PALM COAST, FL TO ST. AUGUSTINE, FL

Thursday, March 26th, 2015

Day 234
Miles Traveled: 25
Total Miles Traveled: 2989


  Today was a very busy day between traveling and site-seeing.  We planned to leave by 7:30 am, but, were delayed again today by fog.  The fog began to dissipate, and, we got underway by 8:00 am.  There still were some patchy fog banks, but nothing severe.  With our new radar and chart plotter, we felt confident in our ability to safely navigate. 

Traveling in some fog

  We traveled along on the Matanzas River.  Like many rivers, there were twists and turns.  We came along an area of mud flats, which was different landscape than we had been seeing.  The tides in this area are 3-4 feet.  At high tide, many of these mud flats would be underwater and not visible.  When we passed by them, it was low tide, so they were very obvious.  

Matanzas River - part of ICW

mud flats seen on Matanzas River

  Just before reaching St. Augustine City Marina we caught a view of The St. Augustine Lighthouse.

St. Augustine Lighthouse

  Part of our reason for wanting to leave so early this morning was to avoid the predicted rain and thunderstorms for the afternoon.  We arrived at St. Augustine, FL just before the rain began.  We just finished hooking up to power and tending the lines when it started.  

approaching St. Augustine, FL

  The St. Augustine Municipal Marina is a great marina to stay at to explore historic downtown St. Augustine.  Most of the sites are within walking distance.

"Seahorse" docked at St. Augustine Municipal Marina with downtown St. Augustine in the background 

 After lunch, the rain began to subside and we were able to go and do some exploring.  We didn't have to go far to see a replica of a 170-foot wooden Spanish galleon called El Galeon "San Pelayo".  This ship was tied up right at the end of our dock.  The original ship served as the flagship for Pedro Menendez de Aviles's expedition to establish St. Augustine in 1565.  It was an amazing vessel to see.

view of the El Galeon as we were cruising into the marina

front view of  the El Galeon

Dan aboard the El Galeon

Angie aboard the El Galeon

  After touring this interesting ship, we decided to take a quick walk around the historic downtown area.  There were plenty of historic old buildings and monuments to see.  Below are just a few of the highlights.
  The Bridge of Lions, built in 1927, is a bascule bridge that spans the ICW connecting St. Augustine to Anastasia Island.  A pair of Medici lions made of marble guard the bridge.

The Bridge of Lions

Medici Lion guarding the bridge

  Plaza de la Constitucion is a small park in the middle of historic downtown.  Within this park is an old well, an old Public Market building, and several monuments.  We found the most interesting monument to be the Constitution Monument.  There is a lot of history behind this monument.  In March of 1812, the Spanish Parliament wrote the first Spanish Constitution and issued a Royal Decree for all Spanish towns throughout the empire to build monuments and rename their main plazas La Plaza de la Constitucion in commemoration of the new constitutional government in Spain.  The Constitution Monument in St. Augustine, the capitol of the Spanish colony of Florida, was constructed in 1813.  On September 15, 1814  news arrived that the constitutional government in Spain had been overthrown.  A second Royal Decree was issued to destroy all the constitution monuments.  St. Augustine's officials refused to tear down what they had sacrificed much to build.  It is believed that the Constitution Monument in St. Augustine is the only surviving, unaltered monument in the world from this campaign.   

Plaza de la Constitucion

Constitution Monument - over 200 years old

   The oldest catholic parish within the present day United States worships in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine.  The first mass was in September 1565.  This church was built in 1797 and became a cathedral in 1870 when St. Augustine was elevated to a diocese.  On December 4th, 1976 it was raised to the status of minor basilica.

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine

  The oldest platted street in the USA is located in downtown St. Augustine.  Originally called Hospital Street because the Spanish military hospital and many other hospitals over the years were located on this street, it now is called Aviles Street.  It has been recorded on maps since the 1570's.  Currently its streets are lined with restaurants, shops, and art galleries, as well as some old historic buildings and homes.  

Aviles Street

  Many old buildings in St. Augustine were made of tabby walls.  Tabby, made of whole oyster shells, is the equivalent of modern poured concrete.  The wall shown is the only known example of a colonial tabby wall in St. Augustine. 

Only tabby wall left in St. Augustine

  A very prominent building in historic downtown is the Alcazar Hotel.  Built by Henry Flagler, who founded the Florida East Coast Railway, it was one of the first multi-storied structures in the country constructed with poured concrete.  The hotel opened in 1888 and closed in 1932.  O.C. Lightner, Hobbies magazine founder, purchased the building in 1947 to use as a place to house his extensive collection of Victorian memorabilia.  After his death in 1950, the building and collections were deeded to the city of St. Augustine.  It currently houses the Lightner Museum, City Hall, several shops, and a cafe.  Within its borders is a beautiful courtyard. 

Alcazar Hotel

Courtyard of Alcazar Hotel

  After our walking tour of the historic downtown, we went to dinner at Harry's Seafood Bar & Grill - known for their Cajun cooking.  It was delicious.  We got to the restaurant just before a torrencial downpour - beating the rain for the second time that day.  After dinner we went back to the boat and collapsed, tired from the busy day.