Jacksonville & St Augustine FL

We're off for a 10 day trip to explore Florida before spending a week in Cuba. We fly Southwest from San Jose and Jacksonville. In booking these fares, we discover different cities in Florida are much cheaper to book travel than others. For example, Miami and Orlando tend to be the most expensive while both Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale tend to be much cheaper.

Sacramento River delta

Lake Tahoe

Since we wanted to experience the beaches around Jacksonville, we stay a few nights at Pelican Path B&B. Tom and Joan, the owners, are super nice and make great breakfasts for their guests. We also enjoy the close proximity to the beach affording long walks in the evenings.

The Breakfast room at Pelican Path B&B Peter's sister Jill and her husband Mark are Jacksonville locals. Mark graciously treats us to wonderful lunches at the Beach Club at the Sawgrass Country Club. The lunch area of the Beach Club is covered but the sides are open to the ocean breezes and great views.  The food is tasty, but the drinks are superb. I latch onto their "Malibu Coladas" and Peter loves his "Dark and Stormies."

Sue munches on pizza

Beach Club at Sawgrass

Walkway to beach

After lunch we head down to the uncrowded beach which offers a long stretch of fine flat white sand and gentle surf. Comparison to the cold Pacific, the 85° F Atlantic waters around Jacksonville feel like swimming in a bath tub. Needless to say, it's a great beach for families with young children.

Boy playing soccer

Girl uses the breezes to blow bubbles

Grom watches the waves

The next morning, Jill and Mark treat us to an airboat tour of the Jacksonville area section Intracoastal Waterway. This tour is operated by Crazy Fish.

Old Farts in Old Florida

Our captain

who loves his job

These airboats are fast and can reach speeds up to 45 - 50 mph, so we all get a thrilling ride.

Hey - this is as much fun as a roller coaster

Windblown Peter

Philip and Holly hang on

The undeveloped parts of the waterway are truly beautiful

Open land along the Intracoastal Waterway

Unfortunately, more and more of Florida is becoming developed leaving less and less open space for wild creatures. In fact, as of this writing Florida has become the third most populated state in the nation, after California and Texas and surpassing New York. Carl Hiaasen, a journalist with the Miami Herald,  writes wonderfully funny and pointed articles and books on the political and ecological plight of Florida.

Billboard ad along Intracoastal Waterway

Manatees and boats don't mix well

Egrets nest on trees under overpass

That afternoon while the rest of our group elect to return to the beach, Mark treats me to a tour of St Augustine.

Wow - Florida is really flat

Often photographed street

Downtown St Augustine

St Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied cities in the US that was established by Europeans. It was founded by the Spanish in 1565 and served as the capitol of Florida for over 200 years. It also served as a shipping hub for New World goods back going back to Spain. Like many cities established by the Spanish, is built around a central square or Zócalo. The striking feature of St Augustine's zócalo are the many cannons and accompanying stacks of cannon balls.

St Augustine zócalo

Dotted around the central square are many art galleries. Mark takes me to some of his favorites.

Very dramatic

Love it! Ouch! $8K price tag

A musical instrument for Holly's Burning Man camp

Tourists flock to this beautiful historic city and the locals are happy to accommodate them.

Ghost Tours - sounds fun

A local lady & puppy

Weddings are thriving local business

Despite having fun wandering around the old section, what I really wanted to see was the old fort - Castillo de San Marcos - which is the oldest masonry fort in the nation. Construction started on the fort in 1672 after an attack on the town by privateers made it clear the town's fortifications were inadequate. The fort is built of coquina, a limestone type of rock composed of small sea shells.

This fort is no Disneyland attraction. It was key in protecting the Spanish trade business, later the British, and even later the Americans. Cannons, both large and small, were used to fiend off attacks. The firing of cannons is dangerous work and the soldiers needed to follow the steps precisely.

The fort is certainly impressive as it's approached

Sea wall along the bay

Bridge over moat that was once filled with water

Demonstration of cannon fire

Yes - this fort was attacked

The blast from this explosion was so strong it blew the  cannon apart as well as any nearby soldiers

Central parade ground

Ramparts with views in all directions

No buccaneers can sneak up easily

Visitors check out firing cannons

Period clad staff take a grog break

Moonlight and colored dance light

After a great dinner in Jacksonville Beach that evening, Peter and I take a moonlight stroll down the beach in front of the B&B. The full moon and warm gentle breezes make for a very pleasant evening. Down the beach we spot moving colored lights and walk towards them to investigate closer. Turns out two dancers have brought tethered lights which they are swinging as they dance to a portable music player in the moonlight. Later Holly (our Burning Man expert) identifies colored lights as being Poi Balls. A magical evening!