That was our destination for our end of the year vacation. Kathie and I loaded up the Vaca House and drove the 8 plus hours. Leaving in the frigid tempts of north GA, arriving in the joy of ocean breeze and warm tempts. It was in the low 30's as we headed south, leaving our Cleveland home. We were on the road early AM, wanting to beat the malfunction of Atlanta's traffic and grid lock. It was an easy tow as we made our way south. A delightful days end when we reached our campground and settled in. Our choice of stay this trip was to be Indian Forest Campground, located just 5 miles from downtown and all the action.
Indian Forest is a nice facility located off Hwy 207, 4.5 miles from downtown St. Augustine. It has everything you need for a pleasant stay in the area. Our full service site had water, sewer, electric, and wifi for just over $40.00 a night with our Good Sam discount. The site was spacious and the bathhouse and restrooms were always clean. Compared to other campgrounds in the area, it's the best deal going. At least we thought so. The only time spent at our campsite was for sleeping. Our days started early and ended late. We never had the time for all there was to do and see.
Our first stop was the beach. Having lived here for a number of years, I knew my way around quite well. We would go to the beaches used by the locals and not the tourists. I knew where all the great places were. The place first on my list was vacant except for this pair of sandals. With no one around I thought what a great find. They looked to be just my size. Kathie made me leave them where I found them. Later we found out they cost $50.00. Wow! I could have sold them for $20.00 to some tourist, haha.
It was late in the afternoon, warm in the sun out of the wind. On the beach there was a strong wind blowing and a jacket was needed. The weather couldn't have been any better. For us it was paradise and we enjoyed our stroll in the course brown sand and shell composition that makes up the beach shore line.
You'd think the shells would cut into your bare shin. That may be the sole reason there are no nude beaches in this part of Florida, ha ha. The sun was fading fast and we needed to get to our chosen dinner location. We left the beach for now but we would return several times to different locations during our visit.
Our first night was spent with friends at the Conch House Restaurant and Bar. What a wonderful and special place to have dinner. All the following pictures were taken after dark. It was a weekday and the evening was cool. Not a lot of people out but that suited us just fine. We enjoy it more when we have it all to ourselves.
The Conch House is like a south sea's tropical island paradise. Complete with thatched roof huts and a boat dock that resembles something out of Gilligan's Island. The food was great and the ambience was so spell binding, that I had to pinch Kathie a couple of times to make sure she was still with me. I know her mind was wondering and she was loving it all.
The restaurant and bar were silhouettes against the darkness and framed by lights that made them appear magical. All time stood still and we were captivates in a lost time in an ancient city by the sea.
The patio was void of guests during our time there. Only the shadows of the palms and the birds on their flights were present. It was breezy and we decided to dine inside with our friends who live in the area.
Part of the charm of this unique place is the outside seating area. During the weekends and warmer weather it's standing room only. The popularity of the place forced management to set a maximum time limit on the outside seating. Lets face it, wouldn't you want to be able to get in? Not if those who congregate refuse to do otherwise.
A favorite of mine is the Crow's Nest. It's a great place to sit out over the water and watch the Marina below.
The Marina is a favorite for boaters. It's a resort that attracts sea farriers world wide. You will find boats from everywhere docked there.
We enjoyed a great meal with two long time friends. I have known Charlie and Sharon for many years. We rode motorcycles and had many a wild adventure together. They have lived in the area for 30 years or more. For them, it's out of the question to consider living anywhere else.
After dinner we said good night to our friends and headed back to our basecamp at the RV Park. It had been a long day, starting at 3 AM. We would see Charlie and Sharon again before leaving at the end of our stay. We would spend many an hour playing tourist over the next several days and nights. Before calling it a night we took a drive thru the downtown area. This time of year is known as "Nights of Lights." The bay front is all a glow from all the lights, in the tree's and on the buildings.
Tomorrow we would return early. There was much to see and do. We only had a few days to get in as much as possible. Kathie was under protest as I drove us back to our Vaca House for the night. It was December the 18th (Wednesday) and part of our first day of vacation was spent getting there. We had a lot on our Bucket List.
Day two (Thursday Dec. 19th) we were up early. Kathie was ready to go. All smiles as she was lacing up her tennis shoes, for all the walking we'd be doing. We had a plan, sorta. Most of today's events would be within blocks of each other.
Our first stop on today's schedule, if we even had a schedule :) was the old fort. That's the way the locals refer to it. For us tourist it's name was "Castillo de San Marcos."
When the Spaniards first came to Florida it was at this place. They settled St. Augustine in 1565 and started building a fort to defend and protect from other invaders. The fort was built out of coquina rock, a mixture of sea shells and lime. The walls were soft and like a spongy, soaking up the cannon balls fired from the invading ships. The cannons were ineffective against the fort walls. The Spanish on the other hand had a great defense and sank or killed the invading force. The firing deck of the fort was set up in a star pattern, each cannon over lapping each others firing zone. Some of the cannons had a three mile range. The Spanish had no problem defending the harbor and town from all invaders.
The inside court yard of the fort was the gathering place for all the towns people during danger. I can imagine that would have been a very crowded place during such times. I'm sure the population of the town was many, plus the soldiers and their family's. Some of the battles were said to have lasted for as long as two months.
The fort had a mote that surrounded it and all tree's and vegetation was removed out to 250 yards. Outside fighting walls were also erected to help with the defense of a ground assault, by the local Indian tribes or invaders coming over land.
There were many different types of Cannons used at the fort. The range was anywhere from 1 1/2 up to 3 miles.
Kathie determined that the size of the cannon balls were a range of fist size to head size. At least the size of her head or vise-a-versa.
Spending the better part of two hours at the fort, we never saw it all. There was so much to read and see. The fort was completed in 1672. It was built and rebuilt over the course of 90 years. It was an engineering marvel given the time period and methods used to build it. It has stood the test of time and is still standing after all these hundreds of years. Age is truly more than numbers.
I can only hope that when I'm as old as "Castillo de San Marcos," I look half as good. Wow wouldn't that be something. I could then become known as "Dutchey de Laneos" or something like that. What's the importance of a name?
From the fort we moved inland, across the street actually. That's the location of the original city. It's a collection of streets and cross streets of shops and restaurants. You know like those tourist shops in every popular vacation area across the nation.
Only about 10' wide with two story buildings of shops, bars and restaurants. Streets of cobble stone or brick. It's an area of hustle and bustle of large groups of people. While the above photo's were taken during a time of no traffic of shoppers, it was plenty busy during our time there. It was shoulder to shoulder with those who's interest wasn't on others as they bumped and pushed their way thru the masses. It was a full time job just watching that others didn't run you over during these stampedes of human cattle. We ducked in a small eatery for a quick burger. It was called the St George Street Drug Store back in my day, now sold and renamed the Bunnery. It was quiet and a restful place out of the mayhem that ensued on the streets just outside the front door.
After our brief lunch and rest period, we again braved the masses in search of bargains. I found this cool top hat that I liked. Wouldn't you know they didn't have one in my size. Ok so the number one reason to go back again soon. I have to admit that I did make that hat look good, ha ha.
We ventured in and out of every little shop along those small streets. We made several purchases of all sorts of things. Kathie bought some items of clothing and I picked up some wall art for our Vaca House. We have decided to decorate in a beach motif. Wow did I just put those words together? Ok for our red neck friends, got some knick-knacks to hang on our trailer walls. Here are some pitchers of what we'se got.
With limited wall space for hanging pictures and such, we wanted memento's to remind us of our travels. Several items from different places make up this subtle reminder.
I still don't understand Island Time, we never got lazy, just to much to see and do. But it's a reminder if we want to just kick back and do nothing.
I'm a sucker for art and craftsmanship. I like the definition of art once told to me by a wise person long ago. "Art is the sex of imagination." From that day, I have never looked at art the same since. I still have many different sea shells to add, ones from our walks on the beaches.
We shopped until dark, stores stay open until 10 PM during the Nights of Lights. I wanted to take Kathie to this special little court yard restaurant called Harry's. It was crowded and we had to wait 45 minutes just to get seated, but man is it worth the wait.
Kathie was in awe as we listened to the small trio of singers and pickers, performing live before this small garden party. We were seated against the garden wall and from our perch we could observe the entire area. The tree's were all strung in lights and large propane heaters belched out warmth as the evening air was cooling. The day time tempts were in the high 70's, cooling quickly after sunset. We had prepared for the change in climate and brought a light jacket with us.
With the lights, tikki torches and heater it was plenty warm. I'm sure that all these happy humans put off a lot of body heat as well. We didn't need our jackets, but had them just in case.
After dinner I was in hopes of taking my beautiful wife on a romantic carriage ride. Every other guy young or old was thinking the same. It was a tired horse and a line of those eager to be trotted along the bay and back streets of this beautiful old magical ancient city. We would try for another time, for now we'd just walk hand in hand and enjoy this special time.
The Castillo de San Marcos was a back drop in the lights that illuminated against the darkness. Day or night it was a sight to behold. Just looking at it you could imagine that time long ago and those who lived it. The hardships and trials that made those first settlers so strong, enduring year after year. Leaving behind generations that still walk these streets of todays St. Augustine.
The oceans that brought those first peoples to this strange land, seems timeless and so gentle as the boats float lifeless upon it's waves. What would those from the 1500's think of us in 2013? Would they even began to understand life in modern day time?
It had been another long day and it was past my bed time. Tomorrow we would again assault the local beaches and slow our pace just a bit. There was just more things to see and do that we had time for, but we would try and enjoy as much as our time would allow.
Day three, ( Friday Dec 20) we were up and moving forward. Today we would start off with a visit to the St. Augustine Lighthouse. On our way to lighthouse point we would make a quick stop at Anastasia State Park. They were within blocks of one another. We wanted to check out the campground. It seems to be booked up a year in advance. We thought it might be something that we'd be open to in the future. It's a good thing we went by and looked them over. The camp sites were very small. I don't think a 30 footer would fit. We can cross that one off our list. Most of the state parks are small and can't accommodate large rigs like ours.
The lighthouse is a focal point in St. Augustine. It can be seen from just about every where you go. At least we saw it a lot. I took many a picture of it.
I like to stage a lot of the pictures I take. It's different from different angles and when framed with something else, it takes on a completely different look. A lot of what we see and how we see it we take for granted. I'm always looking for those different angles. I like for my pictures to say something more than what they are!
The normal every day lighthouse picture looks like this next one. I take those sort of pictures as well. As I get older I'd like to think that patience has a lot to do with who I am today. I like to take my time and look at the same subject from different angles and in different lighting.
It just depends on how you want the photo to look. I'm not a professional by any stretch of my imagination. A lighthouse may still be just a lighthouse, until you add something else. You will see this lighthouse in a lot of my photo's.
After our tour of the lighthouse, we headed off to lunch. The Conch House was in our path to the beach. I'm always eager to eat at the Conch House. No need of an excuse, "crows nest for two please."
It's funny how the same place looks so much different in the darkness and in the light of day. Our dinner on the first day was here with our friends Charlie and Sharon during the time of darkness. It wasn't that late, just this time of year it's dark at 5:30 PM.
It was a warm day, tempts in the 80's. There was a large crowd enjoying the outdoor seating area. We were ushered to a lower crows nest on the back side of the deck. It was a very pleasant day to be out and enjoying our surroundings. Kathie hadn't stopped smiling since we arrived in Florida.
After lunch we headed for the other side of town and a place called Vilano Beach. It's the only beach around St Augustine you can still drive on. We took our big Dodge Dully out on the sand and parked. It was a pleasant afternoon of sun and sand.
The rocks of the jetty were lined up with local fishermen. They were busy at the task and paid us no mind as we walked and waded in the surf. We were watchful of their lines and walked behind their poles.
Kathie took pause to sit on the rocks and soak up the rays. Now this could be her Island Time. She loves the beach and the whole sand between your toes thing. She must have been a beach bum in a former life. After some coaxing from me we continued our stroll.
A passion of mine has always been power boats. Not the go fast type but more the live aboard of 30 to 40.' I have owned several boats over the years but none of that size. My largest was a 28' Sea Ray weekender. It was a great boat but expensive to operate. I have always had a fondness for those things that I couldn't afford. Anything that I could get under me for a thrill, boats, cars, motorcycles and airplanes. Kathie jokingly said I also needed to add women to that list. LOL, do you see two out of that list of five in the above picture. You'se is a funny girl for sure.
On my last tip back to TN, my brother Leonard (Butch) gave me a cigar. Not being a real smoker I put it in the truck for a later time. Today as I stroll up and down the beach I'm enjoying that fine quality of a tobacco product. He also gave me some real sippin liquor, but that I left at home to be enjoyed at Christmas.
I think I will finish enjoy this cigar and get this blog posted. I'm realizing that there's no way to get five days of fun into two. So I will end here for now and Kathie and I will see you back here for part two. More to come from the beautiful ancient city of St. Augustine FL. Part two coming soon, be sure to leave some room for it :)
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