St Augustine

I spent one day in St. Augustine with Peggy, Jean, and Sandy. It wasn't all that enjoyable due to the cold -- and I mean C-O-L-D. I had four layers of clothing on and I still got chilled to the bone, despite being inside a museum for most of our visit.

Jean and Peggy left the campground about an hour before Sandy and I did. When we connected, Jean and Peggy said that they weren't doing anything just yet other than taking the trolley around the city to see what was what. Sandy and I decided to do the same. We didn't get through one quarter of the tour when we decided it was just too darned cold. As soon as we could, we got back to the parking lot to her van and made something warm to eat/drink. As we were sitting there chatting, we heard a rather loud engine running and Sandy said, "I hear a generator. Doesn't that sound like a generator running to you?" I walked outside and sure enough, Jean and Peggy were back at Jean's van, running the generator to get warm and make some hot chocolate.

Jean and Sandy spent the rest of the afternoon touring the shops in town while Peggy and I went to the Lightner Museum. The museum was housed in the old Hotel Alcazar which was built in 1887 by railroad magnate Harry Flagler. The Hotel Alcazar was, in its day, a health spa that consisted of a Turkish bath, gymnasium, steam room, massage room, and cold plunge room. The building was eventually purchased in 1946 by Otto Lightner, a Chicago Publisher, to house his collection of Victorian artifacts and was opened to the public as a museum two years later.

Some of the more interesting exhibits I found were of the artistry in the Victorian era. People entertained themselves by making art from human hair, match box covers, and cigar bands.


I saw so very little of St. Augustine, that I went back the next day. The Lightner Museum had a room full of Victrolas and music boxes that they play twice a day. I wanted to get back there to listen to them play, but I never made it. Instead, I spent my afternoon at the Fountain of Youth.


The Fountain of Youth is where Ponce de Leon landed in 1513 and took claim to the land for Spain, naming it "La Florida." My interpretation of the Fountain of Youth is not of it's legendary youthful restorative properties but because of the hoards of youth that descend upon it en mass.  They were giving out little samples of the water from the fountain and twice, as I tried to obtain my own sample, was run over by groups of school children bombarding the room.


Florida's water taste like crap; it has a very high sulfur content and the water in the Fountain of Youth is no different. I got my chuckles watching half of the children guzzle their cup of water then run to the nearest trash recepticle to spit the disgusting taste out of their mouths.

This is an artist's rendition of the landing of the Spanish conquistadors

A Timucua Indian woman making pottery

A Spanish conquistador preparing the cannon. The most popular method for lighting the match was with a magnifying glass with direct sunlight. Although they did use flint stones, the sun/glass method worked faster. We had to wait for the sun to come out from behind a cloud for the gunman to light the cannon. 

The Fountain of Youth

A plant just inside the entrance gate. The driveway was lined with them.

This is Magnolia Drive. There aren't any Magnolias on it any more as they were taken over by Live Oaks. The street is one of the most photographed in the United States.

The Old Senator. Possibly America's oldest tree at 600 years old.

This cross is located at the Mission of Nombre de Dios & Shrine of Our Lady of Leche. The cross is the second tallest stainless steel structure in the U.S. at 208 feet. It was erected in 1965. The St. Louis Arch is the only stainless steel structure that is taller.