Jacksonville Florida

Post date: Feb 15, 2015 1:56:15 AM

Jacksonville is a big city.  We've enjoyed smaller towns, so we were a little overwhelmed by the freeways & traffic.  And it seemed like all the freeways were under construction. Oh well, we survived (Bay Area driving kicked in!)

After the last two Hotels, we rented a 1-bedroom, 2-bathroom suite. We planned to take a day & get our Tax info together (thanks to Marci for scanning info to us) We had heavy rain for a day, so it was made easier to stay in and just get it done!

With a clear sky the next day, & GPS plugged in, we headed to St Augustine.  What an amazing experience,  The town was established in 1565 with some houses, walls & churches still standing! St Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city in the Continental US.  Some of the walls surrounding the Square were made of limestone, sand & Oyster shells.  Crushed Oyster shells were also used in walkways.  It's hard to imagine that many oysters! 

St Augustine's history briefly: started with the Spanish ridding the area of the Native Indians, fighting off the French, losing to the British, then after 20 years of British rule the Spanish took the city back and occupied again until 1822 when it was sold for $500 to the US.  Of course there were other battles, pirates, fires & destruction (don't forget Ponce de Leon & the Fountain of Youth discovery) but this is my limit of trying to retain all this history! Oh, and more recent History includes the KKK & Freedom Marches.

We enjoyed walking around the town, as well as a 90-minute trolley tour, and ended the day with a wonderful lunch in a Cuban cafe.

We visited a Winery before leaving St Augustine, San Sebastian Winery .  Renee is not that thrilled with Florida wines, but it was an interesting tour & taste.  (see her blog about Florida wine)

Before we left Jacksonville, it was recommended to us, by a local, to have dinner @ Clark's Fish Camp.  What a crazy place.  Originally a small fish camp shack that sold bait & tackle, that has grown into a large restaurant (still looks like a shack, but expanded) The interior walls and ceilings are full of stuffed exotic animals.  I have no idea where these lions, monkeys, zebras and leopards came from.  Probably don't want to know, but it added to the ambiance and packs in the people.  Another fun adventure.

Well, so long Florida - Georgia here we come!