Listing Through Life

I drove across the Matanzas River on the Bridge of Lions and found the St. Augustine Lighthouse. It was impressive, but I didn’t have time to pay to get onto the ground or climb the tower. (Although, if I knew then that my flight would be delayed, I would have.) I took all these photos from outside the fence.

And then I made a mad dash for the Orlando Airport, two+ hours away. And then I realized I hadn’t seen the ocean, so I made a quick detour over to Florida A1A and found a beach that was part of Fort Matanzas National Monument. I dashed down the boardwalk, spent about four minutes on the beach and dashed back to the car. The only glimpse I had of Fort Matanzas was back over my shoulder as I pulled away.

After the British burned St. Augustine in 1702, the Spanish built a line of fortifications to protect the town. This wall was rebuilt and repaired many times over the next century. The final construction took place in 1808. These gates, near Castillo de San Marcos, are the only original remnants (other sections have been reconstructed).

The words on the base of this monument read: “The discoverer of Florida Juan Ponce de Leon landed near this spot 1513.”

He must have been short because the statue is 4’11″ and is said to be life-sized.

The guy who donated the statue to the city also donated the lions at the end of the Bridge of Lions.

See that deck in the left background? Here’s the view from that deck looking north with Castillo de San Marcos in the background.

Somewhere in the family archives, there’s a photo of me standing in front of this house when I was about 13. It was taken by my mother. I couldn’t visit St. Augustine without a return trip to the house. There was nobody to take my picture this time, so this is the best I could come up with.

The Gonzalez-Alvarez House is thought to have been built shortly after the British burned the town in 1702. I believe it used to be called the oldest house in America, but no more. It’s now just the oldest house in St. Augustine which, in turn, is the oldest continuously-occupied European settled town in America.

Looking across the Matanzas River to Anastasia Island, with a Little Blue Heron wading in the tidal flats. The chair is on the sea wall. The Bridge of Lions is about 200 yards off to the left.

On the Saturday after CPC, I drove north to Green Cove Springs for my niece’s wedding. My flight home from Orlando was scheduled at 6:50, which gave me approximately two-and-a-half hours to be a tourist. I drove into St. Augustine and discovered that every other tourist in Florida had the same idea. The place was crawling with people. I paid $10 for the last spot in a downtown parking lot and walked to Castillo de San Marcos. It too was crawling with people.

The fort was originally built in 1695 by the Spanish. They fought off two attacks by the British and held it until 1763 — a which point they gave it to the British. In 1783, the British gave it back, which makes one wonder what all the fighting was about. In 1821, the Spanish ceded it to the United States.

I didn’t have time to take my time. I walked around the parade ground, climbed the stairs to the upper level and walked around up there, then exited and walked around the outside, all in about half an hour. The rooms inside the walls were not furnished. There were some signs, but I didn’t stop to read any of them. My strategy was to photograph everything and read about it later.

Several reenactors were dressed as Spanish soldiers. When they marched upstairs for a cannon firing demonstration, the tourists followed like sheep. I used the time to take the few photos that don’t include crowds, including the one with the lone soldier who stayed in the parade ground.

After all the morning’s excitement, we still hadn’t eaten breakfast. I spotted a Krispy Kreme across Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway from Eli’s Orange World and headed over. I decided to buy two donuts — raspberry filled (my favorite) and chocolate cheesecake (available for a limited time and not great). Just as I ordered, the woman behind the counter gave us each a free regular donut. Three donuts were one donut too many, but I heroically downed them all.

On the outside, Eli’s Orange World, in Kissimmee, Florida, is a fruit stand. On the inside, it’s a gift shop full of everything you need to prove that Florida is a strange place. I found some squishy orange candy of a type that I last ate about 40 years ago when Dad bought it somewhere. It immediately brought back memories, so I purchased a box, along with a jug of orange juice and a strip of alligator jerky.