St Augustine was the start of our Florida winter snowbird destination. Its been a few years since we last visited Florida. After last years cold and wet winter in California, we were looking forward to beaches, sunshine and warmth.
St Augustine
We stayed at the Compass RV Park in St Augustine. It was only a two hour drive from Jekyll Island, Georgia. We were considering Anastasia State Park, but we wanted all the amenities at Compass, which included a work out facility, full service, two dog parks, and satellite reception. Jake made new friends and loved his daily long walks.
The beach was huge, went on for miles, was clean, and and had beautiful sand that in some places, you can actually drive on.
St. George’s Row is a pedestrian mall filled with restaurants and shops.
A fish sandwich lunch at Catch 27 was delicious.
The St. Augustine Lighthouse is picturesque. They also have a small maritime museum.
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
The Castillo de San Marcos National Monument was next to St. George’s Row. It was easy to visit both the same day. Unfortunately, Jake was not allowed in the fort, so we took turns visiting it while Jake got a nice walk around the perimeter.
It’s America’s oldest and largest brick/masonary fort. Built by the Spanish in 1672, it had 251 years of military occupation. The fort was transferred to the National Park Service in 1933. It was nice to walk around it and see the exhibits on how daily life was in those days.
It’s a fun town to explore.The city was founded in 1565 and is the oldest European established city that has been continuously inhabited in the continental United States. Most things to do were within walking distance.
We had martinis at the Tini Martini Bar. The bar is very small and it would be difficult to not make new friends here. A woman sitting next to us was very entertaining with some amazing stories of her life abroad and as a cook on a sailboat. The martinis were huge, thank goodness we shared!
