So, my husband and I happen to share the same birthday month, and our birthdays are only 3 days apart. So every July, we pick a place to staycation as a joint birthday celebration. This year we went back to St. Augustine where we were married. Here are a bunch of pictures... of course I think I narrowed it down considering I had over 1,000 pictures to choose from!
The elevator ride down ... let the fun begin
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| Mom, a bird! This kid is a serious bird watcher , he photographs them, and later marks them in his "Birds of North America book". We are not even out of the hotel parking lot yet ... love it! |
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| This year we did the Explorer's Passport. It gives you access to the Castillo De San Marcos, the Colonial Quarters, and the Government House Museum. Worth every penny! |
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| The Old Spanish Trail. Florida to California...... seriously!?!?!?!? How awesome is that!?!?! |
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| Approaching the Castillo De San Marcos |
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| Where they would have slept |
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| Tiny doorway, people must have been much smaller, I am only 5'8 and I had to duck slightly. |
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| Mapping of ships carved into the wall |
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| The soldiers carved letters into the stone, they were probably learning how to read and write as most of them were illiterate. |
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| Inner yard |
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| Coat of Arms |
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| Coquina used to build the Castillo- 150 million pounds ... |
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| The Chapel |
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| Basin for holy water |
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| Old Medical tools...ugh! Shivers!!!!!! |
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| The treasury... no gold, just a table for counting money now. |
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| The top of the Castillo |
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| Preparing to fire a canon |
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| The demonstration is done in Spanish for authenticity and then translated |
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| Boom!!! It was loud! |
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| Lunch at Pizza Time.. this one is mine... fabulous!!! |
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| Everyone else's pizza, cheese and white . Those were marvelous too! |
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| The second stop on our Passport |
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| Beautiful grapes growing on an arbor |
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| Building a replica of one of the ships... actually two. There will be a second smaller ship- a chalupa... no, not the thing you eat. It will be about 7 years before it is complete. |
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| Archaeological dig site for the kids while they wait for the tour to begin |
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| The pretty wall I am sitting next to while they dig and we wait. |
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| Our guide, if he doesn't love his job, then he fakes it pretty well. He was a blast! |
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| Iron Work/ Blacksmith |
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| Oh, this, gathering militia... ya there would have been a lot more pictures of this if I hadn't been drafted by our guide to be part of the shenanigans. Seriously!!! After I got over the horror of standing in front of everyone doing drills... it was kinda fun... |
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| Marketplace |
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| Flags over St. Augustine....Starting in 1565 when St. Augustine was founded |
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| The view of the Castillo from the Watchtower |
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| Time for a few stops in a few shops ... the shell store |
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| Our last day, eating at one of the diners we ate at during our stay in St. Augustine when we were married. |
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| Ya, this kid eats like a man, you know he ate that whole thing... minus the gravy.. |
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| Oh, my favorite stop, Flagler College. Originally the Ponce De Leon Hotel |
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| The inner courtyard. The fountain in the middle is filled with symbolism. The fountain is really the handle of a sword with the blade sticking into the ground... can you see it ? There are frogs and turtles surrounding the base, 12 frogs for the 12 apostles, and 12 hours on the clock, 4 frogs for the seasons of the year. |
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| When you walk inside... need I say more? |
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| Window |
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| We were given mirrors to use "vs" looking up as they explained the dome and meaning of each painting. |
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| The outer glass panels of the wine room.That's real Tiffany glass |
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| The Dining Hall |
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| Isn't it exquisite?! The students of Flagler College eat here everyday!!! |
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| Windows of the Dining Hall |
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| Replica and original... in that order. |
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| The Flagler Room/ Women's grand Parlor... yes ladies it's all for us! Actually this room is only used for special student meetings |
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| An original Edison Clock... notice the number 4, all I's vs the IV symbol. Did I mention that Edison did all of the wiring for the building so that it had electricity ?! |
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| Chandeliers, if they break, they can never be replaced as they are no longer being made. |
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| Original furniture. This was our last stop at Flagler College. Can I just say that I am, SO going back to school here!!! I've decided to study History... I am kidding... no I don't think I am , I just need to figure out how to scratch up 50 grand a year to go. |
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| The Government House Museum., our last stop of the day, a really great place to take kids . Lots of hands on stuff! |
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| Interactive guide through the first settlement of St. Augustine. |
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| Interactive, First Thanksgiving Meal. |
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| Really cool! You can pull out all of the labeled drawers and look at the artifacts |
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| So thankful for medical advances. Top left is a pewter syringe...ouch , bottom left... lice combs...eewww! |
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| Clothing... buckles, buttons, beads, rings |
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| Religious pendants |
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| Cool touch screen. You excavate the area then sift through sand and find artifacts. |
