On the way back home from our vacation week before last, GR and I stopped by the beautiful, historic town of St. Augustine, Florida to spend the day and night.  We’ve been to St. Augustine many times, and it’s one of our favorite places to visit in Florida.  However, I do not suggest visiting this city in the middle of July.  Unless, of course, you like subjecting your body to a vat of boiling steam and vapors.  It was just hotter than…hell, basically.  And it was nearly impossible to enjoy any kind of outdoor activity. 

Plus I was completely dehydrated from drinking Amaretto Sours the entire weekend night before, and I almost passed out from heat exhaustion on the crowded brick streets.  So, we made the best of what little time we had…napping in our air-conditioned hotel room.

Anyhow, enough of our sordid tale.  On September 8, St. Augustine will be celebrating its 442nd birthday.  And in honor of that historical date, I’m going to list thirteen things that I would like to have done in St. Augustine had I not passed out.

1.   Visit Flagler College.  This college was originally the Hotel Ponce De Leon.  The once luxury resort hotel was built in 1888 by Henry Morrison Flagler.  It is nothing short of beautiful…

2.  Visit the Alligator Farm.  This zoological park was founded in 1893, and is one of the oldest zoological attractions in the state of Florida.  It’s even listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  My son, Gus, and I had tons of fun there waaaayyy back in 1998…

3.  Visit Castillo de San Marcos.  This fort, now a national monument, was built over 330 years ago to protect and defend Spain’s claims in the New World.  You can read more about it here.

4.  Eat at O’Steen’s.  My husband’s aunt owned a condo on Crescent Beach dating back to the early 80’s (early 1980’s that is), and his family has frequented this eating establishment ever since.  O’Steen’s is famous for their fried shrimp and the ridiculously long lunch line that wraps around the unassuming building.

5.  Visit the St. Augustine Lighthouse.  You can climb the 219 stairs to the top of this lighthouse built in 1874.  As long as you don’t drink Amaretto Sours all weekend the night before.

6.  Cool off at Potter’s Wax Museum.  Or not.  It’s kind of hokey and doesn’t even compare to Madame Tussauds.  But when you’ve passed out on the streets of St. Augustine due to drinking too many Amaretto Sours heat exhaustion, paying $9.00 for a bit of air-conditioning is not a bad deal.

7.  In the evening, take a haunted ghost ride or a walking tour.  I’m pretty sure it will cool down to a nice 85F degrees around the time of the tour.  Actually, these ghost tours are fairly popular in this town.  I, for one, do not believe in the paranormal.  And that’s why I prefer to stay in the room with my head under the covers and read at night.  I ain’t afraid of no ghost.

8.  Take a stroll across the historic Bridge of Lions that was built in 1927.  Well, actually, you can’t do that now because the bridge is being “rehabilitated.”  And thank God for that…  Right now, there’s just a giant crane in the water doing something, and the draw bridge has been temporarily replaced with some sort of odd contraption that I can’t even begin to describe. 

9.  Go to jail.  Really!  You can visit one of the few surviving jails of the 19th century…the The Old St. Augustine Jail.  I think that I might have some family members in there…

10.  Visit the Lightner Museum.  This museum is housed in the former Hotel Alcazar, built in 1887.  As many times as I’ve visited this town, I’ve never made it to the museum.  It’s unfortunate, because it’s a stunning place…

11.  Visit Florida’s Oldest House.  It’s old.  And it’s a house.  Go visit.

12. Take a scenic cruise around the waters of St. Augustine.

13.  Shop at Around the World Market Place on Orange Street, where they sell Latin American arts & crafts, rustic furniture, silver jewelry, and folk art from around the world.  Here’s there storefront (they don’t have a Web site)…

And here’s the chiminea we bought there…

It’s much bigger than it looks in this picture, and it will be going on our patio.

So, go visit St. Augustine, y’all!  It’s a birthday celebration!

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