the enemy.
Our ride back on that little boat and my wife is still smiling. I got to talk to her dentist, he should be paying her, for all the time she's showing off those pearly whites. Makes me wonder what she's been up too. Gee, I hope she didn't lift anything from that national monument. "Tell me your just happy to be with me baby."
Leaving Matanzas we were off in search of lunch. It was later than what we had planned. But when your having fun who thinks of eating? Who besides me that is, just my appearance should be enough proof that I don't miss many meals. We decided to get back to St. Augustine and secure parking before we ate. Our next boat ride left from the marina at the bridge of Lions. That would give us an hour to relax and eat before reporting to the ticket office for our sightseeing tour.
Once back to St. Augustine it took us a good thirty minutes to find parking. It seemed that everyone was in town today. So we just circled until someone gave up a spot. We ended up with a good spot on the end, plenty of room for our big Dodge Dully.
We ate lunch at the Micro Brewery. A very nice little restaurant/bar with the brewery in the back. They make a lot of their own beer. I have no idea as to their brand, I stick with what I know. Sorta like going to Mexico and not drinking the water. We had about thirty minutes to get our order and then on to the marina and our next boat ride. On our second day we had purchased tickets from a discount ticket booth. I'm thinking what if? As it turned out the tickets were good. We saved a lot of bucks and all went according to plan.
After a lunch of 1/2 a ham & cheese sandwich, cup of tomato basil and lobster bisque soup as well as fries. Kathie had a club sandwich and fries. We were off to the ticket office to redeem our tickets. We went into the harbor masters office, which turned out to be the wrong office. This office was for the Pirate boat cruise. I checked it out, we're doing that one next. You sail on a pirate ship and get boarded at sea by looters who want to steal the treasure. It's a battle between Cpt. Hook and Black Beard. They have three different packages to choose from. I liked the adult cruise best. I'm thinking we'll take that one next time we visit, right after I talk it over with Kathie, hehehe.
Wouldn't you know it! That Pirate ship was moored right beside our sightseeing boat. The lady at the ticket office said all their trips were canceled for today due to strong winds. There were other sailing boats out on the tides today. I guess the strong winds were too much for a sea battle. Safety first, I could see where riggings might become entangled. That could send many a good pirate to Davy Jones Locker.
We boarded out chosen vessel and headed straight for top side. The boat had two decks, one below with enclosed cabin and one top side open air. It was a beautiful day in the 80's but a strong breeze on the water. We brought along our jackets just in case. We would be out for an hour and a half, past sunset by the time we returned. I set up two chairs for me and the Mrs. I was looking at the main mast on that Pirate ship. I have seen a lot of beautiful birds, but this one was one of sheer beauty. It was an Osprey, sometimes referred to as sea hawk, fish hawk or fish eagle. What a beauty it was. I was smiling to myself as I thought, how appropriate. A bird of prey perched on a ship of prey.
Such a strong and beautiful rafter. The yellow eyes and a mask that resembles the mask of Zorro, or a pirates mask. It set lifeless almost like a prompt. Not even a rustle of a single feather in the strong breeze. I pointed it out to Kathie. She thought it a fake until it turned to establish that it was indeed the real McCoy or better yet a real Osprey. It did look fake perched on the mast, but we who know will keep it's secret.
Our sightseeing cruise got under way. Our boat slipping with ease from it's dockage and into the deeper water of the channel. The bridge of Lions lay ahead as we passed underneath and came in view of Castillo de San Marcos (the old fort). I could almost feel the fear of those sailors who's ship may have gotten this close, to be obliterated by the barrage of cannon fire. If only those walls of that old fort could talk, what tales they could tell.
Our sightseeing boat continued on toward the Vilano bridge, that connected St. Augustine to the small community of Vilano Beach and A1A north. Several small boats were beached and fishing or playing on the sandy shore. Lots of jelly fish littered the small beach they were on.
As our boat continued, making a turn for lighthouse point. Our journey was to stay in the river, not going out into the open waters of the Atlantic. There was a small schooner with tall sails that did head out into the open waters. It was also a sightseeing vessel, filled to the deck rails with on lookers.
I was content to stay within the confines of the river and on a boat that had more control of it's power As our big diesel engines churned and propelled us onward, past the Conch House Marina and then powering down to make a turn in front of the lighthouse.
The sun was sinking behind the horizon as we entered the main channel, and headed back toward the bridge of Lions. The bridge of Lions is a working draw bridge. The small sail boat with the tall riggings, would have to wait for the bridge tender to raise the spans before passing thru.
By now the sun had all but disappeared and the small boats in the harbor floated in darkness. It had been a very enjoyable ride, we had witness some dolphins at play while in the open channel.
Back at the pirate ship, and that Osprey was still perched atop the main mast. They are fish eaters and this must have been a good location from which to hunt. The sea gulls were swarming around the Santa Maria Restaurant, which sits out over the harbor.
One of our sea fairing shipmates snapped a picture for us, before departing for dry land. We caught the last of the sunset just as it was falling into the tree's beyond and was gone for the day. With the cover of darkness came the night lights of the city. We still had stops to make and places to go.
Once back on land and the security of hard surfaces under our feet, we headed for the city square. That was a walk of two blocks from the city harbor. The square was all a glow with the Nights of Lights. The tree's and pavilion was strung with the décor of lights. A large Christmas tree was a welcome focal point within the square as well.
The city square is located along the bay, right in front of the bridge of Lions. The bridge of Lions is also an historical land mark. It had a large lion statue ( one on each side ) that guard the entrance on both sides and on both ends.
The entrance to St. George street and all those small shops, bars and restaurants are also just off the city square. All the shops were still open during this time of the year. Kathie and I went back to shop some more, to find those items that we just had to have. Finding nothing that we couldn't live without we headed over to Scarlett O'Hara's.
A cute little bar built in an old house complete with a front porch and rockers. All the rocking chairs were full and the lady singer was belting out a song and picking a guitar. There is a bar inside and one outside. We found a seat outside and ordered a drink. From our position we could hear the entertainment and observe the front porch rockers. I think this place would do well to have a two hour porch seating limit, ha ha. No one was making a move to get out of those rockers :)
About the time we finished our second round I became ill. The many meals of spicy foods and drinking was catching up to me. My stomach was churning and unsettled. I knew this wouldn't be a pleasant night for me. I have these attacks every now and then. Usually when eating foods I shouldn't or something that contains a spice that doesn't sit well with me. Thinking back over the course of the day I figured it was the soup. Regardless we were finished for the day and now headed to our nights lodging. I wasn't feeing well at all and spent a very sleepless night.
Day five ( Sunday Dec. 22nd ) I was up early regardless of the sleepless night. My stomach was still feeling unsettled. When having and suffering the ills of reflux and acid, it's a most unpleasant time. Those who suffer from it knows well of what I'm speaking. Those who have never suffered that unpleasant ordeal, will never know how lucky you are.
This was our last full day and I wanted for Kathie to have a great time. She has a very stressful job and deserves a wonderful vacation. We would get a late start but I would continue to improve thru out the day. It just takes time for my system to return to semi normal. The effects linger on for days but the sickness passed quickly.
First on our event planner for today, was to stop by Charlie and Sharon's home to say goodbye. We had originally made plans to have breakfast with them at the Elk's Lodge. Due to my getting sick I felt it best to cancel those prearranged plans. For me there would be no breakfast, certainly nothing to eat until my system made a better recovery. Our visit was way to short and saying goodbye is always tough.
It was early afternoon by the time we got downtown. We had seen some items in a couple of the shops, last minute items to buy. Kathie also wanted to visit a couple of the shops that had sale racks. A lady can't pass up a good sale. I left her to enjoy looking around and made a stop at this little cigar shop. The way I was feeling, it couldn't get any worse, only better. I selected a short smoke and a beer. I just enjoyed the time, it was another pleasant day.
By the time Kathie rescued me from my own vises, I was ready to go find something to eat. As long as I ordered some sensible I felt I'd be ok. I needed to eat something, not just a lot for now. We made a stop at this little porch eatery on St. George St. I was having a great time, watching the masses walk by. People watching as it's referred to, ha ha. I wonder if I look as ridiculous in some of the things I wear. Most likely the answer is yes I do, lol.
After lunch we headed to the beach. Kathie wanted to spend her last afternoon walking and enjoying the sand underneath her feet. We headed for Vilano, where you can drive on the beach. It wasn't crowded for a Sunday afternoon. There were a lot of boats headed out into the deeper waters of the Atlantic. That small schooner loaded with sightseers was one of them, as well as that small sail boat from last night, it looked to be the same one that was going thru the raised spans of the bridge of Lions. I took a picture as they passed one another, I have no idea if they were close or not. I used the zoom and waited for them to line up in my sight.
I took several pictures of these two small craft. The schooner looked to have standing room only. It was loaded with passengers. It was a beautiful day to be sailing. The winds were at 15 knots.
Later when both were headed back in, I again took pictures. Lining them up with the lighthouse. I took many a picture of boats and that lighthouse. The lens of the camera can never capture the moments that you do with the lens of your eyes. I enjoy taking pictures, never have I taken the perfect one.
The hard part is to get that lighthouse just where you want it. I think I did just that, not only once but twice.
Kathie and I spent the entire afternoon walking up and down the beach. We were searching out unusual shells, those of different shapes and colors. We gathered a bag full to be sorted later. Once we have them cleaned and sorted, plans are to use them in a collage under one of our wall hangings.
The winds were picking up and white caps starting to show in the waves. That explains why the sailing ships were coming back into the safety of the port. There were no boats that we could see out in the open waters. The beach goers were also starting to pack up and head for home. It was getting late and soon we were almost alone, the beach all to ourselves.
Kathie looked so small standing alone on the sands of this large beach. We could have drove from one end to the other but we enjoyed the walk. Now the sun was low in the evening sky, we headed back toward the jetty and where we had parked.
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It was another golden sunset, day turns to night. We walked hand in hand thru the surf and enjoyed our last sunset in this ancient city by the sea. We had enjoyed five full days and it was ending for us. I still had one more move left on my chess board.
Leaving the beach we headed north on A1A. I told Kathie I had a special place I wanted to share with her. We made a left turn at Castle Otttis and went to the last street and turned right. One block and turned left into the sandy tree filled parking lot. We found a large parking space on the back row. It was crowded but no worry. This was "Caps by the Water." A beautiful restaurant that was right on the intracoastal waterway. It is a very large place. A lot of the patrons arrive by boat. The wait wouldn't be very long. It was already dark by the time we arrived. I left my camera in the truck. I did manage to get pictures off the web.
I asked for seating by the waters edge. We would have to wait about 20 minutes. Plenty of time to have a drink at the bar. The place was packed but large enough to handle a good size crowd. There were two bars, one inside and a tiki bar out on the deck. I had just ordered another beer when our table was ready.
The lights of north St. Augustine and the airport illuminated the land mass. We could see the boats as they made their way up and down the intracoastal waterway. A night sightseeing boat was docking and the passengers making their way to the restrooms and tiki bar.
We enjoyed a wonderful meal and lingered long past our bed time. It was hard to leave it all behind. But leave we must do. Tomorrow we needed to leave to assure being home on Christmas. I like to leave a margin of safety. I wasn't sure as to the traffic we'd encounter on our trip back to GA. The day would start early, we had a lot to do before leaving. We would be headed back into the cold temperatures. I needed to completely drain all our tanks and winterize the unit. That would take me a couple of hours to complete winterizing and closed up ready to get on the road. Kathie didn't want to leave, she would have stayed.
Day six ( Dec. 23rd. Monday ) I was up early, enjoying my morning coffee. I like this time of day, it is so quiet and peaceful. It gives me time to think and ponder life. I was thinking about St. Augustine and my history of living here. I had never enjoyed it as much as I did this short time. For me it was a great place for a vacation but not a place I'd want to live, ha ha. Another thing I was thinking of how I had enjoyed everything I had done on vacation and never did it when I lived here. Which proves that old adage, why travel hundreds of miles to see the sites, when you have plenty to enjoy in your own back yard. One thing I know for sure is as we age we make a lot of changes. My life had slowed and I am no longer in a hurry, taking time to enjoy it more. When your young you're always in a rush. I had slowed to a crawl in my ways and in my attitude. I was a more relaxed person these days. If only I had some young person to get this Vaca House ready to go :) Well slow or not I best get started at it.
I had planned to be on the road by no later than noon. It was 11:30 as we were pulling out of the campground. Kathie had been quiet all morning, not having a lot to say. I thought perhaps she didn't feel well or had something troubling her
The temperature was 82 degree as we pulled onto Hwy 207 headed for I-95. We had enjoyed a fantastic week, the weather was perfect. Our first two nights we ran the space heater, the last three we ran our air conditioner. We had enjoyed some great meals, got to visit with old friends and saw a lot of sites and visited places others just read about. I wasn't ready to leave but our time was up. Kathie made her feelings plain to me just as we started to pull out of the campsite. With sadness in the tone of her voice she ask, Why go Dutch?
*** You can better see the pictures by clicking on them. That will enlarge them for a better view.***
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