Two Moro's Travels

.St. Augustine has it all. Fun. Flair. Food.  My favorites while visiting St. Augustine  (in  reverse order)

6. The weather: I put this last because we were there during spring break in April and the weather was nothing short of spectacular. Temperatures ranged from the low 60’s to the low 80’s; the humidity was no higher than 56%. The wind was steady between 10-15 mph.  I’ve lived in Florida in the past, and I know that that was not typical weather.  The average humidity for St. Augustine year-round is around 88% and the average wind speed is about 6-9 mph for this area. We were very fortunate to have the ideal weather that we did, so I had to include it here as one of my favorites. If a place exited on earth with the weather we experienced there that week existed, I would move there in a heartbeat. But alas, I will have to enjoy Mother Nature’s blessing us with mild, perfect weather; we even experienced no rain while there which is surprising for this area that averages 50 inches of rain a year. More rain than even rainy Seattle that gets 39 inches a year.  So, no rain was atypical but it made it to #6 of my favorites parts of this trip.

5. The food:  There are many places to choose from to eat which will satisfy everyone’s palate in your traveling party. We stumbled across a place in Old City called Columbia opened in 1905. There are a variety of Hispanic plates, being Florida, some of it was Cuban, such as: picadillo (ground beef in a tomato sauce with raisins and olives) and ropa vieja which literally translates to “old clothes” (shredded flank steak with a tomato sauce with onions and green peppers)  They also had empanadas made fresh with stuffed picadillo inside.  Each order was enough to serve two people and came in a reusable plastic container.  We ordered take out and ate it overlooking the water. We enjoyed the food so much we ate there 3 times. If you are in St Augustine, check them out. You will not be disappointed with my #5 on this list. 

4.  Old Town: The oldest continuously occupied town in the U.S., offers charming cobblestone lined streets with places to eat, hotels, historical sights, and much more.  As a teacher, I especially liked the “oldest wooden schoolhouse that was built in 1702.”  The original schoolhouse sits on an little area of land that includes other structures, such as , the “privy” and the “cooking kitchen” The kitchen got so hot that it was located away from the school. Above the schoolroom was the quarters where the school master and his family lived. The upstairs was not open, but included a large, round mirror that allowed you to peek into the space.  In the classroom, there is an animated, talking teacher and pupil telling stories about school during that time. Trip advisor rating for this place is 4 stars out of over 600 comments. Because of my interest in all things education, this little treasure made it as my #4.

3. The architecture:  Since first inhabited by the Spanish explorers, you will see that influence in their buildings, but there were also French and English settlers, so that influence is prevalent, also. Classic styles of architecture are visible at every turn. The Castillo de San Marcos is a fort reinforced with coquina, a soft limestone of broken shells. This hardens and makes the surface almost indestructible to bullet shots and even cannon balls. You will spot plenty of red clay roofs, also called Spanish roofs, that add to the beauty of St Augustine.

2. The history: History buffs will love it here. St. Augustine was established in 1565, way before the Pilgrims even landed at Plymouth rock in 1620.  With the long, cold Massachusetts winters, maybe the Mayflower should have travelled a little more south, just saying. The Spaniards were the first to explore and claim residency in the St Augustine area. Ponce de Leon was the first Spaniard to land on what he thought was an island. The French had a settlement 50 miles north in Fort Caroline, near Jacksonville which is a nantional memorial today that you can visit.  https://www.nps.gov/timu/learn/historyculture/foca.htm . The Spaniards wanted more control of the area, and at the request of the king and pushed the French out. Almost 300 years of Spanish rule ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris after the French and Indian War giving Florida as the prize to the English. Losing interest in Florida and considering it a burden, England ceded Florida in exchange for settling border disputes between Texas and Spanish land to the South. The Adam-Onis Treaty gave Florida to the United States. This lasted for about  6 months until the treaty of Cordoba gave Mexico its independence. Mexico Independence Day is September 16, 1810 NOT Cinco de mayo, the many people assume it its Independence day. Cinco de mayo is related to the French. So next time, you go out drinking on Cinco de mayo with your margarita in hand, you are celebrating the local townspeople in Puebla pushing preventing the French from trying to invade and gain control of Mexico. Had the French been successful, today instead of “hola”  we’d be saying “bonjour.” The border that was originally agreed upon in the Adman-Onis Treaty to this day is still the accepted border between the two countries. So history claims the #2 spot for visiting St Augustine.

And yes, I put beaches over its history, but that is how wonderful I think those beaches are.

1. The white sandy beaches: Miles and miles of beautiful easy to walk on dreamy white sand beaches. Sunbathe, walk, dip in the ocean, or just sit and relax. The ocean breeze will make it very comfortable. You can cross over to Anastasia Island and park in public lots and spend the day there. Pack lots of sunscreen as there are no shady spots. But this is Florida, you came for the sun, right? Beaches are my #1 favorite spots in St Augustine. TripAdvisor has St Augustine Beach at a rating of 4.5% with 4,630 reviews tied with 7-mile beach on Grnd Cayman 4.5 with 5,864 reviews. Having visited both, Florida has a little gem of a beach you should check out as my #1 spot in St. Augustine

Quote by Harriet Beecher Stowe.