MERRY CHRISTMAS, FLORIDA STYLE!!!
I saw this little guy at the Home Depot, the cutest little Christmas alligator ever; it just makes me smile every time I see him. So, he'll be my Merry Christmas Greeter this year.
Our third traveling Christmas was spent near St Augustine, Fl. A darling city, America's oldest town, and one we keep coming back to visit. The city is all decked out for Christmas with lights EVERYWHERE!
We walked around the first evening we were there, just to enjoy the Christmas spirit The city was crowded and one of it's trademark tourist attractions, the open air train tours, were running all over town with very happy revelers singing along the way. It was a fun way to get in the holiday spirit for sure.
We camped for five nights at the Elks Lodge near St. Augustine Beach. A fantastic lodge with wonderful people and a great wooded camping area behind the lodge. We had the whole place to ourselves! Quiet, peaceful and a super location for going to the beach on our bikes and enjoying events at the Amphitheater right next door. The city had two big events planned for the weekend before Christmas and that was one reason we decided to spend a few days there.
The Elks Lodge backs up to the beautiful Anastasia State Park. With a short ride through the back gate we were in the park and had the afternoon at the beach.
It was a little chilly at the beach but so pretty! Even though there was a strong wind blowing several people were out in kayaks and canoes. The Matanzas River winds through the park and beyond the sand dunes is the Atlantic.
We rode our bikes on over to the beach where the white sand goes on forever!!
I wanted Paul to show me his new beard, but all I got was this funny guy in funny positions!
The beach was pretty deserted, too windy and cold for any sun bathers. We hung out for a while out of the wind, then headed back to our campsite and a wonderful prime rib dinner at the lodge later that evening.
Saturday morning I went to the fantastic Farmer's Market held each Saturday in the parking lot of the amphitheater and right next door to us, so very convenient. I filled the refrigerator with all kinds of fruits and vegetables then went back to the market to listen to some music and buy a couple little Christmas gifts. I LOVE this market!
That evening we went back to the amphitheater to watch one of our favorite Christmas movies,
It's A Wonderful Life on the big screen. Again, beautiful lights everywhere!
Sunday we took a little bike ride in the neighborhood and came upon this historical site of the remains of an old Spanish chimney and well, probably from a Spanish barracks built for the master masons who were involved in the construction of Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine.
Sunday night we returned to the St. Augustine Amphitheater to enjoy a holiday program,
A Celtic Christmas. It was performed by the Community Choir and Youth Chorus with some very different pieces.
We lit up our little motorhome too, though it's hard to see much in this photo.
Our gift to ourselves this Christmas was a kayak to use in the warm waters of Florida. It's unique...a tandem snap together kayak so that it fits easily on the back of the motorhome for traveling. It makes either a tandem or a single kayak depending on how many pieces you snap together, pretty cool.
One of Paul's 'fix it" items was to power wash the underside of the motorhome to get rid of a layer of rust before respraying with new paint. He got up early Monday morning and rented a super power washer, donned his yellow rain suit and had fun!
He was soaking wet with dirt all over, but so happy.
It was our last night at the lodge so after all the power washing was done and PK was cleaned up, we went over for drinks and stayed for a tasty spaghetti dinner.
Tuesday morning, Dec. 24th, we packed up and drove a short 50 miles back to Gamble Rogers State Park for the next two nights. I was so happy we would be waking up at the beach on Christmas morning!! This was our first Christmas to be so be so far away from all friends and family, but we had so many fantastic memories of past Christmas times and a fun new experience for us this year.
Wednesday was Christmas morning and Santa had found us!!! What fun surprises!
After presents and breakfast we rode our bikes on the bike path from the campground to Highbridge Park a couple of miles south. There was a lovely hike through the oak woods along the Smith Creek. Again...alligator warning signs along the route.
Came across this amazing mushroom, or I think that's what it is...
and once again, the Matanzas River/Inter-coastal Waterway. Always beautiful to see.
We spent the rest of Christmas Day at the beach then as the wind came up and the temps started to drop we went inside for dinner. Our weather was changing, a good time to head west the next morning.
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