March 10 – 13, 2011 St. Augustine – Bikers, Airstreamers, wine tasting, and leprechauns…

St. Augustine, on the northeast coast of Florida, is reputed to be the first permanent European settlement in North America.

Castillo San Marcos - 1672

The Spanish built a fort here in 1672. It withstood English attacks but was occupied by the British during the American Revolution.

Flagler College, formerly Hotel Ponce De Leon.

And each has a bellybutton.

Interior dome of "the Ponce".

Not much else seems to have happened until the arrival of Henry Flagler, a cofounder of Standard Oil, in 1885. Flagler was a very wealthy man with great influence in Florida and did not think much of the St. Augustine tourist facilities. He built the Hotel Ponce De Leon and other luxury St. Augustine buildings, or acquired them from others – all to provide vacation space for his wealthy friends.

Today St. Augustine is a major tourist town. We resist the pull of large billboards (“Drink from Ponce De Leon’s Fountain of Youth for only $1”, “Visit Ripley’s original ‘Believe it or Not’”), and enjoy the beautiful bay, the historic fort, the restaurant-filled downtown, and the early resort architecture.

"Spanish moss" draped trees, actually a form of air fern.

Bridge of Lions, built 1920s recently refurbished.

We wait on our morning walk as a sailboat passes underneath the Bridge of Lions.

Stainless steel cross commemorating introduction of Christianity in America.

Pirates are still a problem.

We begin the day with a very cold trolley tour of the city. As the day progressed hundreds of bikers arrive, as well as many others attracted by St Patrick’s Day celebrations and a local seafood festival. The weather much improves.

The next day we barely make a scheduled bay cruise became of extremely heavy traffic.

Although warned away by Larry, late one afternoon we go to a wine tasting at a St. Augustine winery. It is crowded, a regular trolley stop. And this is a Saturday night and an easy walk from Flagler College – a cheap date.

We begin with the dry wines and progress (?) to the sweet, alternating (with the winery’s guidance) between whites and reds. The wines are made from the muscadine grape and try to mimic more popular varieties. I taste one and involuntarily grimace, making some sort of voluntary critical remark. Marcia tells me to stop that. I try another and again uncontrollably grimace but don’t think I say anything – Marcia again tells me to quit acting that way. This continues through about eight wines, after which we leave and have a very nice dinner and bottle of out-of-state wine with Mike and Jane at The Tasting Room, a restaurant.

The next day Marcia and I again enter town to photograph a monument to The Old Spanish Trail, running from St. Augustine to San Diego. Our trolley guide said there is a corresponding monument in San Diego’s Balboa Park, but we don’t remember it. (Later I do some Internet research and find the monument is actually in Horton Plaza in downtown San Diego and looks much more conventional than the St. Augustine monument. Also, it is more a monument to the first automobile road between the cities than anything having to do with the early Spanish.)

Since we are downtown and have heard raves about a restaurant called Columbia featuring Cuban food, we decide to have an early dinner: their 100-year-old salad recipe (a little over-dressed) and a Cuban sandwich consisting of cheese, various meats such as salami, and pickles. The sandwich is quite good and tastes similar to a pastrami/swiss.

1879 Episcopal Church, Intracoastal Waterway.

Gracie always has the last word in drivers meetings.