#23, Florida, with Friends

 February 24 - 27, 2024

On a circuitous route, all points are destinations, but Boynton Beach, Florida, was the furthest point from home, so arguably could be considered the destination of the trip.  I had been only briefly to this land of alligators and palm trees once years ago, but had little memory of the trip beyond a favorite coffee mug in my cupboard.  

Leaving the historic area of St Augustine on a sunny Saturday, coupled with a recently added divider on the main highway out, was fraught with challenges but eventually I was headed south in my little Kia.  Back into the crazy fray of fast driving, tail-gating and no signals.  I settled into the rhythm of it, listening to "On the Shores of Silver Lake" while keeping with the pack.  Just a few quick rest stops and by late afternoon I had pulled up to the cute condo owned by my friends, Tom and Gina.

No photos to show of the inside, but Tom has worked hard on creative refurbishment projects and Gina has decorated it so cheerily in yellow and white with high-end thrifted accent pieces.  After a brief tour, I got settled into the guestroom for a too-short stay with these snowbird friends of mine.

After a quick dinner prepared by Gina, we went for a drive through several area neighborhoods where other friends and acquaintances have purchased condos.  It had gotten dark while we drove around but there was a nearly full moon in a clear sky, so we stopped at a park and walked across the street to the beach.  

Gina and I played around with our phone settings, trying to get pictures of each other.  With the bright moon as a backlight, it was a bit of a challenge, but good for a few laughs.  

Tom congenially obliged us and posed, even for a little smooching.  

Gina's sister, Tricia, and husband Ken joined us on the beach for a while before we all headed home for the evening. 

I had been showing Gina some different settings that she could use on her phone when taking pictures.  I was about to delete this coffee cup (taken in portrait mode) but realized that it was quite significant to me.  I love a little cup of decaf in the evenings, but it's seldom available.  It was a treat to find that they had the same Nespresso machine as I have at home, with the same decaf capsules, so we shared several cups together during my stay.  Sometimes it's the little things. 

The next day I joined them at church.  There were so many people that I knew from the church back home.  

With friend Sue, from back home

There was also a huge banyan tree with a couple swings.  The tree was a busy place, especially with the younger kids.  I wanted badly to try out the swing with those long, long ropes, but felt a bit shy with so many people around.  Monday morning I was back at the church for an outing and went straight to the swing.  It was delightful.

After the service and a bit of visiting, I headed out to return my Kia to a rental place in a nearby mall.  My friends picked me up and we joined Ken and Tricia and the girls' mother, Shirley, at a Greek restaurant.  The weather was just perfect for sitting outside in the shade.

#21, Castillo de San Marcos After Dark

 February 23, 2024

After I left the magical garden behind the crêperie, I took another walk, as it hadn’t started raining again.  Cutting down a side street, I found a nice coffee shop and got a latte to go.  The moon was full, or nearly so, and peeking through the clouds now and then.  Ahead of me, three lollipop palm trees stood sentinel on the hill.  A golden glow beneath one of them highlighted the subtle line of the Castillo.

I was drawn towards the moon, so I crossed the street and climbed up the dark hill.  As expected, the entry booth was shuttered and the draw bridge up, so I couldn’t get inside the Castillo, but there were areas accessible.  A few other people quietly wandered about in the shadows. 

It was an amazing experience.  Just enough light to see, but enough shadows to add a bit of mystery.  Of what, or even who, might be around the next corner. 

I found some areas of the fort that I hadn’t seen during my daytime visit.  This “hot shot” oven was one.  It was used to heat cannonballs until they were red hot.  The idea being that they would start a wooden ship on fire.

The inner draw bridge was down, but there was no way to get to it.  Obviously, I wasn’t looking for any illegal way in.  There weren’t signs forbidding people to walk where I was.  There would really be no way to keep people out beyond fencing the entire area, which would really ruin it historically. 

From on top the seawall, the lights on the Bridge of Lions danced across the water. 

All in all, it was a wonderful way to end the evening, and my last day in this ancient city.  The next morning I’d haul my luggage down the narrow stairs and into my little Kia.  I’d point the car south and be on my way.

 

#20, St Augustine, Randomly

 February 20 – 23, 2024

Ask anyone who visits any city, in any country about their stay, and the subject of food will come up.  Good food, in good locations can make or break a visit.  Especially since it can take a chunk out of the travel budget.

An eatery that I enjoyed a few meals at was a British pub called Bull & Crown.  Situated in the thick of things in the historic area on St George Street, it had cozy seating both inside and out.   

They were quite pleased when I told them that the last time I had fish and chips this good was when I was in England. 

On my arrival in the city, due to parking in a lot a distance from the inn, as well as road construction and the darkness, I had trouble finding my way back to the inn.  Finding myself on the well-lit St George Street, I ducked into this cozy fish place.  The blackened fish tacos hit the spot.  Afterwards, I admitted that I was lost a few blocks from my lodging, so one of the workers helped me figure out the lay of the land.  As it had made a positive impression, I came back to eat at least one more time during my stay.  The only negative was that they had metal chairs that people constantly dragged across the cement floor, creating a nails-on-chalkboard background noise.

In the residential areas there were a lot of interesting homes, with Spanish moss dripping from the trees throughout. Many of the houses are very old, some bearing plaques stating their history.

The drawbridge spanning the Matanzas River, joining Anastasia Island with the ancient city of St Augustine is called The Bridge of Lions.  Built in 1925, it is a beautiful bridge, but somehow, the only pictures of it were from up on the Castillo.  I did walk across the bridge to the center and back.  It is flanked on the city side by two majestic lion statues.

An old-fashioned sailing ship is docked near the bridge.  It seemed to be giving tours, but I never checked into going on one.  Later I found that it is called Nao Trinidad Tall Ship and is a replica of Magellan’s flagship.  Even though I didn't tour it, I enjoyed it's presence in the harbor every time I walked in that area.

It was cool during my entire stay in St Augustine, so I was glad I had packed my down puffer jacket.  On the last day it rained.  It really poured.  I could see it slashing down on the palm leaves outside of my window.  Walking downtown, and ducking into a few shops, I found myself in a little vintage jewelry shop run by Mr. Solidus.  He had lots of jewelry that wasn’t vintage as well, that he called “collections”.  I told him I was in the market for a ring, as a tiny souvenir.  They were all mixed up and not marked with sizes, so we had lots of time to chat as I perused his offerings.  I finally settled on a darling silver ring with an oval labradorite stone.  Mr. Solidus was from Istanbul.  Jolly, with an edge of grouch and testiness.  The shopkeeper from across the way came and they bantered back and forth about wearing their rain boots to work.  He said he was nearly deaf and had forgotten to put his hearing aids in.  When I told him I was sorry, he said that he liked it that way.

I took a long looping walk around town, revisiting Louisa’s boarding house.  They had a small shop there with lots of books about the local area, including Eugenia Price’s Florida Trilogy. I bought a book about the Fleming family, written by a descendant of Margaret.  Also, a book about the Minorcan’s of St Augustine.  A large group of indentured servants from the Island of Minorca, off the coast of Greece, figure largely in the history of St Augustine, and are written about in Margaret, book one of the trilogy.  More on this beleaguered group of people in a future blog.

At suppertime I was looking for something besides a popular sit-down restaurant, as it was Friday night, and I hadn’t made reservations.  I'd actually not given it much thought until I noticed groups of nicely dressed people walking purposefully on the sidewalks.  I popped into this little crepe restaurant, thinking to get something to go, but didn’t really want to go back to the Inn as my room, while fine for sleeping, wasn’t very inspiring to hang out in.  

I was thrilled when I found out that they had seating in the back yard.  An exquisite garden space, lush and green and dripping from the recent rain.  I used a napkin to wipe the chair enough to sit and then enjoyed a lovely supper under the trees.  I was so inspired by it, I wanted to go directly home and work in my yard.

When Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb, he couldn't have known the magical way it would light up our world.

#19, Significant Historical Buildings of St Augustine

 It would be a daunting task to portray every historical building in St Augustine, but there were several that stood out to me.  Henry Flagler, railroad tycoon, certainly left his mark on the city.

What is now known as Flagler College, was constructed between 1885 and 1887 as the Ponce de Leon Hotel.  It was one of the first buildings to be constructed of poured concrete and one of the first to have electricity.  Only the best would do, so there were light fixtures and stained-glass panels designed by Louis Tiffany himself, as well as other elements by famous artists. 

During WWII The Ponce was converted into training space and housing for the US Coast Guard.  Following WWII, it was again running as a hotel, until in 1967 it closed.  It was then sold by one of Flagler’s descendants to be used as a college.

Across King Street from "the Ponce", Flagler had another, slightly less expensive hotel built called the Alcazar.  Though somewhat less elaborate, it nonetheless had many amenities, including what was at that time, the world’s largest swimming pool.  The hotel was a favored destination, and did well for many years, but when the depression hit, it began to decline, and in 1932 it closed its doors.  

This huge building sat empty until 1947 when it was purchased by a private individual, Otto Lightner.  Lightner was a collector in a very big way of art, design, and novelty items. 

After buying the building, Lightner donated it to the city.  Half of it has become City Hall, and the other half is a museum for Lightener’s collections.  The swimming pool is now an upscale restaurant.  I didn’t visit the museum or eat lunch there, but talked with someone who has done both.  She felt it was a worthwhile thing to do.  Lightner is buried in the museum.

One interesting fact is that in front of what used to be The Alcazar Hotel is a statue, not of either Henry Flagler or Otto Lighter, but of Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles, the man credited with founding the city of St Augustine in 1565.  Despite the ruffle around his face and what could be seen as a frilly skirt, Don Pedro was no sissy.  He was, in fact, a rather brutal man. 

Born into a privileged lifestyle, at 14 years old he left the confines of home life and ran off to sea.  After some years of battle experiences as well as a couple of years in prison, he went, commissioned by King Phillip II of Spain, to deal with a threat of a French settlement on the Florida coast.  Arriving with 2,000 men on 11 ships in July 1565, He named the bay of St Augustine and built a fort there.  That done, he traveled to the nearby French colony of Fort Caroline.  There he and his men killed the entire population.  Further atrocities occurred but I can’t bring myself to write them down.

On a brighter note, Henry Flagler built and donated the Grace United Methodist Church.  Constructed from 1886 to 1887, it is still in use today.  I didn’t go inside.

Another notable building that caught my eye, not for its beauty, but for its connection to Maria, in book one of the trilogy.  Maria, a capable midwife, was also a confident business woman and property owner.  She took every opportunity to hobnob with those in government positions, whether they be British or Spanish. 

A succession of wooden buildings housed the government on this site from the founding of the city in 1565, but all were burned.  In 1702 this coquina building with the distinct upper patio was built.  A series of thick, brown-painted corbels stand out against the sandy plastered coquina walls.

The tallest building in St Augustine, at 8 stories high, is known as The Treasury.  Built in 1929 as the First National Bank, it only lasted three years due to the crash of the stock market.  It is now a popular destination wedding venue, providing everything needed for a special wedding.