Touring St. Augustine

 April 28th, 2014

We left the hotel and headed into town over the Bridge of Lions.

We went for a tour on the Red Trains.  This is a trolley that takes you around St. Augustine and tells you all about the town and history.  We had seen them advertise that "seniors" over 55 could buy one ticket for $19.95 and get the second for $10 but when we got there they told us we both had to be over 55.  I got a little annoyed as it doesn't specify that and the two people in front of us got four tickets and they didn't even see the other two who got in for $10 each.  Anyway, I made my point and then paid the full price for both of us. There were people behind us who also thought they could get the second tickets for $10 but couldn't.  The wording could have been more specific than it was.
While we were waiting for the "train" we looked at this log/tree trunk that had been made into a travel trailer.

Here's a picture of the inside. 

The Red Train arrived for our tour.

You can get on and off as many times as your want throughout the tour. Here is a list of the stops. We started at Ripleys Believe it or Not. As we had to leave St. Augustine about 3pm for our Apple appointment we decided we would stay on it for the whole tour, about 90 minutes, and then get off at the Fort & Colonial Quarter near the end of the tour.

We went past the Colonial Quarter which is a recreation historic St. Augustine.  Unfortunately we didn't have time to look around this and it will wait until we return here sometime in the future.

Lightner Museum

Older Houses

I took this VIDEO as we went through the area with the older houses, mainly for mom as I know she likes the older houses.  It is not that good as the train was very bumpy!!!

 The St. Augustine Wine Distillery and Whiskey Distillery were both stops.  There were free tastings at both but we didn't stop, maybe next time.

St. Augustine Wine Distillery

Old General Store

Magnolia Ave. with Oak Trees

 Fountain of Youth

Fountain of Youth

We went back past our starting point and "Tilly" was still waiting for us where we parked by the US flag.

 There was a palm tree growing out of this tree.  We saw a similar thing on Amelia Island but I didn't get a picture of it.

Flagler Memorial Presbyterian Church

Bridge of Lions 

We stopped and looked around Castillo De San Marcos.  It is the oldest fort in the continental US. 

 I had my picture taken with this Spanish cannon and remembered many years ago, at least 45, having my picture taken with my brother at Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight.

 I looked for the picture of my brother & I but couldn't find it but came across this one of my gorgeous mum in her younger days.  Of course, she is sitting on the cannon, don't think I would have made it onto the cannon and am sure I would have been in trouble if I had. These days you are not allowed to climb on anything. Look at those heels. Love you Mum. xxx

Back to the present day

Looking down into the courtyard

Bryan at the cannon

View of the lighthouse from the fort

View of the bridge and galleon from the fort

Then we looked around the inside.

Spanish Coat of Arms removed from outside to protect it

This shows the change of power through the years

Prisoners carvings

Entry doors

On the way out we looked around the outside walls.

Bryan on the way out

We waited for the train, it wasn't long and when we got off at the next stop which was where the car was we took these pictures. 

This statue is one of only two full size replicas of Michelangelo's David.

We went to the Apple store on the way home and they confirmed that my hard drive had failed and they will have to replace it.  They said I should get it back within 48 hours.  Do love Apple's customer service.  

We got back home just in time to see Carnival Fascination leaving on her Bermuda cruise.  We thought of going on this as there was a last minute deal and we could have got an oceanview cabin for $225 each including taxes for the 5 night cruise but decided against it as we love the campground we are at and we would have had to rush back from St. Augustine. We will keep watching cruises and see what comes up.

That's it for today. Take care everyone.