st augustine

time flies here- actually, it flies everywhere but tomorrow it will be February and I feel like I am always catching up (how can this be when I am "retired"?)

last week I went to my first class on "Passport to Cuba" - and heard a very interesting lecture on the intertwined history of the American Revolution and Cuba, especially Havana. I think I have mentioned it but in case you didn't remember I am going to Cuba in April with my travel buddy Jennifer (see Tunisia posts of last year)

anyway back to St Augustine.  we had already planned a trip there before I heard the lecture but I was excited by some of the history.  Settled far earlier than Jamestown and Plymouth... St A is a town steeped in history - both older - explorers landed there in 1513 (next year 500 year celebrations) and newer - Flagler built a railroad there during the robber baron era and a magnificent hotel (the Ponce de Leon)
where it cost 9,000 to stay by invitation only for the only option of three months in the winter. Cash up front too by the way- LOL.

so off we went to St A and what did we find- - -

the Dells.... but hold on- this was just because we wandered into retail hell right out of the parking garage that serves the historical center of town.  the long main street is a pedestrian only street and is lined by lots of t-shirt shops etc... filled with sparkly handbags and pirate related  items - I had been hoping for a more Colonial Williamsburg style experience and so by an hour into it was ready to go home.

however- it turns out that we just started off on the wrong foot with this lovely and interesting town.  once we got to the bottom of the "shopping street" we found a lovely plaza and a number of historical buildings in a warren of tiny narrow streets that were full of charm and very picturesque.

so if you go here is a plan I would recommend.  take the Old Town Train tour first- ride the whole loop despite the get off get on thing.  Then on the second loop get off at the Oldest House and take the tour. It is worth it for the long perspective of St A history.  Walk around the south end of town amongst the alley like streets and explore the area south of the plaza first.  Then spend some time exploring Flagler College which is the current tenant of the enormous Ponce de Leon hotel that Flagler built.

then walk the narrow streets of the north of the plaza are (except the shopping street) and then do the shopping street for souvenirs etc.  Along the way you will find lots of off the beaten path dining and drinking options and be sure to make a dinner reservation for someplace in town as after dark even the shopping street is delightful.  When most of the shops have closed and darkness has fallen there is a sense of the old in old town.  lit by a lot of tiny white lights (especially the plaza) the town becomes magical.

so go - and enjoy yourselves - and since we didn't have time for the Alligator Farm - get back to us with a report on that one...

old city north gate 

the fortress 

depiction of original settlement 

the hotel was magnificent- included below are interior and exterior shots as well as some memorabilia from a bygone era

and here are some of the shots of the things you can also run into - the "dells" type experience- or for those of you unversed in Wisconsin Dells- think Tijuana- LOL

Our second day started with a lovely outdoor lunch at the Conch House on the water- where the local Mustang Club was having their weekend brunch apparently-

I had the Minorcan burger which was a combo of ground sirloin, ground pork and chorizo with pepper jack cheese- very yummy!

We headed home in the late afternoon of day two having enjoyed St A once we got the layout of the place.  Definitely worth the trip.

everyone loves Snooty

the world's oldest manatee (63 years old) lives in the South Florida Museum near here.  His name is Snooty and he is older than I am and I have "known" him since I first started coming here in the early 1960s.

he is the star attraction but the museum is a small but very nice general natural history museum for a small town and it has some other social historical exhibits as well. 

we had been out the island to have lunch along the Gulf of Mexico at the BeachHouse in Bradenton Beach... we all had grouper sandwiches for lunch and frou frou drinks with umbrellas..

we came back into town and decided a visit to Snooty would be the thing to do on a Saturday afternoon. Snooty is as I said the world's oldest living manatee.  When I was a kid he lived in what was basically and oversized bathtub  in the museum but later he got a brand new big tank and a whole wing to himself- now he occassionally has manatee visitors but he is still hand fed California Romaine lettuce daily by his people buddies.

this is what a manatee looks like (closest relative is the elephant)

here is Snooty in his current digs:

this is a 3/4 sized bronze model of the real guy!

a newsletter from thirteen years ago when he turned 50!



 Snooty loves Phil- LOL

a booklet from the inauguration of his new home:

Lynn and the two of us goofing around by posing in the faux "swim with Snooty" cutouts...

As I said the museum has some other things besides the big guy- and one of them is an historical Bradenton exhibit which featured the bathing beauties of yesteryear from Anna Maria island.

 a worthwhile stop along the way home from the Gulf of Mexico lunch in the glorious sunshine and the bright blue sky!  A perfect January day.

back to the lodge

our friend Lynn was here last weekend to escape the snow.  When we asked her what she wanted to do when she was visiting she had only one request- to return to the Linger Lodge (see entry from last year on January 10, 2011 entitled Linger Lodge for photos etc.)

this year we have been back twice so far. It is only minutes from River Cottage- three to five max...

and things are still cool and fun to see... we arrived with the Sunday biker crowd

we had lots of choices for food but picked the gator bites to start along with tiger striped onion rings

the decor is still lovely- and it seems they have even more "stuffed" animals - a taxidermist's dream come true- (see last year's entry for photos of dead animals that hang the walls and fill the trophy cases)

and we really hit the jackpot when we went to the laundry room (ladies room and shower entrance) and found this ANDY GIBB album up for grabs in the book exchange table!  You absolutely have to love a place like this-

we came home and sat around the deck until sunset where we watched the progress of the colors on the clouds and celebrated seeing a toddler alligator right by the deck in the late afternoon!

and here he is!

 
more on Lynn's visit later...