Hello Friends! Laura is now in the Sunshine State -- her "happy place." (Beau is here, too, of course, but he understands that Florida is all about Laura!)
We have settled in at the North Beach Camp Resort in St. Augustine, FL, the oldest city in the United States. The park is between the intracoastal waterway and the Atlantic Ocean -- you can walk one way to the water, then turn around and head the other way -- to the water. Very nice.
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| Laura and Buddy on the ocean side... |
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| Beau and Buddy on the intracoastal waterway side. |
We spent the day getting the lay of the land, and stopped at the touristy "Fountain of Youth." We hid Buddy in his bag, but later saw a sign that said it was a pet-friendly attraction. Buddy knew better, though. At one point we let him out of the bag, and he walked about 8 feet, then turned around and jumped back in the bag, as if to say, "The heck with walking; I like being carried, folks."
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| We both drank from the spring -- do we look younger?? |
During the presentation of the "Discovery Globe," which traces the European exploration of the United States, I learned something I did not know or had forgotten. When Ponce de Leon landed in St. Augustine in 1513, he thought he had discovered an island (which he named La Florida, for "the flowery," or "the place of flowers"). I missed the connection for this, but the presentation went on to say that somehow for a number of years, all of North America was called La Florida. I had never known that before.
I also did not remember hearing much about the Timucua indians. They existed here for almost at least 1,000 years before the arrival of the Spanish in 1513!
There were a few archeological digs ongoing at the site, so apparently people are still finding relics here. (One discovery in the 1930s was of the first Christian burial of indians -- dating from the mid 16th century.)
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| Us with Ponce-baby |
After the fountain, we visited the St. Augustine light station -- different from a lighthouse in that it is more than a lighthouse. Something else I did not know! The light itself is very similar to the one at Cape Hatteras, except for the base.
There are also some wonderful oddities in St. Augustine:
The only "Showboat Carwash":
The tallest free-standing cross in North America:
And other kooky things....
The town is a bit run down and old -- makes sense, since it's the oldest continuously settled community in the country -- but we have yet to see the main historic section, which I think will be much prettier.
We will probably do a trolley ride tomorrow, which takes you through 20-some historic sites in the city. The weather does not sound too good, but it is what it is. Actually as we write this, we're securely ensconced in Harvey the Marvey RV, with the rain pattering (pelting???) on the roof.
Another Glorious Beach
To end our day, we decided to drive down A1A to Anastasia Island/St. Augustine Beach -- basically a barrier island. Very nice. On a whim, I had Beau pull off on a street that had a boat ramp -- and we discovered yet another fantastic beach!
Whiter sand than Myrtle Beach, but just as hard-packed/drivable and seemingly just as long. And the best part? There were only four other people on the beach, and they were so far away we never met up with them.
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| Isn't it fabulous? |
Buddy was off-leash and loving it!
And then he had to rest.
We miss you all. Come south!
Tanks, Panky
Love the conked out Buddy photo at the end. Looks like he had as much fun as you both. Gorgeous beach shots. Wish I could be there, too! Love you both!
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