Monday, October 6, 2014

Florida- Coast to Coast

So while Sarah and I were in Florida, we made it a goal to hit each coast. And I am so glad we did! Tuesday night was a quick trip to the gulf and St. Petersburg. Our new friend Bryan from Oklahoma, went with us. I sure am glad Sarah's an extrovert and has the guts to ask people to join us. It was nice to have him along.  We left right after class and made it to the beach right as the sun set.

This view made the drive completely worth it. Isn't it amazing?









We walked along the pier at Fort DeSoto and asked the locals where we should go eat. They suggested PJ's Oyster Bar, and so we made our way to the location.

This is the menu. A lot of the fish was caught fresh that day! They served my soda in a plastic PJ's cup, so I asked for 3 to take home to my monkeys.  

You could write on a dollar bill and staple it to the wall. We did that. That;s George Washington with a guitar. Theoretically.

Here is where we stapled it :) Also notice the paper towels hanging from the ceiling or convenience sake. 

Flounder sandwich, shrimp salad sandwich, and crab legs! And we had "gator bites" for an appetizer. It tasted like chicken. Like tough, chewy, slightly fishy... chicken.

So then Thursday after the final conference luncheon, we headed toward the Atlantic coast. We shit the ocean in Daytona Beach and then took a little state road that followed the shoreline all the way to St. Augustine, the oldest continually occupied city in the USA. There, we saw the Castillo de San Marcos, a pirate museum, and an old street rebuilt to look just like it would have 300 years ago when the Spanish were there.

First, the Castillo;
Sarah and I on one of a series of drawbridges meant to keep the fort safe and impenetrable. 

The outside of the fort with the cannons up against the water. The walls are 16 feet thick at the bottom, tapering to 11 feet thick near the top.

One of the look out posts. It was a little squishy.

The view into the courtyard from the gun deck. The castillo was built in the early 1600's. And it still stands. 

A view of the castillo from across the street. 

Each indivdiual room was an arch with dirt over it for stability. 

The entire thing is made of coquina, a rock made of shells cemented together, St. Augustine is full of it! Its illegal now to harvest it from the ocean since it is so rare.

The inlet an a view of the dry moats.
Next, we enjoyed the pirate museum. Apparently the town was burned by pirates a few time. Being part of the Spanish stronghold made it the frequent victim of English privateers. One invasion brought all 1300 of the towns residents (most of them the families of soldiers) into the walls of the castillo for 50 days of siege. The only hope of those attacking was that they would run out of supplies and give up, because the fort certainly was formidable.


One of 2 original Jolly Rogers! Made in 1850.

Sarah is a little unsure about the friends we are making.

Me at the helm.

Firing off some practice shots...
Then we ventured over to St. George street.

The shops and homes along St, George street representing different eras of colonial St. Augustine. 

The cemetery they had to create after a yellow fever epidemic so non Catholics had a place to be buried. 

Spanish food for dinner. The inside only had oil lamps for light. It was kind of cool. Dark, but cool.

Ice cream! Which I'm sure isn't Spanish or British at all. Very touristy, But very yummy. I also got sea salt caramels for Susan and some fudge for my babies. 

The oldest wooden school house in America.

And finally, our quest for shells led us to go beach combing at night. I'm not going to lie. The ocean is scary in the dark. And it was windy, so the waves were a little more violent than they normally would have been. But we were directed to Vilano beach. And we found PLENTY of shells. There were strips of shells and strips of sand alternating. It made us a little nervous at first, but I ended up loving it, and carried a sweater full of shells back to the car.


I should also probably post a few things from actual Orlando, where we were staying.
The hotel, view from my floor.

The hotel, view from the atrium floor.

Marvel Island block party. Captain America!

And some of the mutants... Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Sarah, Chiara...


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