St. Augustine: Touring and Golfing – Wed & Thur – Oct 28th & 29th, 2014

We continued our fun with visiting friends, Bill and Chris.  Today, we split up.  The girls went to tour St. Augustine and the boys visited the World Golf Hall of Fame followed by a round of golf on the Slammer and Squire Course.

We drove from the campground to the World Golf Village.
 
Chris and I  headed to St. Augustine and we sent the boys off to play ;o))
 
Boys Will Be Boys
 
 
Their first stop was the World Golf Hall of Fame.
 
Crossing the Bridge at St. Andrews, the birthplace of golf.
 
Bridge at St. Andrews - Bill J & Bill M
 
 
A step back in time… Putting with clubs and balls from the 1800’s.
 
Bill Practicing Putting Bill Mills
 
 
Class of 2013 Golf Hall of Fame Inductees
 
Hall of Fame Inductees
Arnold Palmer Quote
 
 
After their Hall of Fame visit,
 
they ate lunch at Legends Clubhouse Grille
 
 
Then they enjoy a great round of golf on a gorgeous day!!!
 
Bill Jordan teeing off Bill Mills teeing off
 
They weren’t exactly Hall of Famers, but they had a fantastic afternoon of golf!!!
 
 
While the boys played, Chris and I headed to St. Augustine.
 
We parked at the Visitor Center Parking Deck and headed toward downtown.
 
 01 - St. Augustine Visitor Center
 
 
Almost directly across the street from the Visitor Center,
 
05 - Map of Bridge of Lions and St. Augustine
 
 
we approached the Castillo De San Marcos.
 
04 - Castillo de San Marcos04 - Castillo de San Marcos overhead photo from internet
 
This was the first fort to be given National Park status!!
 
I have visited many forts,
but this has to be one of the most interesting and well preserved one I have seen.
 
 
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or
 hover your mouse on any photo for a description


04a - Approaching Castillo de San Marcos  04a2 - Exterior walls and moat area
 
 
The walls are made of Coquina,
a soft whitish limestone formed of broken shells and corals.
 
04c - Fort was built with Coquina 04d - Closeup of Coquina
 
04b - Entering Castillo de San Marcos
 
04d - Interior Courtyard of Fort  04d2 - Interior Courtyard of Fort
 
04e - View from upper deck to the north  04f  - View from upper deck south toward The Bridge of Lions and downtown
 
We spent more time than we expected, but we could have spent more.
 
 
However, we wanted to see some of the other sites in St. Augustine.

We headed south along the Matanzas River Waterfront to The Bridge of Lions. This beautiful bridge connects the two sections of St. Augustine.  It is a draw bridge which opens regularly and traffic can really get backed up.  Also it is NOT RV-friendly.

  05a - Walking the waterfront towards the Bridge of Lions 05b - Lion Statue on the Bridge of Lions 05c - Bridge of Lions - not really motorhome friendly05d - Bridge of Lions - Horse Drawn Carriage

 
At the bridge, we made a right
 
and
 
crossed the road to the Plaza de la Constitucion, the public market place.
 
06a2 -  public market park
06a - Cathedral Basilica - public market across the street

In the sign above, you can see a large catholic church on the next corner. 
 
That was our next stop.
 
 
Unfortunately, we were unable to tour inside because it is being renovated. 
 
We were able to get a brief look inside from a side entrance which is open to the public.
 
06 - Cathedral Basilica - closed for restoration 06b - Cathedral Basilica - closed for restoration

06c - Cathedral Basilica - side entrance

06d - Cathedral Basilica - inside 06e - Cathedral Basilica - inside Stained Glass Windows

 
 
Our next stop was farther down King Street…
 

Flagler College is a private four-year liberal arts college. It was founded in 1968.

 
The building was originally The Hotel Ponce De Leon built by Henry Flagler.
 
07a - Flagler College - Originally The Holtel Ponce De Leon
 
Classes were still in session, so we could only visit a few areas open to the public.
 
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or
 hover your mouse on any photo for a description
 
 07b - Flagler College - Entrance and Statue  07c - Flagler College - Courtyard and Great Hall Entrance

07d - Flagler College - Frog and Turtle Fountain

07e - Flagler College - Front Entrance 

07f - Flagler College - Rotunda -Gold Leaf
07g - Flagler College - Entrance to the Dining Hall  07h - Flagler College - Dining Hall - from the internet
 
This is not like any college I have ever seen!!!

 
Across the street from Flagler College is the former Alcazar Hotel. 
 
08 - Alcazar Hotel - City Hall -  Lightner Museum 08a - Alcazar Hotel - City Hall -  Lightner Museum

Built in 1888 as one of Henry Flagler's grand resort hotels,
the Alcazar Hotel today serves as St. Augustine's City Hall,
as well as the home of Lightner Museum
 

We didn’t visit the museum, but we did wander around the property a bit!!
 
08b - Alcazar Hotel - Court Yard  08c - Alcazar Hotel - Statues and Chandelers

 
By now, we both were getting hungry.
 
We found a little lunch spot called DOLCE Café on the quiet end of St. George Street.

Our lunch was very good, but I forgot to take a photo.
 
 
After our lunch break,

we crossed the street to visit Trinity Episcopal Parrish which was founded in 1821.
 
09a - Trinity Episcopal Parish Sign 09b - Trinity Episcopal Parish Church09c - Trinity Episcopal Parish Church

 
 
We finished our St. Augustine tour with a walk down historic St. George Street.
 
St. George Street is a pedestrian only thoroughfare where no cars are allowed.
 
10 - Historic St. George Street

 
At the far end of the street,
 
we saw the original Old City Gate which is being restored.
 
 
We enjoyed our day in St. Augustine. 
 
It is steeped in history and we only touched the surface.
 
 
We met the guys back at World Golf Village where we had dinner at Caddy Shack again.
 
 
 
Our meals were very good and Bill ordered a dessert which was...

  Take a look...
 
 
Yes, a picture is worth a thousand words :o)))