Author: Easin' Along

We were in the second week of our snowbird trip through Florida and Georgia.  Mayport Naval Station near Jacksonville, Florida was our home for the week. The weather had improved tremendously, and we were enjoying our stay very much.  Nevertheless, by the third day there, we were ready to spread out a bit.  It was time for a day trip.

Helen (adorable wife) had decided that we would go to St. Augustine, about a one-hour drive south by way of highway A1A. We both had been there before to visit friends, but neither of us had spent any time touring the sights. We planned to grab a trolley and take an in-depth tour of the historical district…then eat seafood.

With the weather cooperating nicely, the drive down A1A was delightful.  The ocean was in our view for a large portion of the drive and the time passed quickly. Helen spent some time on Trip Advisor as well as the AAA Guidebooks to obtain information on sights to visit, and by the time we arrived had determined that we could get a great feel for the area on the trolley tour. Soon the Castillo de San Marcos came into our view, and it was time to go exploring.

After parking Bert (Gracey’s tow vehicle) and walking a few blocks, we purchased tickets for Old Town Trolley Tours at a sidewalk booth adjacent to the trolley stop. We did not have to wait long for the trolley, but I did have time to take a few pictures of the activity in the historical district. It was busy for a mid-week day.

We boarded the trolley in the middle of the tour route and, after a few safety instructions (don’t jump out of a moving trolley) we were off. The trolley guide was an amiable sort, and it was obvious that this was not his first tour. The wind immediately picked up, and I was glad I had a jacket on. Thankfully, the sun was warm.

One thing became apparent almost immediately.  St. Augustine has stunningly beautiful architecture. As the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the United States, it’s architecture has many European influences, particularly Spanish, but also English and French. It was the French architecture that captured us first as we passed Memorial Presbyterian Church, built in 1889 by Henry Flagler, co-founder of Standard Oil and given much of the credit for the development of St. Augustine as a tourist destination.

Mr. Flagler’s contribution to the architecture of the area was evident everywhere, and one tour stop after another featured buildings commissioned by him at the turn of the 20^th century. Since I’m not an expert on architecture, I’ll let pictures, accompanied by a few words, tell the story of Flagler’s contribution.

Ponce de Leon Hotel, built in 1888 and constructed of poured concrete and coquina stone. Thomas Edison wired the hotel for electricity.  The Ponce de Leon has been the home of Flagler College since 1968.

The Alcazar Hotel completed two years after the Ponce de Leon, and also built by Henry Flagler, is now the Lightner Museum.

Other architectural styles were just as impressive to this retired homebuilder, including Gonzales-Alvarez House, built in 1723 and is considered St. Augustine’s oldest house.

I loved the many Victorian homes along our route.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The oldest drug store was built in 1739 and moved several times.  It is now a museum and free of charge to the public.

 

The Bridge of Lions, built in 1925 during the development boom, is a marvelous structure by day, but we understand that it is dazzling at night during the Night of Lights festival held each year.  The picture below portrays it well.

 

 

The Bridge also leads to O’Steen’s Restaurant, a place recommended by almost everyone we spoke to about the best places to eat in St. Augustine. Once we completed our very enjoyable trolley tour, we jumped into Bert and drove across the bridge. By now, it was mid-afternoon and well past lunchtime.  O’Steen’s would be both our lunch and dinner stop.

Our friends had warned us that there is always a wait regardless of the time of day, and sure enough, there was a line at three o’clock, our arrival time. Helen placed our name on the waiting list.  The hostess suggested that we walk next door to the Bizzare Bazaar and browse through the flea market while we waited.  A loudspeaker for the restaurant is inside in the building, and we should hear a call within fifteen minutes for seating.  Readers know that flea market browsing is our thing. I purchased an old James Bond DVD for Gracey for a dollar.

O’Steen’s specialty is fried shrimp and hushpuppies, and we each ordered a dozen. We were not disappointed.  The shrimp came fried in an extremely light batter without a hint of the greasy taste that some can have.  The hushpuppies were large and served very hot and very good. For sides, I had green beans which were just ok, and a macaroni salad that was the best I ever had. By the time we finished this meal, we were too stuffed for dessert, but the pies served to the guests around us were very tempting. We thought about it but passed.

Before returning to Mayport, we made one stop at the Castillo de San Marcos, a fort built in 1672 by the early Spanish settlers which enabled them to hold St. Augustine for many years.  The view of the river from the top of the fort was beautiful and, once again, we were impressed by the architecture.  The fort is now in the hands of the National Park Service, and our National Park Senior Passes were all we needed to enter.

At the end of our walk through Castillo de San Marcos we stopped to hear a portion of the lesson given by a Park Ranger.  We would have loved to hear more, but it was time to drive back to Jacksonville. Our side trip had been a success.  We left comforted with the knowledge that it is still possible to grow old and look good…time to be Easin’ Along.

After a relaxing three days in St. George Island, Easin’ Along moved our snowbird camp to Jekyll Island, Georgia for two days.  At that time, we could only reserve two nights, but we had always heard that the area was a lovely place to visit so Helen (adorable wife) booked the two nights.  While there, we were able to secure three more nights at a later date and returned during some great weather. We will save both visits for a later post on Easin’ Along.

Our destination after Jekyll was Pelican Roost Campground operated by Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville, Florida. Our drive down Interstate 95 took only two hours. We arrived in mid-afternoon and were assigned a great campsite near the end of the RV Park with a great view of the bay in front of us. By walking a few steps toward the street, we could see an aircraft carrier resting alongside the harbor (above). Mayport was going to be an excellent place to spend the next five days.

On this trip, we’ve learned that snowbirds are active people and active people organize activities.  The campground at Jekyll Island had plenty of events to keep campers busy, and Pelican Roost was no different. On two Saturdays each month a group of campers organizes a pancake breakfast as a way to meet and greet. Our first morning was a Saturday, and no one loves pancakes more than me so, I was all in.

The breakfast was well underway when we arrived, and the meeting room was full of chatter.  Most of the campers appeared to be in our age range. I can’t recall the charge for breakfast, but it wasn’t much. I asked the lady collecting money how she used the funds, and she told me that she used it to purchase the food so that the breakfast was self-sustaining.  All of the workers are volunteers.

Jeff and Barney, two brothers and Army retirees from near Buffalo, NY, always cook the pancakes. We met them shortly after we checked in. Both serve as campground hosts and helped us connect the cable TV provided by the campground to Gracey (our trailer).

I enjoyed meeting them. Jeff and Barney have spent several winters volunteering at Mayport while escaping the harsh winters back home. They make great pancakes too.

After the hearty breakfast of pancakes and bacon, Helen and I decided that we needed to stretch our legs. She did a little research in the AAA Guidebooks and learned that the Riverside Arts Market is held every Saturday near the center of town. Browsing is one of our favorite activities so, off we went.

The Riverside Market was more of an art and food market with two long rows of booths set up on a paved surface. The Market site is under a downtown bridge and was bustling with activity when we entered. Several of the vendors catered to pet owners, and dogs of every variety nosed up to the booths looking for the latest in pet treats. We have no pets, but I did purchase one treat for me…a loaf of fresh cheesy-bacon bread from one of the artisans near the end of the second row. It was a great addition to Gracey’s pantry and didn’t last long once there.

After a few days of lazy beach walks and a trip to St. Augustine (later post), I realized that we had not found a single shark’s tooth to add to our collection. It was time to correct that. The day began with a fairly dense fog, with the sun peeking through on occasion. The beach, a short walk from the campground, is very wide at low tide and somewhat deserted. Helen took the opportunity for a long walk, and I almost lost her in the fog. I, on the other hand, made finding a shark’s tooth my sole purpose. Luck was with me on this day, and after some heavy eye strain, I uncovered two inside of a pile of tiny shell fragments.  On her return, Helen told me (tongue in cheek) how proud she was…it’s the little things that make life fun.

As we left the beach, we came upon several folks carrying a Pelican in a laundry basket. We had to know what was going on. The Pelican had been spotted at the water’s edge splashing wildly. A beach walker noticed that it had two broken wings and had returned to the campground to get help in rescuing the bird. Two campers came to the aid of the distressed Pelican and were on their way to leave it with a veterinarian. The Pelican sat quietly in the basket and appeared grateful.  

Our time in Jacksonville ended all too soon. Pelican Roost was a great stop on our snowbird tour, but it was time to hook up Gracey and head south to Melbourne for a visit with my sister and brother-in-law. After a cold start, we were almost to the halfway point in this journey but ready to proclaim it a success. The people were friendly; the sun was warm, the pace was slow, and we’re just Easin’ Along.  Retirement is the best gig going.

Note to our Military Living readers: Pelican Roost and nearby Osprey Cove campgrounds are excellent facilities and we heartily recommend them for vacationing military personnel. The well-maintained sites have full hookups for RVs, both large and small. The showers are clean, and the laundry facilities are free. We encourage you to check them out at militaryliving.com.

At this time a year ago, Helen (adorable wife) and I drove to Panama City, Florida and, while there, made a day trip to Apalachicola to see the area and enjoy some fresh oysters. When planning our snowbird trip for this year, we both agreed that a second trip to the Oyster Republic was a must. We were able to make reservations at St. George’s Island State Park, and boy, were we glad we did.

We departed from St. Andrews State Park where we had a fabulous stay and drove along the Gulf Coast to St. George’s Island.  The drive was made easy by the scenery and the sampling of “Old Florida” homes, small towns, and motels we passed along the way.   We arrived at St. George’s in the early afternoon and backed Gracey (our travel trailer) into her new home. 

Our plan for the next day was to drive across the causeway and pay a visit to Apalachicola. Friends had recommended that we visit the Orman House, a stately antebellum home built in 1838 by Thomas Orman, a wealthy cotton merchant. We took their advice and enjoyed the tour led by a very enthusiastic young park ranger named Jeremy. Orman House was furnished with many of the original pieces as well as artwork from the period the home was occupied.

We enjoyed the tour greatly. As we were leaving, we met Ken and Patty, a couple from Michigan who came to the area each year seeking an escape from the Michigan winters. They have volunteered as campground hosts in previous years, but this year was serving as hosts at Orman House in exchange for a site for their RV. They said they were having a great time meeting people and working in the gardens outside the house.  They were scheduled to work three days a week, but usually spent more time than that because they enjoyed the work so much. Helen and I made a mental note to look into volunteer work at places we might fall in love with on future snowbird stops.

 

The tour completed, it was now oyster time. We drove to the Hole in the Wall Oyster Bar, our favorite eatery from last year only to find that it was closed on Mondays…bummer! We went to the Owl Cafe instead and were seated in the Wine Room. Both of us were eager for oysters on the half shell so we split a dozen.  They came out cold, fresh and didn’t last long on the tray. Helen also had a crab and shrimp salad and I had a fresh grouper sandwich. We waddled to the car.

Day two was spent exploring the beach and St. George’s Island. It was a windy, but otherwise beautiful sunny day and we were certain that shark’s teeth were everywhere. Beach access points are conveniently located close to the campground throughout the State Park as well as restroom and shower facilities. We chose to drive to the parking area at the north end of the beach and we had it pretty much to ourselves. Helen found a few scallop shells but no shark’s teeth. It was great to be out in the sunshine.

That afternoon, we received word that Rusha and Bert, two friends from our hometown of Knoxville, were on their way to St. George’s for a week’s vacation and was to arrive later in the day.  We arranged to meet them at the Blue Parrot for dinner. As it turned out, the Blue Parrot was alongside the beach and conveniently within walking distance of where our friends were staying. 

Bert and Rusha are very experienced travelers and Helen and I were eager to pick their brain of favored places for future trips with Gracey. In fact, Rusha is a fellow blogger and writes about her travels at ohtheplaceswesee.com. Her blog is definitely worthy of a visit to the trove of information found there.

The time we spent with Bert and Rusha was delightful–I think Helen was overjoyed at having someone else to talk to besides me. She smiled throughout the evening. I had so much fun, I have completely forgotten what I had for dinner which I don’t usually do since I like to share the menu with Easin’ Along readers.  I just remember that it was good seafood and the Craft Beer was exceptional.

All too soon a new day dawns and it’s time to leave St. George’s Island and make our way to Jekyll Island, GA, the next stop on our snowbird tour. After loading up Gracey we waved so long to the warm sunshine, white sand, and savory seafood of the Oyster Republic…it was tough saying goodbye, but it was time to be Easin’ Along.