Sometimes I get antsy when I think of all the places I want to go. Europe, Hawaii, Redwoods, and this one random waterfall in North Georgia are just calling my name.
But trips like that take money. And planning. And time.
None of which we have.
Someday. Maybe.
It's nice when Cory reminds me of all the awesome places we have yet to explore that are right in our regional backyard. (Although, the 12 by 8 foot area of our literal backyard probably holds some surprises too)
On our way home from the Orlando Temple, Cory suggested we stop by the most kitschy, romantic, touristy place Florida has to offer (and thats saying a lot). Turns out, he prefers historical sites to shopping in IKEA and the mall (my suggestions). Either way, I win.
That's compromise, folks.
Without further ado I present to you: St. Augustine. America's Oldest City.
Disclaimer: While I could back up my wild claims with some actual fact checking, I'm choosing to rely on the information Cory recalled from his third grade field trip as accurate. Its quite possible I'm writing my first piece of historical fiction here. Blame him.
Wanna know what makes this place great? I'll show you.
The visitor's center/parking garage looks like this:
They have entire shops dedicated to foods like chocolate.
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| Not pictured: Shop specializing in exotic jerky. For real. We're talking Yak and Alligator jerky. |
There is also a Fort.
According to my tour guide, the fort withstood the barrage of cannons for centuries due to the unique "bricks made out of tiny shells" construction technique of the Spanish men who built it.
Also, this guy hung out for a while. Do you think he's yearning for the days of yore? Regretting the terrible things he did to this country's native people? Counting down the minutes until he gets his smoke break? The world may never know.
I thought it made a lot of sense that the oldest town in America would also feature the oldest street in America. We found it, and took a stroll.
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| The Spanish settlers were all about culture. And gift shops. |
The oldest street in America led us to the most inviting windows in America. I want this.
We found a wax museum too. The oldest in America? Probably not.
We walked in, took some awkward pictures of the lobby as the receptionist stared at us, and walked out. The $6.00 per person fee was a little too rich for our blood.
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| The complete awkwardness of this picture makes me so happy. |
The rest of the trip looked like this:
I'm now dedicated to satisfying my travel lust with really getting to know the places within a 4 hour radius a little more. 'Cause I think we have some pretty awesome stuff. Suggestions welcome :)
10 comments:
lindy is pretty
what are we doing bloggin when we should be sleeping?
i've got that same travel fever girl. as soon as the semester ends and brett's a free bird i need to go somewhere!
this post is hilarious. you should be an english major or something.
you brought home some chocolate and yak jerky?
Yall are too cute! You must try Savannaha GA on for size!
why ya wanna give a girl a heart attack. I thought you were putting the blog on pause. Soooo relieved.
Glass bottom boat rides! Also, lindy is soooo pretty!
Lindy is super pretty. Also, I second the Savannah, GA thing and you MUST DO Paula Dean's restaurant. It would fall under the $$ category on urbanspoon, but totally worth it!!
hahaha--Just so you know, Cory was the anonymous creeper who thinks I'm pretty.
We didn't bring home any of the exotic jerky...it was about 5 dollars for a 2 inch sliver so...yea. But the free samples were fun.
Savannah and glass bottom boats are officially on the list!
hey you should go to Tampa and check out Ringling Museum. You are an FSU employee and would get in FREE! Then go down to Venice Beach and look for sharks teeth on the beach. Let me know if you go and I will tell you the best beach to go too. It is very fun to do and you get to spend the time on the beach and in the water. We even have shark shoves you can borrow... FREE again! We love Venice. If you want to have fun you can go to Ft. Myers FL and check out the Edison/Ford Winter homes. They have varied prices but well worth the money. And a trip into his lab is well worth it. We have done a couple of other things that are fun but not free down there. Let me know if you go... one included a boat ride to an island where you can pick up shells and then they take you to another island where you can eat in a restaurant where patrons tape money to the walls. The cool thing about this is the poles and walls are padded with money. But when national disasters happen they take the money off and send to those in need. VERY COOL!
you can tell my parents vaction. alot.
Your pictures make st. augustine look not boring. to a fourth grader, you try to hurry through without looking at things and mope about not being at a theme park instead. but seriously, your pictures look awesome! i'm jealous!
Thanks for those suggestions Annette! I really wanna go shovel for sharks teeth now!! And pad the walls with money.
I'm glad your parents vacation a lot, Kristen :) They are pretty much adorable. I can see how St. Augustine would be boring to a 4th/3rd grader for sure. Definitely more of a "hold hands with your lover" type of appeal its got going on :)
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