St. Augustine

 I had a wonderful day in St. Augustine with Tandi Kennison.  Thanks Tandi, for a great day.

At the Visitor's Information Center is a large, coquina stone ball.  This ball signifies the zero mile marker of the Old Spanish Trail.  There is a twin to the ball located in Balboa Park in San Diego.  The idea for the trail was conceived in 1915 and was the shortest trade route connecting both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.  The road was completed nearly fifteen years later at a cost of over $80,000.

Henry Flagler was a self-made millionaire, best known for his partnership with John D. Rockefeller with whom he founded the Standard Oil Company.  Flagler had a vision for St. Augustine; to make it the south's playground for the rich and famous.  He envisioned grand hotels and old southern charm for its guests.

Flagler Memorial Presbyterian Church was built by Flagler in 1889 as a memorial to his daughter, Jenny Louise Benedict.  He wanted the church to be ready for the first anniversary of his daughter's passing and hired 1,000 men that worked day and night to complete the church in 361 days.  Henry Flagler, his first wife, his daughter and granddaughter are all entombed in the west wing of the church.

 Prior to being the Lightner Museum, this building was the site of Henry Flagler's second hotel, the Alcazar.  In this lavish hotel, guests could experience luxuries such as Turkish baths, early motion picture sows, bowling alleys and the largest indoor swimming pool of its time.

Whetstone Chocolatiers factory tour allows you to taste freshly made chocolates and confections while you walk through the factory.  They introduce you to the history and making of chocolate and the Whetstone story.  By tasting you distinguish the characteristics of dark and milk chocolate.

The Fountain of Youth is a 15-acre park established to preserve Seloy, a Native American village that Ponce de Leon visited when he arrived in Florida in 1513. One of the primary reasons poor ol' Ponce traveled to the New World was to find the fabled fountain. Well, the park claims to have it. You can taste this sulfurous potion in the Spring House -- but no guarantees it'll work.

The Bridge of Lions ...

Castillo de San Marcos - The Spanish began construction of the fort in 1672 and took nearly 23 long years to complete.  This makes the fort the oldest masonry structure in the United States.  It is made entirely out of native coquina stone, a mix of shell fragments and quartz grains, that is soft and easy to cut, but hard when cured in the sun.  This unique material makes cannon balls sink into, rather than shatter, the walls of the fort.  The walls are ten feet wide at the bottom and taper down to four feet at the top.  The fort was originally painted white with red corners to reflect the Spanish battle flag that flew overhead.  This was done to warn passing ships that this was a military outpost occupied by Spain.

A massive steel cross was erected in 1965, celebrating the city's 400th anniversary, at the same place where Father Lopez conducted his first Mass.  It weights 70 tons and is is construction out of 200 steel panels.  It marks the spot where St. Augustine had its humble beginnings.

Chains like this were used to protect the harbor ...

 A 600 year old Live Oak .... The Old Senator

Magnolia Avenue - The most beautiful street in America

We had lunch at the Columbia Restaurant - a nice treat since I didn't get to eat at the one in Tampa.

And I bought a loaf of Cuban bread to bring home .... yum.