Irish Attitude's Adventures: St. Augustine

Thursday, April 25 - Sunday, April 28, 2013

Sites along the way.

St. Augustine, what a great city to visit! Thursday morning, Irish Attitude followed Headquarters into the mooring field at the municipal marina. This was our first experience using a mooring ball rather than pulling into a slip a the marina. Mike maneuvered the boat while I caught the mooring line with a boat hook and clipped the line to it. The other end of the line was secured to a cleat on our boat. Piece of cake! It went so well we wondered what took us so long to give it a try. Mooring balls are usually $20 a night. Compare that to $1.75 to $2.25 (and more at some marinas) per foot (36), per night. It is quite a savings! Of course we take our dinghy in when we want to go ashore. Stormy nights or laundry days I would rather be at the dock but this is a good alternative.

St. Augustine the oldest continuously occupied settlement in the United States. (Since 1565!) There is so much I could say about the city but I would rather tell the story in pictures. Details can be Googled! The four of us purchased trolley tickets, good for 3 days. Three names important in the development of St. Augustine - Ponce de Leon, Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles and Henry Flagler. St. Augustine flew 5 different flags over it's history and pieces are reflected in the architecture.

St. Augustine Lighthouse
on Anastasia Island is
165 ft. The Light is Visible
for 20 Miles

A Rocket on the Way to a Museum

A Bascule Bridge of Lions

Two Lions Guard the Bridge

Two lions, Fiel Y Firme, (Faithful and Firm in Spanish) guard the bridge over the ICW. They were carved in Florance, Italy by Romanelli and donated to the city by Dr. Anderson, (Flagler's personal physician). St. Augustine turned down the state's offer to erect a 65' bridge, preferring to keep their bascule bridge.

Flagler College (once the Hotel Ponce de Leon, Flagler's 1st hotel in town ). We only stuck our heads in the entrance. I wonder how much we missed! What an unusual history this college has.

"Have you seen the fountain of youth?"

Detail - Everywhere!

Archway

Originally, Each Room had a
Fireplace and a Chimney

Flagler College - Main Entrance

Tiffany Stained Glass

Rotunda Ceiling, Up Close

Odd Looking Fence For a College

Other Notable Architecture

Lightner Museum and city offices (formerly the Alcazar Hotel
Flagler's 2nd motel w/ a more 'Casual Ambience'.)
Johnny Weissmuller (a.k.a. Tarzan and 5 time Olympic Gold Medal Winner)
Trained here, in the worlds largest indoor swimming pool!

'Castle Warden', Former Residence of William Warden
Now a Ripley's Believe It Or Not!

Villa Zorayda, Once a private winter residence is now a museum.
The first poured concrete building in Florida!

Casa Monica Hotel - A competitor to Flagler's hotels
had trouble receiving their furniture and supplies shipped
via rail. (You may remember from earlier posts that Flagler
owned Florida's East Coast Railway!) Henry Flagler later
the failing hotel.