St. Augustine - Orlando / Florida Guide
Florida Guide > Places to Visit
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Last year we decided to spend three days visiting St Augustine and I canhonestly say that it was a wonderful experience. We did not go by the quick route but headed for 1A1 and took the coast roadnorth. We even went onto the beach at Daytona as soon as we could and drovenorth till we had to get back on the road. We had a 4x4 but if you have aordinary car don't worry as the section that you drive on is quite hard and80% of the other cars were just standard models. We stayed at a 9 bedroom B&B that dated back, in parts, to the mid 1800's andwas really great. If you do get a chance to go the slight extra cost over oneof the motels on the edge of town is worth the difference. The old town areais full of interesting buildings and one of the things that is worth doing isto take the 'Walking ghost tour'. These tours start at dusk with everyonebeing giving a lantern and the tour guide is dressed in period costume. Thetour takes about 2 hours with stops at all of the interesting places. Whilesome of the stories were very good they were just that. However there weresome cases that had being witnessed by lots of people and were veryinteresting. I won't spoil it in case any of you take the tour. St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied settlement of Europeanorigin in the United States and was founded on September 8th 1565. It took itsname from the fact that land was first sited on the feast day of SaintAugustine, August 28th. This first landing was forty two years before theEnglish colonized Jamestown and fifty five years before the Pilgrims landed atPlymouth Rock. Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles the leader of the trip, claimedFlorida for the Spanish Crown and named it Florida after the Easter season,known in Spanish as PASCUA FLORIDA. The large fort built on the site, TheCastillo de San Marcos, has almost finished it's restoration and offers a goodview of what life was like at the time. About half a mile up the coast fromthe fort you will find a large stainless steel cross by the water with ismeant to show the place where Ponce de Leon landed and the held the first Masson the mainland. We spend a day looking around the old town and all the museums that were oncethe homes of the wealthy. Henry Flagler, a former partner of John D.Rockefeller in the Standard Oil Company created in St. Augustine a winterresort for wealthy Americans. He owned a railroad company that linked St.Augustine with cities along the east coast. In 1887, his company beganconstruction of two large and ornate hotels and a year later added a thirdthat had been planned and begun by another developer. You should also take a river trip and see the 'Bridge of Lions' and theCastillo from the water. these trips take you out to the mouth of the harbourand can offer a couple of hours of relaxation in the afternoon after a bustday walking round the town. If your lucky while your waiting for the trip tostart you will get a group of Manatees by the boat. It seems that while theycan live in either salt or fresh water they prefer fresh. So when the crewssee them they put a hose over the side into the water and they come and swimin it. I don't know who's got who conditioned but it happens quite oftenaccording to the crew. We got some great pictures even though you get closerin Sea World. I almost forgot the light show they put on in December if you happen to be inFlorida at that time of the year, it is almost as good as the some of theparks as you drive around the area. However be prepared for crowds as it'svery popular. This is definitely not a day trip but is well worth the effort. Page added on: 20 July 2004
We aim to provide acccurate and useful information, but if you feel anything provided here is not accurate or out of date, please email us with the address of the page concerned and any commments so we can amend as necessary. Viewed 5 times since 1 September 2008.
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