St Augustine, Florida

We traveled along FL A1A after Daytona Beach to look at the Atlantic Ocean.  We stopped at a parking area and admired the wet sand after the high tide had ebbed.  

A pretty spot along the A1A highway.

 

 

 

 

 

Driving along A1A in Florida

 

We met a woman from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada simply as she offered to take our picture with our camera.  We had quite a discussion about bird watching, her work as a manager of a section of James Bay bordering the Arctic Ocean for the Canadian equivalent of the Fish and Wildlife Service in the USA.

Our friend from Canada.

A recommendation that produced good results.

We stopped at this restaurant upon the advice of our Canadian friend.  The waitress mentioned that her "regular job" was cleaning houses.  We mentioned that a friend of ours in Eagan, MN, has transitioned her "house cleaning" into a caring service for clients.  So upon our server's request, we are putting the two in touch.

We arrived in St Augustine, Florida, with the purpose of visiting the
. 

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument

My model in front of the walls. 

The interior of the fort.

According to research in Wikipedia, the fort was started in 1672 after a raid by and English pirate.  After completion, it withstood sieges twice, in 1702 and 1740, with the forces of the North Carolina and Georgia governors who must have wanted to expand their territory.  Some 1500 persons were inside the walls of the fort for up to two months.  The fort is  a 

masonry star fort made of a stone called coquina (Spanish for "small shells"), made of ancient shells that have bonded together to form a type of stone similar to limestone.  This stone absorbed the force of small cannonballs and the two governor's forces eventually withdrew.

Cannon firing demonstration.

Poster celebrating the founding of St Augustine.

A very patient trained horse ready to tour the old area.

Tourism is a major industry in St Augustine. 

Counter-clockwise my model, Sue, an old building, a monument and a cannon.

A monument to Ponce De Leon who founded St Augustine

A monument to Ponce De Leon who founded St Augustine. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. He led the first known European expedition to La Florida, which he named, and is associated with the legend of the Fountain of Youth, supposed to be in Florida.

A monument to Confederate Civil War dead.

The Stars and Bars of the Confederacy.

 

 

 

Grace United Methodist Church is a historic church in St. Augustine, Florida.

 

A little controversy with Henry Flagler.

Henry Flagler was a co-founder of Standard Oil along with John D Rockefeller.  He was a prominent developer of the Atlantic coast side of Florida.

Old neighborhood in St Augustine, Florida