St. Augustine, Florida

We got past the pirates watching over St. Augustine, which was founded in 1565 as a Spanish military outpost.  St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the US, with a strong Spanish heritage. It boasts many heritage buildings….

 The Ponce de Leon Hotel (1887) – now Flagler College

 Ponce de Leon / Flagler College Rotunda

 The Alcazar Hotel (1888) – now City Hall

Arrivas House (1764) – built with coquina stones
(natural limestone formed of broken shells and coral)

oldest wooden school house in the US

It’s now a very touristy locale, with many shops and art galleries... I loved the jellyfish in this store window...

 and we got a chuckle from this sign...

We arrived here just in time to watch their Festival of Lights, where the town turns on its' Christmas lights. It's strange hearing Christmas music without the cold and snow.  

The weather's not been good here for quite some time. I shouldn't complain because I know it's worse at home, but it's been unseasonably cold with howling winds down here. Gil & I are actually staying in a marina!! That is very uncharacteristic for us, but we're glad to be here, especially when we can see how the boats in the mooring field are being tossed around. Tomorrow the weather's forecast to be more settled, so we'll move on again.

 Bridge of Lions, originally built in 1927, and refurbished ($76 million) 2005-2010