St. Augustine: Touring South on Hwy A1A – Friday – Oct 30, 2014

Back to Travel Catch-up Posts ;o))
 
 
We had hopes to spend our last day with Bill and Chris enjoying some surf fishing. 
However, while the day was beautiful, the temps were cool and the winds were strong. 
 
So we made a new plan… 

 ROAD TRIP !!
 
Back in 1995, Bill and I traveled most of Hwy A1A through Florida.   
Our memory was of a very beautiful ride. 
We decided to revisit the stretch of it from St. Augustine Beach to Flagler Beach.
 
00b - Day Trip Map
 
A – World Golf Village 
B – Castillo de San Marcos 
C – Funky Pelican, Flagler Beach 
D – Washington Oaks Garden State Park
 
 
 
We headed back across The Bridge of Lions to pick up Bill and Chris.
 
00 - Crossing the Bridge of Lions travel to WGV
  
They are staying at the Renaissance Hotel in The World Golf Village.
 
01 - World Golf Village Entrance  01b - World Golf Village - Renaissance Hotel

 
First stop of the day, Castillo De San Marcos. 
 
Chris and I had visited here yesterday, but thought the boys might enjoy seeing it!!
 
02 - First stop Castillo De San Marcos
 
They enjoyed our short visit and then we headed south along Hwy A1A.
  It is a pretty ride, but taking photos from the car does not work well.
  So my first photo opportunity came when we reached our lunch destination.
 
03 - Funky Pelican - lunch stop Flager Beach
 
Lunch was OK.  The name was more interesting than the food ;o)
 
Time with friends is really what it is all about anyway!!!

 
After lunch, we started our drive back north on Hwy A1A.
 
I had marked two possible places to explore: 
Washington Oaks Gardens State Park and Fort Matanzas National Monument.
 
As we headed north,
 
04 - Washington Oaks Gardens State Park Entrance
 
We had no idea what to expect.
 
We paid our $5 per car entrance fee and were pleasantly surprised!!
 
04a - Washington Oaks Garden - Historic Sign
 
04b - Washington Oaks Gardens Map
 
Of course, this was not really garden season weather,
but our walk through the grounds was beautiful!!
 
Click on any photo to enlarge
or
hover your mouse on any photo for a description
 
04c - Washington Oaks Garden - Entering the gardens  04d Followed Path to the Matanzas River04e - View along the Matanzas River  04e2 - Hermit Crabs enjoying the sun along the river
 
 
The Formal Rose Garden still had a few beautiful blooms to enjoy :o))
 
04f - Flowers in the Rose Garden04f1 - Flowers in the Rose Garden04f2 - Flowers in the Rose Garden04f5 - Flowers in the Rose Garden04f3 - Flowers in the Rose Garden04f4 - Flowers in the Rose Garden04f6 - Flowers in the Rose Garden04f7 - Flowers in the Rose Garden
 
 
The rest of the grounds were really beautiful as well.
 
04g - Pond and Fountain04h - Bird of Paradise04h2 - Zebra Butterfly
 
This is definitely a place to return if we are in the area!!
 
As we were leaving the grounds,
we realized that across the highway was another section of the State Park called

The Rocks !!
 
05 - Washington Oaks Gardens SP - Entrance to The Rocks

05b - Washington Oaks - The Rocks
05c - Washington Oaks - The Rocks - Boardwalk
 
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or
hover your mouse on any photo for a description
 
05d - Washington Oaks - The Rocks - View to the North  05e - Washington Oaks - The Rocks - View to the South05f - Washington Oaks - The Rocks - View inland toward Hwy A1A
 
 
We had a wonderful afternoon exploring the park. 
 
Before we knew it, it was time to head back and say, “See Ya Laters” to Bill and Cris.
 
04i - Fun time with Bill and Cris
 
Can’t wait until the next time
you can come out and play :o))

4 comments:

  1. Carry Me Back to Old October! This is great. We'll be near Washington Gardens but I fear the flowers will be even fewer in Mid December. Great picture of the 4 of you at the end. That's one to cherish.

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  2. I'd love to see the turtles at the Rocks, must be incredible to watch all the little ones hatch and head to the ocean. It's great to see areas like this preserved for all, including the turtles, to enjoy! :c)

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  3. Looks like it turned out to be a great day! We're looking forward to exploring the Atlantic coast this spring!

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  4. What a great day with great friends! Washington Gardens looks like a place to add to the to-do list!
    Great picture at the end :)

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