03-05-2019 First Day Visiting St Augustine

Current Location:  Jacksonville Naval Air Station Campground, Jacksonville, Florida
Cloudy, windy, and chilly with a high of 54 degrees F

When we were camped on the east side of Jacksonville, it was a straight shot down A1A to the historic city of Saint Augustine.  Looking at the maps, however, showed that driving to Saint Augustine from the Jacksonville Naval Air Station on the western side of Jacksonville was about the same distance.  Since kayaking in this part of Jacksonville had been a bit of a bust, it was a perfect week to spend a couple of days seeing the historic city.

The first day we only saw the beautiful Castillo San Marcus from the road

The historical timeline of the city of Saint Augustine is probably the most complex of any city I have read about.  In 1513 Spain claimed Florida through the expedition of Poncé dé Leon, but France gained the first foothold there by establishing Fort Caroline on the St Johns River in 1564.  The king of Spain saw this as an infringement of their claims and sent Don Pedro Menendez dé Aviles on an expedition to eliminate the French threat and establish settlements in Florida. Unable to board the French ships at the mouth of the St Johns River, Menendez sailed farther south and established St Augustine as a base from which to operate. 

England was Spain’s next contender for Florida, with Sir Francis Drake attacking and burning St. Augustine in 1586.  British pirates again sacked St. Augustine in 1668, and then established the city of Charleston to the north.  In 1702, the English occupied St. Augustine and burned the town before they left.  In spite of destroying St. Augustine, they never managed to take the Spanish fort Castillo dé San Marcos, even after a long siege. Eventually, as an outcome of the French and Indian War, Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain.  The British held Florida until the Treaty of Paris of 1783 which once again ceded Florida back to Spain.

Spain held Florida until 1821, when serious tensions between the US and Spain led to the Spanish ceding Florida to the United States.  During the Civil War, Florida, and as a result, St. Augustine, were part of the Confederacy, and since the end of the Civil War, the city has been a part of the United States.  Maybe Santa Fe New Mexico is a city with a history as complex as this, but I’m not sure.

We knew the day ahead was going to be chilly, and I actually wore jeans and took a sweatshirt.  I wear sandals all the time, so it didn’t occur to me that sandals might not be enough.  It was not only chilly, it was darn right cold, with an icy wind blowing off the river from the west and gray skies adding to the chill.

Deciding that an Old Town Trolley Tour would be a nice way to see the city, Mo purchased discounted tickets for us at the base NEX.  Not  only did we get the $25 ticket for $21.40, we got two for one, a great deal!
The city of Saint Augustine is a beautiful example of early community planning, with regular and narrow streets, a pleasant central plaza, many open spaces, beautiful patios and gardens, and impressive government and religious architecture.  The city still reflects its vibrant Spanish heritage, but is also an impressive showcase for the wealth of Henry Flagler. I will talk a bit more about Henry Flagler in the next post about the beautiful Flagler College.

Looking at all there was to see in the city, we decided that giving ourselves two days to visit would be the best plan.  On the first day we would use the trolley to get an overview of the town, and on the second day we would once again drive south and take time to explore Flagler College, the historic fort called Castillo de San Marcos, and the beautiful Saint Augustine Lighthouse.

This turned out to be a great plan, in spite of the cold weather.  The drive south was a bit of a challenge, as we tackled morning traffic across the bridge on I-295.  With a short side trip to Camping World along the way for a few necessities, and a hot Starbucks to warm us up, we found our way into the city in less than an hour. Parking at a few of the trolley stops is free, and we chose to begin the tour at Stop 2 where there was plenty of free parking, even at 11AM when we arrived on that first day. 

The Old City Gates of Saint Augustine were built in 1808

When we arrived at the trolley office, we learned that the actual trolley tour began back at Stop 1, the location of the Old Jail, and several other very touristy attractions, and that a shuttle would take us to that point.  The other thing we learned is that it was in our best interest to buy a second day of trolley tickets.  Parking at the attractions we wanted to visit on our second day in the city was basically non existent, and if you could find it, the cost was $15.00 per day.  We bought another 2 for 1 day ticket for the trolley for $20.

The Lightner Museum is in what was once the “inexpensive” hotel across the street from the  posh Ponce de Leon Hotel

We also learned that if we wanted to visit Flagler College, there were only two tours each day during this time of year, and we should get off at stop 11, go get our reservations for the next day, and then get back on the trolley.  Good advice, except when we got our reservations for the 10AM tour, we learned that it wasn’t smart to assume that the first trolley leaving at 9AM would actually get to the College on time.  This is where our great shuttle driver, Pam, turned out to be a godsend.  She said, “Don’t worry, just come here by 9:15 and I will drive you directly to the college, and then you can get back on the trolley from that point”. 

The beauty of that first day exploring by trolley was a bit overshadowed by the cold.  Even though we had decided that the first day would be basically a trolley day, the warmth of the Saint Augustine Distillery drew us in for the free tour, and a nice break from the chilly winds. 

We have been on wine tours in the past, but never toured a distillery.  Being a fan of bourbon, I especially enjoyed  the explanation of the process of making bourbon, and even learned something new.  All Bourbon is whiskey, but all whiskey isn’t Bourbon.  To be called a bourbon, the spirit must be made of 61 percent corn in the mash, and must be aged in brand new oak barrels that have been charred on the inside. 

The tour was free, and included several tastings of cocktails made with their bourbon, and finally a tasting bar where we could try any of the varieties of bourbon made at the distillery.  Except that $200. stuff.  We didn’t try that one.  It was a nice tour, and it was a good place to warm up a bit.

Continuing our tour of the city, we found that by changing trolleys we got a much better driver, simply because she had a more understandable voice.  We couldn’t understand a word of what the first guy was saying, even though it seemed he was offering a great deal of information about the city. 

Still freezing cold, we were happy to jump off the trolley at the very next free tour on the route, the San Sebastian winery.  This tour was also free, and warm, and offered a free tasting.  While the wines weren’t quite to our liking, the warmth felt great.

wine has legs, and these are very pretty

In spite of our two indoor tours, by the time we got back to the car we were both chilled to the bone.  Turning the heat up full blast, we tackled once again the slow rush hour traffic across the bridge back toward Jacksonville.  We both agreed that making the decision to give ourselves at least two days exploring Saint Augustine was a good one.