ST AUGUSTINE, FL APRIL 23-MAY 4, 2015

Getting settled back in Jacksonville was quick and easy. Just enough time to get Foster, pick up groceries, revive my two houseplants that had survived the two months we were gone and try to figure out where which way to go next.  Neither one of us really felt like jumping back into new places and long drives so we decided to just take some time and spend a few nights at the St. Augustine Elks Lodge.  It's only a 40 mile drive south, and hoped there would be a space available. Arriving Thursday by noon we did get the last site open. It felt great to be close to the beach with nothing really much to do. The beach is always a healing place for me, the endless horizon and warm sun was all I wanted. So, that's how we spent our first few days which did become a ten day stay.

Our neighbors that first week were working with Habitat for Humanity on a building project that was nearly done. It was so interesting to learn about their life on the road, spending two week stretches in different places working on new and different projects. Saturday evening there was another concert at the Amphitheater next door so we all sat outside chatting till the no-seemus got so bad I gave up and went inside. 

Sunday afternoon I found the wonderful Theater Jacksonville in the historic neighborhood of San Marco, south of the city. It is the oldest community theater in the country dating back to 1938 recently renovated and absolutely beautiful.  What a wonderful afternoon!  The play was delightful and we learned that a small tornado had touched the area the evening before canceling the performance.  We had seen large amounts of tree limbs and branches strewn about as we drove into town, but never thought the cause was a tornado! Guess that's Florida! 

After the matinee we walked the neighborhood, lots of little shops, a lovely fountain, restaurants and the art deco movie house, the San Marco Theater also built in 1938. It shows first-run movies with food and drinks. Too fun to miss and the marquee listed Helen Mirren's new film, Woman in Gold. We probably only go to a movie about once or twice a year, but this is one I knew we wanted to see, so we added it to the afternoon. With pizza and drinks ordered we found a seat and enjoyed the true story of Maria Altmann's fight to reclaim her family's painting by Gustav Klimt, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, taken during the Nazi occupation of Vienna. 

A couple more afternoons at the beach and then it was my birthday! Funny how they come around so fast, the older I get.  We spent the day in downtown Jacksonville at the Museum of Contemporary Art and began with a delicious lunch at Cafe Nola inside the museum. Though one of the main exhibition galleries had just closed the day before, there was still much to see and enjoy, especially the hanging sculpture in the atrium. From there it was time for my free birthday coffee at a nearby Starbucks, then home.  Such a nice day. 

When we stopped in at Elks later that afternoon, I was surprised with a beautiful birthday bouquet from my sister, Emily! Since no one in the Lodge knew us, they'd been waiting for someone to come in and claim the lovely flowers. So fun to find out they were for me!

Wednesday was one of those gorgeous blue sky filled with puffy white clouds kind of days.  Putting the bikes on the car we drove back to Jacksonville for a Rails to Trails paved bike trail through shady woods and streams. Fantastic! It's a 13 mi trail but we stopped half way and spent time seeing the Camp Milton Preserve and more of Florida's Civil War history.  The park included remnants of the earthworks and fortifications built in spring of 1864 to provide a defense from the Union forces in Jacksonville. These were only discovered in 1973 and once the state acquired the property the site was opened to the public in 2006. There were boardwalks around the ruins and we were probably the only people there that afternoon.  What a wonderful find.  Next time we'll start from the other end of the trail and see what it holds.

The best birthday present was a visit from my sister, Emily, on Thursday.  She drove up from Safety Harbor but taking a different route, it took her a wee bit longer than planned.  But once she got there we had a wonderful time. She was able to stay two nights with us which gave us all day Friday to see new things in St. Augustine.  She and I started with a walk at the beach that morning then we cleaned up and toured the St Augustine Distillery downtown. A fun one hour tour with lunch afterwards at The Ice Plant Bar upstairs.

Two great tastings and a chance to learn that Florida has some pretty unusual liquor laws. The  distillery is only allowed to sell two bottles per year to each person from their own gift shop; though more can be purchased at state liquor stores at a higher price. So we pooled our buying power and Em took home a few more extras.

After a wonderful lunch we found parking downtown (not an easy thing on a Friday afternoon) and wandered around and into the Lightner Museum where Emily found this interesting guy.

We walked the touristy downtown area, not my favorite, looking for a place to spend an hour before joining our evening Ghost Tour lead by this local guide and his wife. Such a fun evening on the prowl for the ghosts of St Augustine while learning the history of the characters and the city they once inhabited.

Emily said an early goodbye on Saturday morning at 6AM so she could beat the traffic and get home by mid morning, and she did!  An afternoon at the beach was our plan, this time going north of St Augustine along Highway A1A, beautiful and not terribly crowded; everyone doing a little shelling along the water's edge.

To finish off our day and our stay in St Augustine we drove around the streets of Vilano Beach until we found the marina and a wonderful bayside restaurant for snacks and drinks called Beaches at Vilano.  A fun, little too sunny, but perfect end to the day.

Sunday was cleaning and packing day getting ready to get back into our travels. The week and half in St. Augustine had been a perfect time for both of us. Now it was time to go see the state of Georgia!