St Augustine 11.2009

Castillo de San Marcos

Chris + Chris at the gate

At the top

Chris took this picture

All of North America was once named Florida. Read it.

219 steps to the top



The St Augustine Lighthouse

James

We arrived in St Augustine on Sunday afternoon. Weekend crowds had beat us there. The Castillo de San Marcos was our first stop. The fortress is massive and pictures do it little justice, (unless you're in a helicopter). We walked through the Spanish Quarter; had dinner at Amici's - not memorable (save for the karaoke and our odd waiter Stephen); and visited the Lighthouse. Bob was the staff guy at the top of the lighthouse and was a fun resource. We took a sip from the Fountain of Youth and visited the landing spot of Ponce de Leon, providing an interesting bit of history. We also took a "walking ghost tour," featuring Julie, who told us scary stories around the city, leading us to several historical buildings, a well and two cemeteries. I snapped a picture of the gravestone (above) of 5-year old James. Do you see anything strange? St Augustine is beautiful and certainly significant in our history but the tourist trap-ness was best summed up by a local who said, "We've sold out St Augustine ... in the name of what?"

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