St. Augustine Day Two

We were up early again Sunday morning.  First stop was to walk onto the bridge so we could get a closer look at the replica of a Spanish ship.  Ed love making models of these ships, so he spent quite a long time looking it over. 
  Our next stop was Castillo De San Marcos.  This was the first stone fort the Spanish queen authorized in 1672.  The fort is made of coquina.  Coquina is naturally formed in the ocean from limestone and fossilized shells.  Its very soft when first quarried, and when left to dry, forms a block that cannon balls cannot penetrate.  This fort was never taken over by force.  Its the oldest masonry fort in the United States.
       
We took the time to watch a demonstration of a cannon fire.

We were told that the reason they were so good at defending the fort, was that the practiced every day.  They always used the oldest gunpowder for practice and saved the good stuff for the real battles.  There cannons they fired that day had a 3 mile range.  They were very accurate when in battle.




We then hoped on the trolley to go to Mission Nombre De Dios.  When Pedro Menendez de Aviles landed in St Augustine he had with him, Father Lopez.  Father Lopez was to bring Catholicism back to the area.  This is the first mission in the United States.  The Statue of Father Lopez with the cross in the background.  The cross marks the spot of the landing. 
                      
There is so much to see in this town.  In order to really see everything you need a good week.  We only had 3 days and only 2 of them were nice enough to walk around.  It would really be good if you could take the time to rest a day in between.  But we really enjoyed the area.  Wouldn’t be a bad place to settle someday.

St Augustine, Florida Day One

After going to the Golf Hall of Fame, we spent the next 3 days touring around the beautiful town of St. Augustine.  First thing we did was go to the tourist information center and we bought a 3 day trolley pass with admission to the Fountain of Youth Park.  It was still very cold on Friday when we bought the tickets, but we decided since it was late in the day, that we would just take the trolley all away around and then decide what we wanted to see.

Saturday we got an early start and our first stop was the Fountain of Youth Park.  Ponce De Leon arrived in Florida and found what natives had told him was water that had the ability to grant eternal youth.  This a large park was once home to the ancient Timucuan Indians and evidence has been found that early Spaniards had a village here.
Back on the trolley, we then toured the Old Jail, Oldest Store and History Museum.  Henry Flagler came to St. Augustine in 1891 and bought land and built the Ponce De Leon Hotel.  On the land, was the county jail. He paid to build the jail on the location its on now.  Looking from the street, he didn’t want it to look like a jail. The jail held both women and men.  This location is also where the Oldest Store was.  This store furnished many of the things Henry Flagler needed for his hotel.
           


This grand hotel had running water and electricity installed by his friend Thomas Edison in each room.  Guests we expected to stay for the entire winter season.  The dining hall (yellow round portion) had windows made from Tiffany.  These stained glass windows are now protected with plexiglas. It is now home to Henry Flagler College.

After we finished at the Old Jail, Store and Museum, we hoped back on the trolley and got off at St George Street.  This street had many shops that are housed in some of the oldest parts of the town. These stone pillars are at the entrance. 

                         
We were exhausted by the time we finished day one….and we had another day to go. 

Golf Hall of Fame

We are currently in St. Augustine, Florida.  One of our missions here was to see the Golf Hall of Fame.  We did that yesterday.  It was very cold here in Florida, just as it is in most of the United States, so we thought it would be a good day for an indoor activity.   However, the entrance fee includes a round of golf on the 18 hole putting course.  If we had known, we probably would have waited.

Ed enjoyed it anyway.  He spent a good 2 to 3 hours roaming the museum.  They had a nice exhibit and tribute to Bob Hope.  He loved golf and gave a huge boost to the PGA with his golf tournaments in Palm Springs.  Then it was on to the history of golf.  Ed got to stand on a replica of the bridge at St. Andrews Golf Club in Scotland.



Then on to the newer history and the Wall of Honor.

                 

I thought this rule was really funny.

 

             

This a picture taken from the tower looking down at a replica of the 17th hole at TCP Sawgrass, one of the courses played on the PGA Tour.  The tee is by the white building by the trees.  You can see the flag of the green which is surrounded by the water. 



The weather is going to be warming up some in the next few days so we are planning on touring old St. Augustine, the oldest town in the US.