Dear St. Augustine, Old Looks Great on You

We were in the second week of our snowbird trip through Florida and Georgia.  Mayport Naval Station near Jacksonville, Florida was our home for the week. The weather had improved tremendously, and we were enjoying our stay very much.  Nevertheless, by the third day there, we were ready to spread out a bit.  It was time for a day trip.

Helen (adorable wife) had decided that we would go to St. Augustine, about a one-hour drive south by way of highway A1A. We both had been there before to visit friends, but neither of us had spent any time touring the sights. We planned to grab a trolley and take an in-depth tour of the historical district…then eat seafood.

With the weather cooperating nicely, the drive down A1A was delightful.  The ocean was in our view for a large portion of the drive and the time passed quickly. Helen spent some time on Trip Advisor as well as the AAA Guidebooks to obtain information on sights to visit, and by the time we arrived had determined that we could get a great feel for the area on the trolley tour. Soon the Castillo de San Marcos came into our view, and it was time to go exploring.

After parking Bert (Gracey’s tow vehicle) and walking a few blocks, we purchased tickets for Old Town Trolley Tours at a sidewalk booth adjacent to the trolley stop. We did not have to wait long for the trolley, but I did have time to take a few pictures of the activity in the historical district. It was busy for a mid-week day.

We boarded the trolley in the middle of the tour route and, after a few safety instructions (don’t jump out of a moving trolley) we were off. The trolley guide was an amiable sort, and it was obvious that this was not his first tour. The wind immediately picked up, and I was glad I had a jacket on. Thankfully, the sun was warm.

One thing became apparent almost immediately.  St. Augustine has stunningly beautiful architecture. As the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the United States, it’s architecture has many European influences, particularly Spanish, but also English and French. It was the French architecture that captured us first as we passed Memorial Presbyterian Church, built in 1889 by Henry Flagler, co-founder of Standard Oil and given much of the credit for the development of St. Augustine as a tourist destination.

Mr. Flagler’s contribution to the architecture of the area was evident everywhere, and one tour stop after another featured buildings commissioned by him at the turn of the 20^th century. Since I’m not an expert on architecture, I’ll let pictures, accompanied by a few words, tell the story of Flagler’s contribution.

Ponce de Leon Hotel, built in 1888 and constructed of poured concrete and coquina stone. Thomas Edison wired the hotel for electricity.  The Ponce de Leon has been the home of Flagler College since 1968.

The Alcazar Hotel completed two years after the Ponce de Leon, and also built by Henry Flagler, is now the Lightner Museum.

Other architectural styles were just as impressive to this retired homebuilder, including Gonzales-Alvarez House, built in 1723 and is considered St. Augustine’s oldest house.

I loved the many Victorian homes along our route.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The oldest drug store was built in 1739 and moved several times.  It is now a museum and free of charge to the public.

 

The Bridge of Lions, built in 1925 during the development boom, is a marvelous structure by day, but we understand that it is dazzling at night during the Night of Lights festival held each year.  The picture below portrays it well.

 

 

The Bridge also leads to O’Steen’s Restaurant, a place recommended by almost everyone we spoke to about the best places to eat in St. Augustine. Once we completed our very enjoyable trolley tour, we jumped into Bert and drove across the bridge. By now, it was mid-afternoon and well past lunchtime.  O’Steen’s would be both our lunch and dinner stop.

Our friends had warned us that there is always a wait regardless of the time of day, and sure enough, there was a line at three o’clock, our arrival time. Helen placed our name on the waiting list.  The hostess suggested that we walk next door to the Bizzare Bazaar and browse through the flea market while we waited.  A loudspeaker for the restaurant is inside in the building, and we should hear a call within fifteen minutes for seating.  Readers know that flea market browsing is our thing. I purchased an old James Bond DVD for Gracey for a dollar.

O’Steen’s specialty is fried shrimp and hushpuppies, and we each ordered a dozen. We were not disappointed.  The shrimp came fried in an extremely light batter without a hint of the greasy taste that some can have.  The hushpuppies were large and served very hot and very good. For sides, I had green beans which were just ok, and a macaroni salad that was the best I ever had. By the time we finished this meal, we were too stuffed for dessert, but the pies served to the guests around us were very tempting. We thought about it but passed.

Before returning to Mayport, we made one stop at the Castillo de San Marcos, a fort built in 1672 by the early Spanish settlers which enabled them to hold St. Augustine for many years.  The view of the river from the top of the fort was beautiful and, once again, we were impressed by the architecture.  The fort is now in the hands of the National Park Service, and our National Park Senior Passes were all we needed to enter.

At the end of our walk through Castillo de San Marcos we stopped to hear a portion of the lesson given by a Park Ranger.  We would have loved to hear more, but it was time to drive back to Jacksonville. Our side trip had been a success.  We left comforted with the knowledge that it is still possible to grow old and look good…time to be Easin’ Along.