Washington Oaks State Park

   We drove about 20 miles south of St. Augustine on highway A1A and visited Washington Oaks State Park. This park holds a special place with Barbara and I. It was 30 years ago that we first visited the park when we were dating so it was a nostalgic day for us. The thing I remembered most about the first visit was when we were walking down a trail when I came within inches of the biggest spider web I had ever seen. The web stretched from head high all the way to the ground and in the middle of the web was the largest spider I ever saw. It's body was as large as my index finger with legs stretching the diameter of a small plate. I do not like spiders so we made a quick about face and headed back where we came from!
   The park used to be part of an old plantation that changed hands a couple of times until Owen D. Young bought it as a wedding gift for his wife Louise. They used the property for many years as a winter retreat. Young helped found the RCA Corporation and became CEO in 1922. Mrs. Young donated the property to the State of Florida in 1964 following the death of Mr. Young. One of the unique aspects of the park is a section of the coast where coquina rock formations are found. 

 

 

Several orange trees were in the gardens...this is the time of year oranges are picked

 

 

 

The Young house

 

 

Just down from the house was a dock for fishing. The dock sits directly on the intercostal waterway

 

 

Coquina rock on the beach. Coquina rock is a type of sedimentary rock formed by the cementing of shells and sand. There are only 7 areas in the world where this rock type is found

 

 

 

 

 

   We've had several walks about town over the past few days. St. Augustine is a nice little town to walk about with several narrow one lane streets with shops up and down both sides of the streets. Interspersed are several museums and art galleries of high quality I might add. There are quite a few tourists in town, especially on the weekends. About half of the tourists seem to be retirees, much like us.
   One of the museum's we particularly enjoyed was the Lightner Museum. It is located in a building that was built as the Hotel Alcazar in 1886. The museum houses a variety of items mostly from the turn of the century.

 

 

They had one room dedicated to cut glass...beautiful stuff 

 

  

 

 


These lamps are from Tiffany
 

The second floor of the museum retained the old ballroom, a huge room. How would you like to keep these floors clean?

 

 

 

Lobby of the old hotel

 

 

One of our favorite walks to the beach involves a long walk down a long boardwalk. These homes no doubt belong to the 1% crowd

 

 

Yours truly on a warm afternoon at the beach

 

 

Near the historic district we came across an inconspicuous door with a sign out front "St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine. It was dedicated to the first colony of Greek people who came to America in 1768. The Shrine consists of exhibits depicting the story of the first colony and the St. Photios Chapel. It is filled with exquisite Byzantine style frescoes from the life of Christ, and the many apostles and saints of the Christian Church.

 

 

 

 

 

I thought this was neat...The Lord's Prayer in English and Greek

 

 

One more photo of a painting in an art gallery I thought was very interesting. This particular artist had several paintings like this one where the viewer is standing outside a house, looking at the outside wall...into the house....and then outside on the other side of the house. The shadows falling on the house are so well done. I used to not care too much about fine art but as I get older I'm learning to appreciate the skill and inspiration displayed by some people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



St. Augustine

   St. Augustine was founded in 1565 as a Spanish settlement. The downtown area still retains the old world Spanish architectural charm. It's quite touristy now with small shops lining the narrow streets but it's still enjoyable to stroll about.

 

 

Nice little courtyards branch off narrow city streets

 

 

A wonderful little place to rest

 

 

The oldest schoolhouse in America...nearly 450 yrs. old

 

 

 

Had lunch at O.C. White's, across from the marina

 

 

After lunch we discovered a delightful French pastry shop, "Denoel"

 

 

The éclair was good but the cream puff was the BEST I've ever eaten. The cream was dense, smooth, and sweet...no doubt loaded with calories! Got to do some extra walking tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

We went for a long walk on the beach this morning. The day is just about perfect with clear air and the temperature around 70.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Latest Travels

   It's been over 3 months since our last post. We're still here and doing well...time to catch up on all we've been doing. We left Kansas City on Nov. 30 and headed to Blountville, TN to visit Mom, Dad, and brother Mike. It sure was good to spend a couple of months visiting our boys and friends in Kansas City and it was just a little hard to leave them but warmer weather beckoned.
   Before heading into the deep south for the winter however, a month long stay in Tennessee during December allowed us to spend time with most of my side of the family. The weather wasn't too bad. There were many pleasant days with a few cold ones thrown in. In fact, our coldest day yet was one day in TN when it dipped down to 9 degrees one morning. We had no problems however as I spent some time preparing the RV ahead of time. Our water hose was wrapped with insulation and heat tape and a ceramic heater placed in the storage compartment to keep everything nice and warm down below. With the fireplace on and another ceramic heater going, the living area was kept nice and warm as well.
   On Dec. 30, we left TN and headed to one of our favorite southern cities, Savannah, GA for a week. On the way there, we laid over one night in Columbia, SC to visit my Uncle Walter and Aunt Lib. It was so good to spend a few hours visiting with them.
   Our week in Savannah was spent walking about one of the most beautiful small cities in America. We also had several visits with my sister Lisa. She's such a sweet, happy person to be around.
   On Jan. 6 we left for our wintering grounds in St. Augustine Beach, FL where we'll be until Feb. 6. More posts about our stay here will follow.

 

Sister Lisa and I in Savannah.

 

 

Beautiful homes and artwork in Savannah

 

 

 



 

St. John the Baptist Cathedral

 

 

Some of the best little shops can be found in Savannah.

 

 

St. Augustine Beach

 

 

Camped at Ocean Breeze RV Resort