Jacksonville, FL
Bill actually picked the attractions we went to see today. We first made a quick stop at ITT to see if they had any discount tickets for the places we were going. No such luck but we found out later that a couple were National Monuments so our passes got us in free anyway.
Our first stop was at the fort in St Augustine. We looked it up on the GPS and went to the one listed as Fort Mantanzas. Turns out this isn't the place Bill intended but we went ahead and visited anyway. This fort was built in 1742 by the Spanish as a defense for their town of St Augustine. Fort Mantanzas is located 14 miles south of St Augustine at the mouth of the Mantanzas Inlet. With this fort the Spanish could keep the English from coming up the inlet and attacking St Augustine. No soldiers were permanently attached here. They would come down from Castillo de San Marcos in St Augustine for 30 days each. They would drill and enjoy the quiet time there. Then, after their 30 days, they would return home 14 miles up the river. Two of the original canons are still at the fort. You can only visit the fort by ferry. This is a National Monument but the ferry ride is free.
After our visit we headed back north. We were hungry so we stopped at a place called the Red Frog and McToads. It is a sports bar type place. We had a good lunch. Bill had liver and onions and I had a pork tenderloin sandwich. Bill also had a cup of clam chowder. They advertise that they have won the local chowder contest a few times. He said it was pretty good. The port tenderloin was huge. I couldn't eat it all but it was good.
After satisfying our hunger we got back on the road. We saw a lighthouse and decided to stop and check it out. It was the St Augustine lighthouse. Because the sky was dark and lightening was starting they wouldn't let you go to the top (like I would climb all 218 stairs).
Back on the road we headed to Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. St Augustine is the oldest permanent European Settlement in the US. It was established in 1565 by the Spanish. In 1695 they built this fort out of Coquina, which is sedimentary rock. They made the mortar used to build the Castillo by burning clam shells, separating out the lye, and adding water. We weren't sure we were going to be able to visit as we had to circle the parking lot four times to find a spot. Then it looked like the skies were going to open up and pour. It did let loose with a few big drops when we were walking up but soon stopped. Once again our National Park Pass got us in for free.
Just as we were leaving we heard what sounded like canon fire. Turns out a pirate ship was attacking another ship in the harbor. Kinda like how, when you are on a train it gets robbed? It was cute to watch.
Our next stop was going to be the Old Town portion of St Augustine where the oldest house and oldest school house are located but when we found the parking lot it was $12 to park. Since it looked like the skies were going to open up any minute, and because I was tired, we didn't stay but headed back to the RV. Good thing we did because it started to pour! It was raining so hard that you could hardly see the car in front of you. We all slowed down dramatically and turned the wipers on as fast as they would go. I almost pulled into a rest area to wait it out but decided to keep going. We finally made it back to the base and went inside.
I had to soak the top I was wearing because I dropped some french fries on it and wanted to get it clean as soon as possible. I decided to wash Bill's hats while I was at it. Because of the heat he has been sweating and there was a sweat ring on it. It looks like they came clean. So that is all for now. Enjoy all the pictures.
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