Nov 24th – Nov 25th St Augustine FL.

Nov 24^th – Nov 25^th St Augustine FL.

Leaving Ocala in Central Florida, we continued across the state to St Augustine on the east coast.

St Augustine is one of the oldest continuously occupied cities and the oldest port in the nation.  It was established in 1565 by the Spanish.   After securing a campsite with a beautiful marsh view right down the street from the light house, we headed off to check out the city’s historic district.   The area has been beautifully maintained.  It contains amongst other ”oldest”  things the oldest schoolhouse in the US, and  the oldest Catholic parish.

The influence of the Spanish on the architecture was visible everywhere.  Look at this picture of the courtyard in the Lightner Museum and City Hall.

And then there is Flagler College…. how much Spanish- Moorish can you get in an architectural design?

Close by is  Fort Matanzas National Monument which was built by the Spanish in 1740 to protect the St Augustine  prior to the US taking control of Florida in 1819   The Monument consists of Fort Matanzas, and about 100 acres of salt marshes and Barrier islands on the Matanzas River.

We returned home on Wed Nov 25^th, and returned to St Augustine twice more before the week was done.  But that is a blog for a different day.