ST. AUGUSTINE, FL

Friday, March 27th to Saturday, March 28th, 2015

Day 235-236
Miles Traveled: 0
Total Miles Traveled: 2989


  Friday and Saturday we spent our time exploring St. Augustine.  This city is rich with history dating back to when it was first settled by the Spaniards.  The historic city buildings are undergoing some face lifts in preparation for the 450th Birthday Celebration which will occur this September.  To see about those festivities go to: http://staugustine-450.com/celebrate450/    

  Friday morning we took a trolley ride with Old Time Trolley.  The driver gave a narrated tour of the history and sites around St. Augustine.  The entire tour lasted about 1 1/2 hours.  One could get off at the different stops to further explore the area.  We choose to ride the trolley around the entire route and return later to see those things we were most interested in.  This was a great way to get a good overview of historic St. Augustine.  Friday afternoon the clouds moved in and threatening weather appeared to be approaching.  We remained aboard awaiting the storms that never came.  It did rain a little just before and after dinner.  There were storms north and south of St. Augustine, but we were spared.  This front did bring in some cooler weather into the low 60's for Saturday.  To read about some of the stops seen on Old Town Trolley check out their website at http://www.trolleytours.com/st-augustine/ 


  Saturday we resumed our touring of St. Augustine.  We saw several "oldest" on our walk today.  The oldest house still standing in St. Augustine, called Gonzalez-Alvarez House, was built in 1702.  It started out as a single story, but, later on a wooden second story was added. 

The Oldest House in St. Augustine

  We also saw the Oldest Wooden School House in the United States.  It was built over 200 years ago while Florida was still under the rule of Imperial Spain.  

Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse in USA

  Downtown St. Augustine is centered along St. George Street which is a pedestrian only thoroughfare.  Along this street are many shops, restaurants, and some historic homes and buildings.  Even though it was cool outside, there were lots of people walking this street on a beautiful sunny Saturday.

St. George Street in downtown St. Augustine, FL

  We continued our tour and went to the Mission Nombre de Dios (Name of God).  On this site, September 8th, 1565, Pedro Menendez de Aviles landed with a band of settlers to found St. Augustine.  This would be the first permanent Christian settlement in the United States.  Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, a Spanish Diocesan Priest, offered here the first parish Mass in this land.  The grounds here are very peaceful and serene.  There are several shrines to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  The Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche was particularly beautiful.  One impressive structure was The Great Cross.  Erected in 1965 for the 400th Birthday of the City, it is made of stainless steel and is 208 feet tall.  
For more about this Mission see http://missionandshrine.org/ 

The Great Cross

  Our favorite site was the Castillo de San Marcos.  This structure was built by the Spanish to replace the existing wooden fortification that was protecting St. Augustine.  Construction was started in 1672 and completed in 1695.

Castillo de San Marcos

  The Castillo was built out of coquina, a rare limestone made almost entirely of shells, which was found on a nearby barrier island (Amelia Island).  The coquina was made into blocks which were cemented together with mortar.

coquina blocks making the walls of the fort

  The walls surround the Plaza de Armas and within the walls are storage rooms called casemates.

Plaza de Armas - grassy area, doors are entry to the casements

  Every day they shoot off a cannon on the top of the fort.  It was interesting to watch the reenactment of soldiers shooting the cannon.  (Note: no ships, including ours, were harmed in this reenactment)

shooting the canon - see the smoke

  To learn more go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castillo_de_San_Marcos.


  We really enjoyed our visit to historic St. Augustine, FL.  There are many more things to do and see in the great city.  To see more about St. Augustine and learn more about its history go to: http://augustine.com/