We left downtown Jacksonville the day after Thanksgiving. As we mentioned last month, we left earlier than we originally planned. St. Augustine is known for strong currents, so we wanted to get settled into our slip before the additional forecasted high winds.
Morning greeted us , once again, with a peaceful orange sunrise at the Jacksonville Metropolitan marina!
As we left the St. Johns River and neared the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), dolphins played at our bow. (I love dolphins!)
Video: Click below for a short drone video of dolphins paying near SCOUT underway, near Jacksonville, FL.
And we saw a bald eagle along the shore.
The clear sunny day provided a great view of Mayo Clinic (where my health issue was diagnosed back in the summer).
Further down the ICW, we passed what appears to be a fully-solar-powered boat.
As we neared our planned anchorage (just north of St. Augustine), we passed an American Cruise Lines ship. We later saw the cruiser docked at our marina a couple of times during December.
We anchored at Pine Island during high tide. As the tide ebbed, we watched our surroundings and checked the depth often; the anchorage area narrowed quite a bit. You can see how close we were to the oyster bed at low tide.
We enjoyed the quiet afternoon, listening to the birds, water, and oysters (squirting water out of their shells), followed by a serene sunset.
Early the next morning, before our short cruise to the St. Augustine city marina, Ray captured drone video of SCOUT at sunrise.
Video: Click below for a short drone video of SCOUT at sunrise.
We saw a flock of white pelicans (albino, I think -- zoom in on the pinkish bills). And Ray captured some pelicans in flight.
Arrived in St. Augustine: We had a short cruise south to St. Augustine, arriving at slack tide, as planned.
We had a good view of two St. Augustine landmarks: the fort, Castillo de San Marcos and the Great Cross.
The Great Cross: According to Old TownTrolley Tours, the stainless steel cross, 208 tall, stands as a sentinel over Mission Nombre de Dios and serves as a “Beacon of Faith” for all who pass by. The Great Cross was erected at the direction of Archbishop Joseph P. Hurley (then Bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine). It was built to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the beginning of Christianity in this land. Four hundred years earlier, in 1565, Pedro Menéndez Avilés placed a small wooden cross on Florida’s soil. The beginnings of Christianity in this new land led to numerous missions through Florida and, eventually, to the flourishing of the Catholic faith throughout the country.
Castillo de San Marcos: According to National Park Service (NPS), the Castillo de San Marcos symbolizes the clash between cultures which ultimately resulted in our uniquely unified nation.
The fort is the oldest masonry and only extant 17th century fort in North America. It is also one of only two fortifications in the world built out of coquina -- a semi-rare form of limestone. (The other is Fort Matanzas National Monument 14 miles south.)
NPS excerpt:
The Stone That Saved Spanish Florida
Given its light and porous nature, coquina would seem to be a poor choice of building material for a fort. However the Spanish had few other options; it was the only stone available on the northeast coast of La Florida. However, coquina's porosity turned out to have an unexpected benefit. Because of its conglomerate mixture coquina contains millions of microscopic air pockets making it compressible.
A cannon ball fired at more solid material, such as granite or brick would shatter the wall into flying shards, but cannon balls fired at the walls of the Castillo burrowed their way into the rock and stuck there, much like a bb would if fired into Styrofoam. So the thick coquina walls absorbed or deflected projectiles rather than yielding to them, providing a surprisingly long-lived fortress.
After a short wait for the historic Bridge of Lions to open, we entered the marina harbor. We were instructed to wait for a large motor yacht to dock on the face dock. As we waited -- about 30 minutes -- we listened to the marina staff communications on the radio, including instructions to a departing captain whose boat had collided (minimally, we think) with another boat in the harbor.
Ray maneuvered SCOUT smoothly into her temporary home.
After securing the boat and registering in the marina office, we walked to the pub across the street for lunch while watching the rivalry football game between Clemson & South Carolina. (Go Tigers!)
Our Great Harbour friends (from their boat, Tanuki), who just moved in to a "dirt home" in St. Augustine, happened to be in the area and joined us for lunch.
They gave us a short tour of the downtown area, as we walked to a brewery for Nights of Pints -- buy a t-shirt, get a free pint at each of the 4 breweries in St. Augustine.
As the sun began to set, we got our first glimpse of Nights of Lights (and the crowds!!!).
Time to Decorate SCOUT: While we cruised the St. Johns River, I had created Christmas ornament window coverings from nylon shower curtains (ordered from Amazon & delivered to Sanford). We added a small palm tree, with Christmas lights, and a few palm leaf "wreaths".
Merry SCOUT Christmas!
Time to explore restaurants!
Wow! So many restaurants within walking distance!
So far, we've had...
English, Irish,Greek, Mediterranean, Mexican and American;
burgers, tacos, pizza, seafood, gourmet grilled cheese (2 places) and brussel sprouts (2 places);
banana split, bananas foster milkshake, creme brulee, chesspresso, and donuts (2 places).
We stayed busy during our first month in St. Augustine! So much to see and do. I'm glad we reserved the slip for 2 months!
Time to get merry!
The weather was great for both of the St. Augustine Christmas parades.
St. Augustine Street Parade: We found a great location to watch the street parade with breakfast burritos and coffee from the coffee shop. We saw synchronized dog walkers (Pet Camp), several groups of pirates, antique cars, dance teams ,and much more!
You know you're in Florida when every third float in the Christmas parade is a pest control company!
Following the parade, we took advantage of artillery demonstrations at the fort, and free admission to Colonial Quarters, where visitors can experience hundreds of years of Colonial Spanish and British living history in St. Augustine. We saw re-enactors cooking, pewter-smithing, and musket firing demonstrations.
History (learned from Colonial Quarter): In 1565, Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles, a spanish admiral, brought his 600 soldiers and settlers ashore at the site of the Timucuan Indian village of Seloy. He quickly fortified the fledgling village and named it St. Augustine (after the recently celebrated Feast Day of St. Augustine). St. Augustine was founded forty-two years before the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia, and fifty-five years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts – making it the oldest permanent European settlement on the North American continent.
Future visitors: Don't miss the watchtower - especially if you have kids: I was impressed with the creative landmark exploration tools incorporated into the replica of of a Spanish watchtower. You match the city’s landmarks to the marker painted on the floor. When standing on the marker -- and facing the direction of the floor marker -- an iron sighting post at eye level directs you to the landmark.
In the picture below, the sighting post identifies the Thomas Edison generator smokestack.
Thomas Edison Generator History: In 1887 Thomas Edison sent the needed equipment for an electrical power plant to be used at the Hotel Ponce de Leon that Henry Flagler was building. The generators were powered by steam from large boilers used in a large building behind the hotel underneath of the 125 foot tall smokestack.
(Watch for more about Henry Flagler in our next post.)
Later that evening, we joined the re-enactors at the fort for Colonial Night Watch. This annual event recreates historic Night Watches in garrison towns, where any citizen still on the streets after the city gates were locked, were required to carry a light so they could be seen and identified by the Night Watch. The walk began at the fort and proceeded through the City Gate and down St. George Street to the Governor's House Cultural Center and Museum.
St. Augustine Boat Parade: We had dinner, then watched the boat parade from the restaurant's balcony.
Following the parade, we took advantage of free entry to the fort, Castillo de San Marcos, where we enjoyed great views of the lighted boats, the lighted harbortown, and a cannon firing demonstration. Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest European fort built of stone blocks in the United States. Construction began in 1672 and was completed in 1695.
Time for St. Augustine Cultural Festivities: While cruising the St. Johns River, I had bought tickets for the annual holiday performance of “This Christmastide” by the St. Augustine Community Chorus. This was a beautiful performance featuring the full chorus, chamber orchestra, pipe organ and the St. Augustine Youth Chorus. Ray was impressed with the quality and precision of this volunteer group, and judged it to be comparable to some of the professional shows we've seen.
The performance was in Cathedral Basilica -- America's first parish. The cathedral is stunning. The architecture is inspired by the city's Spanish roots. The walls have murals that depict scenes from the history of the Catholic Church in the development of the New World. The stained glass windows show scenes from the life of Saint Augustine of Hippo, for whom the city was named.
Time for entertainment: We walked across the Bridge of Lions and met friends for gourmet grilled cheese and Songwriters in the Round. 4 local songwriters sat on the stage, taking turns singing their songs. Wow!! We enjoyed this so much, we stayed for the whole show -- way past "cruisers midnight" (9 pm) -- and only yawned a couple of times.
Davis Loose is from St. Augustine, Florida, and put together his first band, Davis and the Loose Cannons, while still in high school. He's inspired by the Classic Country Music, of Merle Haggard, Townes Van Zandt, Marty Stuart, Willie Nelson, and Buck Owens. The group is currently working on an album, and Davis is thrilled that the liner notes are written by Marty Stuart.
We met his mother about a week later, at an awesome burger joint that is owned by his parents. (Her smile reminded me of him, and I knew they had to be related.) She's so proud -- understandably. He is a true showman and knows how to write a country catch-prase.
Jordan Foley is a more of a folk singer/songwriter, and an excellent guitarist.
Kyle Keller is from Nashville, GA. He was a soulful singer and talented guitarist/harmonica player. I thought most of his lyrics were edgy, but his last song, Why Would God Steal?, brought me to tears -- a song reflecting on his grandmother's loss of her husband. Wow!
Shea Birney now lives in St. Augustine. He, too, was very talented and entertaining. His style reminded me of Dave Matthews, although others describe the style similar to Bob Dylan. Ray & I went back a few weeks later to see him perform a set during Sarbez! 6th anniversary events.
Time for "ligh-tseeing": I love Christmas lights. When Carson was growing up, he & I would get in the car and ride around town, looking for neighborhoods with the most lights.
All the businesses participate here! On a Florida cold night, these lights just remind you of the excitement you felt as a child at Christmas.
Tour trolleys are all over town blasting fun Christmas music, with loads of people singing along, inviting pedestrians to join them in the carols!
This is Hilton, on the waterfront. If I weren't staying on our boat, I would want to stay here. Look how elegant and cheerful!
Video: Click below for a Ray's drone video of St. Augustine Nights of Lights.
Time for exercise and more St. Augustine history and sightseeing: On a comfortable sunny day, we rode our e-bikes a little over a mile to the Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park. There is a working archaeological dig on site, a Planetarium, and several demonstrations of Timucuan life. (Timucuan indians were living at this site before the Spanish arrived, settled, and established St. Augustine.) There are several re-created Spanish and Timucuan buildings and dwellings, including the First Mission of Nombre de Dios (originally constructed by Franciscan friars in 1587).
Peacocks roam the park. The day we were there, one of the historians (a native American Indian from North Carolina) said a hawk had flown into the park earlier and scared the peacocks into the edge of the wooded areas. A few of the larger peacocks were out in the open areas, but most of the younger peacocks were still by the woods.
Here, in the Spring House, you can drink from the well-known spring, Fountain of Youth. Ponce de Leon discovered the spring when he landed here in 1513. The spring feeds directly from the Floridan aquifer, which lies below ground under much of North Florida, and the water contains over 30 minerals.
Interesting facts: My curiosity about why this particular spring was named the Fountain of Youth led me to do some googling. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the idea that Ponce de Leon was in search of a fountain of youth has been debunked. Apparently, a Spanish court chronicler who did not like Ponce de Leon started the rumor to discredit him many years after his death, and the idea has stuck.
What's next? New Years (and Carolina connections) in St. Augustine.
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