St. Augustine is just down the road from us (sort of), an easy drive of about 28 miles. On the Atlantic coast, this place is the oldest continuously-occupied settlement in the United States.
We did our homework by deciding ahead of time what things we wanted to see on this trip, and then found a parking garage in the middle of it all. The address for the parking garage was put into our cell phone map app and off we went!
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument is a huge stone structure on the coast of the Matanzas River, which is near the Atlantic Ocean.
Note: we got in for FREE with our National Parks passes. If you are 62 years or older, waste no time getting yours. They are good for the rest of your life! We have used ours many times across the country.
We were here about 21 years ago, back when we lived in Orlando. It was good to visit it again. We have discovered that although history has always been interesting to us, it is more so as we age and have the time to explore and think about its implications.
The beautiful setting on a sunny day hides the realities of war. I stood at this lookout, picturing in my mind the fear I would have felt when ships made their way toward the fort, seeking to do battle. I doubt I would have functioned well under such pressure.
Beloved, of course, having served his share of military time in years gone by, and also because he is an avid reader of historical fiction and science fiction -- he was very interested in the weaponry on display.
Let's see... how many cannons would you like to see? (smile) Beloved was able to give me an interesting description of how the various ones worked, how they would load them, the expected distance they could shoot, and so forth.
It was interesting to see the notches placed at regular intervals in the top walls for the placement of the cannons.
The Matanzas River is named after the Spanish word for "slaughter." Need I say more?
By the way, the stone used for construction is called coquina and is made up of sea shells. It is extremely durable. Instead of shattering when a cannon ball hit, the wall sort of absorbed the cannon ball. They would pluck the cannon ball out of the wall and re-use it! Re-cycling at its best!
In the center of the fort was a courtyard. During peacetime the soldiers would congregate here to deal with their muskets. When the town of St. Augustine was under siege, the citizens would gather here for refuge.
Cheerful tunes wafted over the breeze as we looked into doorways and windows.
There were no Memory Foam mattresses for the soldiers, but the necessities of life were made available.
After the war was over (or our tour of it), we sought the Colonial Quarter, just across the street from the fort. Shops and eateries lined the pedestrian area on both sides for several blocks.
We had two requirements as we looked for lunch:
1) air conditioning
2) a menu to satisfy my food allergies
After walking past several open-air places, we found the Bull and Crown Public House, which worked out very well. Beloved had a burger and I had a spinach salad. The air conditioning was a relief!
We wandered in and out of the shops, but didn't buy anything (this time). My faithful readers know how much stuff we disposed of to make the move from Colorado to Florida. I still can't bring myself to get very excited about shopping and buying more stuff!!
We love the architecture, flowers, fountains, trees, and palms. I feel like I'm in a dream, getting to live in such beauty!
As we strolled back to the parking garage, we stopped in at Ben and Jerrys for ice cream. Beloved got Butter Pecan and I got the Berry Sorbet (gluten-dairy-egg free).
This cemetery was on our route to the car -- we didn't stop because we were hot and tired, but headed on home to our recliners so that we, too, could 'rest in peace!' Ha!
It was a wonderful day.
P.S. There are many more things to see and do in historic St. Augustine, but our feet were tired and it was a hot day. We will return when the weather is cooler.
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