Finding a Treasure: St. Augustine, FL

The rain has finally ended and although there is some residual high water in some areas, things are returning to normal.

My boss helpfully sends me this photo of a floaty I might find useful here.  I told him I would rather hold out for a hunky lifeguard.  Later when I spoke to him he said something about David Hasselhoff.  Apparently, he can't read...I said "hunky" not "hokie".  Hasselhoff?  I don't think so...I am thinking more along the lines of Sam Elliott from the movie Lifeguard.

Since the advice about Jacksonville continues to be that I should go down the road to St. Augustine and the weather promises to cooperate, that is where I head on night 3.  I could take the freeway and get there faster but I decide to take A1A which runs along the coast. 

I incorrectly assume this will be like the drive from San Francisco down to Monterey, California where you can see the ocean.  The only way to see the ocean on this drive is to park in one of the 3 parking areas for the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (whew! glad I wrote that down).  I park in the second one for a fee of $3, cross the highway and a long boardwalk to see the ocean.

This is the calving area for North Atlantic Right Whales which the sign tells me are very endangered.  I am also told that if a whale approaches me to move "slowly" away.  First, I have no plan to swim here.  Second, if I did and one of these approached me, I assure you my movement away would be anything but slow.

I don't like to swim in the ocean (or in a lake or even in a pool) so the lack of a lifeguard, hunky or otherwise, won't present a problem for me.  Rip currents are apparently a problem here too as there are signs to instruct me about what to do should 

I get caught in one.

This beach is deserted.  There are a lot of intact shells here and if I didn't have plans in St. Augustine, I could be content to spend the rest of the night here.  The water is really foamy here, unlike at Jacksonville Beach.  What causes that?

Back in the parking lot, I see a large sign and piles of something.  This piques my curiosity so I walk over.

It is an oyster shell recycling area.  I don't eat oysters and I live in north Texas nowhere near the water so the fact that these are recycled is news to me.

While some are in big piles, there are several neat bagged and dated piles as well.

Back in the car, I continue down A1A.  My customer mentioned that I would pass a "castle" so I am on the lookout.  I am also on the lookout for a beach-side restaurant for later.

I see the castle first.  I almost missed it due to the overgrowth of the surrounding vegetation.  My customer said it is sometimes open to the public but it doesn't appear that is still the case.  There are signs saying "private" posted and the gate is closed.  Obviously I am not over the filters in my new app yet.

The residential road the castle is on includes a Traffic Calming Area.  I like this.  I know a number of places (and some people) that could use a little calming.  It turns out they mean a giant speed bump.

Not too far down the highway I see a restaurant named The Reef and make plans to return there for dinner.  They are on the beach side and the parking lot isn't empty and they are the only restaurant I have seen (or will see) before I turn to go into St. Augustine.

I leave A1A and cross a bridge to go into St. Augustine.  The whole time I am on the bridge I can see a very large cross off to the left.  I am intrigued.

The cross is at the Nombre de Dios Mission.  It commemorates the location where 55 years BEFORE the landing at Plymouth Rock, the town of St. Augustine was founded by Pedro Menendez de Aviles, along with the mission.  The statue in front is Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, founding pastor of the mission.

I noticed later that all of the photos of the cross appear tilted.  I thought it was me but if you look at the base of the statue and the land, it looks like it really is leaning.  

This is a really peaceful place.  There is a cemetery and a chapel (closed and padlocked).  There is also a museum that closes at 4, more than 2 hours before I get here.  I do enjoy walking around the grounds.

I am glad I took this picture when I did because there was a woman sitting on the bench in front of this having a conversation with Mary when I walked by to leave.

The padlocked Ancient Shrine of Nuestra Senora de la Leche.  I tried looking in those little windows on the front but they are stained glass and you can't see anything.

St. Joseph carved from wood.

St. Francis of Assisi.  Saints are fascinating to me.  Especially Joan of Arc.  But that is a story for another time.

My main goal for this evening is to go to the St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum as it is open until 8 pm nightly.  The GPS takes me here instead.

The Castillo de San Marcos National Monument.  There are tours available of the inside but I am here too late for that so I walk around the outside.

They began building this Spanish fort in 1672.

This was a British stronghold during the Revolutionary War.  It looks like it has a moat here but I think it's just from all of the rain.

When I make the circle around, I see what I was looking for across the street.

I loved this museum.  There are life-size wax figures of pirates, interactive computers where you can read about famous pirates, including two women, and various artifacts that are supposed to be real (that is what they advertise) such as gold coins, a treasure chest, weapons and various items from taverns. 

They also offer a treasure map to follow where you find different clues along the way.  These clues are "hidden" but only require you to look for a symbol and then do something like pull out a drawer.  I can see how an older kid would have fun doing this.

But sadly, David had to stay home this time.  I didn't fill this out primarily because I don't have a lot of time and don't know how long it will take just to see the main exhibits.

There was a family with two young girls there at the same time as me and the younger of the two was a little scared by a few of the displays.  I could see how a younger child could be.  They have a full size replica of Captain Kidd's tarred body in a gibbet (where the plaque says the real captain hung on display over the Thames river for several years).  There is a list on the wall of common discipline and torture methods used by pirates and I found myself cringing over and over at the descriptions, some of which included things like exploding eyeballs.

They also have Blackbeard's decapitated wax head hung up and telling his story.  I found it kind of amusing, in a creepy sort of way.  My favorite part, and the part that made me really wish I had David here with me for this, was a room where you hear a ghost story.  I walk in a room that can seat 10 people and punch a button on the wall.  I am instructed to take a seat on one of the crates that line both walls and put on the headphones.  The room goes dark except for a red light in the corner.  Then the story begins.  The audio is interesting and they do a good job of using the left and right channels to make it seem as if the person talking is in there and moving around you.  At one point a cannon is fired and my seat jumps a little.  I have to say it was a little freaky being in here alone.  I expected a holographic image to come scare me but that didn't happen.  Either way, it was worth the 10 minutes.

I wish they allowed photos inside but as with most places like this, they don't.  If you are in the area, I would add this to the list of things to do, it was well worth the trip for me.

After the museum, I head back down the road to eat dinner.  In the parking lot of The Reef, the restaurant I picked on the way out, I speak to two young women who are coming out and asked if they liked the food.  "It was okay," one says.  The other thinks about it a minute and says, "We liked Cap's on the Water a lot better."  They tell me it is on the same road as the Castle house.  Back in the car, I hunt it down.

This is the best advice yet. 

The weather is perfect, light breeze, around 75 degrees.  The seating is all outdoors.  My waitress is attentive, friendly and smiles more than anyone I have encountered in a while.  I had glazed salmon that was outstanding (unseating Sear's for 2nd best behind the place in Chicago that I can't remember the name of).  After dinner my waitress offers the dessert menu.  I tell myself that if nothing jumps out at me immediately, I will not get dessert.  They have a Coconut Pineapple Cake with Warm Vanilla Custard.  Yeah, I'll have that. 

Let me just say, if I could drive back to St. Augustine right now, I would go back to Cap's just for that cake.  I thought it would be a slice of cake but the whole thing is served in a ramekin with a little toasted coconut on the top.  Pure heaven.  I wanted to ask her to bring me 3 more and the recipe for the road.

But with a view like this, I am not in a big hurry to get on the road back to the hotel.

I skip the extra cake but I have had dreams about it ever since.  After a good night in St. Augustine, I am already plotting a return trip tomorrow, my last night in the area.  The pirate museum has me thinking a nighttime ghost tour might be just the thing.  And if I just happen to drive past Cap's...

There's No Place Like Home after the Cummer Museum, Jacksonville

On my first day with my Jacksonville customer, the umbrella is definitely in order.

Even the ducks and geese are headed for higher ground.

The rain hangs around off and on all day.  This really shouldn't present a problem because my plans today are to go to the Cummer Museum since this is the only night they are open late.

As usual, I ask my customer, "What is there to do here in Jacksonville other than going to the mall?"  He looks at me and says, "Go to St. Augustine."  A totally different city. 

I tell him the idea is to see what Jacksonville has to offer.  I mention that I was unable to find any live theater show here, something I usually try to do.  He knows of a dinner theater called Alhambra and helpfully looks it up for me.  They are showing the Wizard of Oz, giving me an option for later in the week.

Sometimes customers have lunch brought in.  Sometimes they accompany me to lunch.  This gentleman is of the "I'll see you in about an hour" variety so during lunch I drive out to Jacksonville Beach Pier.  I hope that if the storm moves out before I go I can come back on the morning I fly home to get some photos of the sunrise.

No sun under red flag conditions today.

Some people are undeterred.

There are a few people on the pier.  It costs $1 to just walk on here.  I don't have much time left so maybe Friday I will pay the extra buck.

More fun with the filters on my new app.

Red Flags everywhere

This bird was practicing his technique by extending his wings and "gliding" while sitting on the No Dogs Allowed sign.

When work is done for the day I decide to go directly to the museum.  This will allow me to get done earlier so I can get dinner and get back to the hotel at a decent hour.  The museum is on the outskirts of downtown and it is raining when I arrive.  Luckily I procured the umbrella yesterday because the parking lot is across the street.

Because of all the rain, the formal Gardens are closed.   There is a gargoyle rescued from a New York building scheduled for demolition, a statue of the Roman goddess Diana, a tea garden, an Italian garden and a Live oak tree estimated to be over 175 years old.  At least in theory, I can't verify any of this since I didn't see it.

The museum itself is like most other art museums I have been to but smaller.  Remember, I live in the Dallas area.  You could probably fit 5 Cummers inside the Dallas Museum of Art.

There is a large area for kids that includes some interactive exhibits.  While nice, I am currently not in possession of a child so my presence here is met with hostile looks of suspicion.  Especially when I get out my camera.

There is also a video that gives a history of the family, the museum and the gardens.  There is one advantage to seeing the gardens on video rather than in person. 

Fewer mosquitoes.

There are several Andy Warhol pieces in the museum's collection.  In this gallery I also saw a woman's breast.  It wasn't in one of the art pieces.  It was on a seriously under-dressed patron having a wardrobe malfunction (I prefer to assume it was accidental, the two men she was with might choose otherwise).

And a whole room of religious art, which I have always been drawn to.  Give me a cemetery with some statues and my camera and I am happy.

The whole museum takes less than an hour (I don't read all of the plaques, never will) and I am feeling pretty glad it was also free to get in tonight.  The ladies room is closed for some reason and I really need to find a working restroom soon so time to go.

And then, it was like I was in a movie.  I am standing outside waiting to cross the street to return to the parking lot.  There is quite a bit of traffic so I wait near the curb.  There are around half a dozen people across the street waiting to cross to my side.  They look at me.  I look at them.  I don't see the truck.

There is a sizable puddle against the curb on my side of the street.  All of the cars move to the other lane to avoid it.  Not him.  He accelerates.  Before I can react he hits the puddle and the water makes a perfect arc that hits me right in the chest.  My hair and top are soaking wet.  The people across the street just look at me and are kind enough not to laugh.

My pants are the least wet thing I have on at this point.  I am really unhappy.  I cannot stand to be in wet clothing.  I am over 10 miles from the hotel.  My hair is dripping.  I had planned to go directly to dinner.  Not now.

On the way back to the hotel I am miserable.  The museum was mainly a bust and now I am wet to boot.  There is only one thing left to do.

Commiserate with someone else who knows what I know...There's no place like home.

That's right.  I go to the dinner theater.  Because the museum didn't take very long, I have time - or so I think.  The GPS says it will take 10 minutes from my hotel once I get there and dry off and change clothes.

It takes me over an hour to get there in a torrential downpour.  When I arrive the power is off.  I am on the verge of tears.

This is because I rented a vehicle.  It never occurred to me to rent a VESSEL!  That would have been much smarter under the circumstances.

Fortunately, the drive over isn't wasted as the power comes back on and I am sold a ticket.  When the hostess shows me to my table, we have to stand there a moment because my seat is occupied with a purse.  Finally, the woman looks up and is informed that her purse is in my seat.  She sighs loudly, rolls her eyes and slowly makes a production of moving it.  This is a table for 4 and she isn't happy that I have inserted myself into her little party of 3 (she has two girls around 10 years old with her).

Later, Mary - the mother - loosens up and is nice and chatty with me.  This could be because I just started talking to her and acting like nothing was wrong and that I didn't notice her rude behavior in the beginning.  It could be the 3 glasses of wine she had.

I have Iced Tea, the Emerald City Cod and the Tin cup of chocolate mousse which is actually brought to me in a glass Mason jar.  I have no idea what Mary and the girls had since they are finished and the table is cleared before I even arrive.  Mary is still on her first glass of wine.  Two and three come in pretty quick succession after I get there.  I try not to take it personally.

The play is fine, not great but not terrible either.  I find myself wishing I could steal Dorothy's ruby slippers and tap my way back home.  But I have big feet so I doubt they would fit me.

After Mary loosened up a little, I asked her the same question I asked my customer earlier - what should I do here in Jacksonville?  She said, "Go to St. Augustine".  Okay, okay, universe, I get the message.  Tomorrow, that is exactly what I will do.

Off to a Slow Start: Jacksonville, FL

Every day when I came back to my hotel, there was a man - and sometimes a woman too - sitting or laying on the floor at the end of the hall, just past my room.  One day was odd enough but he is here all 4 nights.

I mentioned in my last post that Tropical Storm Debby and I made landfall in Jacksonville around the same time.  The night before my arrival, parts of the city experienced some flooding.  But by the time I arrive on Monday afternoon, the sky has returned to beautiful blue streaked by non-threatening clouds.

This gives me the ultimately incorrect impression that I can go with my plans for the day.

When researching what to do in Jacksonville while still in Dallas, I am not finding a lot.  They have some interesting bridges.  There is a fountain by a restaurant/shopping area downtown.  A co-worker's brother who lives there gives me a list but nothing is really jumping out at me. 

Then I see something about the Kingsley Plantation and Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, part of the National Park Service.  They are only open until 5 but if I go directly from the airport, I should be able to make it.

On the drive out, I notice the clouds begin to shift and become darker.  I am still determined to make it.

It is a pretty drive and I want to stop to take photos but I don't have much time so I resist.  When I turn on the road to the plantation, I start to have second thoughts.

It isn't paved.  It is generally dry but there are some large puddles/potholes so I am glad the rental car agency gave me a small SUV (without charging me extra).

I decide to keep going thinking that if I come to a place that is at all iffy for passage, I will turn around and go back.  Easy enough to do since there isn't any other traffic on this road.  Again, I have the urge to get out and take more pictures but this is a pretty remote area, very swampy.  I did see one turnoff that appeared to be a hiking trail but was afraid an alligator might drag me off into the vegitation and no one would miss me until they discover my abandonded rental car several days from now.

The plantation is a couple of miles down this road and you can't go more than 15-20 mph due to the potholes.  It takes a while.  I am eating up the time I will have just trying to get there.

Ultimately it doesn't matter since they are closed "due to weather".  I made it down this road.  The person who hung the red sign made it down this road.  I wish they were here now to let me in.  You cannot see anything from the road.

The road to the plantation makes a loop so I continue down the other half and take time for some photos because now I don't know what to do other than go to the hotel.  (Some are at the end of this post.)

Back on the main road I see a sign for Fort Caroline so I make a spur-of-the-moment decision to go there.  When I arrive, I have 15 minutes before they close.  I ask a park ranger in the parking lot what is the best thing to see in 15 minutes.

His answer:  The Owl Totem Pole in the visitor center.  This dates from 1400-1500 AD and is the largest wooden artifact ever recovered from an archealogical site in either North or South America. 





I asked the ranger about the fort before going inside because I am surprised that isn't what he suggested.  You cannot see the fort unless you take the short hike down to it.  "Are you wearing bug spray?" he asks.  When I answer no he says, "Then I wouldn't go down there."  Normally mosquitos don't bother me too much but when I walk around back to check out the trail to the fort, they are already swarming and biting me so I give this idea up immediately.

On to the hotel for a little work and then I want to head to the beach and dinner.  By the time I get to the beach, the sky is definitely more threatening.

I spend about 30 minutes taking pictures when...

I am driven back to the car.  I really, really don't like to be wet when wearing regular clothes.  Plus, I am going to eat next and don't want to be forced to go back to the hotel to change first.

Before leaving the hotel, I selected The Blue Fish Restaurant & Oyster Bar as my dinner destination.  The restaurant is along a stretch of road that offers other restaurants and some independent shops.  The kind I would normally like to go in. Of course, none of them are open. 

Window shopping isn't really a good option in these conditions.  I have to park pretty far from the restaurant so I run from awning to awning and sometimes there are big gaps between awnings.  I purchase an umbrella on the way back to the hotel.

Inside the restaurant, they seat me at the bar even though they aren't that busy.  In my experience, when I sit at the bar and order iced tea, the bartender seems put out.  This is no exception.  After he brings my tea, he totally ignores me, even though I have a menu I have reviewed and placed down closed in front of me.  After about 20 minutes, I am seriously considering leaving when he finally asks for my order. 

I order crab bisque and the crab cake appetizer, more annoyance for him.  The food is okay.  The service isn't.  I wouldn't eat here again.

During my lengthy wait at the restaurant, I found a new photo editing/filtering/sharing app for my iPhone.  I am already addicted.  Here are some results, all from today: