St. Augustine, FL

Woke, Broke down the campsite, showered and drove to St. Augustine a little more than 2 hours away. I checked in at the KOA and setup the campsite. It was a beautiful day. Various birds were walking around the campsite looking for food. There were only three tent sites occupied. It took about an hour to get everything setup.

After setting up, I drove into St. Augustine about 10 minutes away. I drove around just to get a feel. It was very crowded with a lot of traffic. Then looked for a coffee shop and found the Starbucks inside the Marriott hotel down town. The streets were crowded and somehow a few blocks away I found a parking spot. Parking in St. Augustine is based on the license plate number and is valid anywhere in St. Augustine. This allowed me to move the car to other parts of town and still be legally parked.

The Starbucks was small, loud, and filled with peole. I put my camera bag on a table and got in line that went into the hall of the hotel. There were a lot of kids screaming and pushing each other and parents telling them to stop. They didn’t really listen. I got my order in and sat down and began to clean my camera sensor.

City Hall and Lightner Museum Building

As I stepped out of Starbucks, I noticed a beautiful building across the street. The City Hall and the Lightner Museum building was constructed in the late 19th century as a luxury hotel known as the Alcazar Hotel. It was designed in the Spanish Renaissance style. The building was later converted into the museum, which houses a collection of fine and decorative art from the Gilded Age. The museum is named after its founder, Otto C. Lightner, who was a collector and patron of the arts. The museum was closed when I arrived.

Old Homes

The homes in St. Augustine represent architecture from different periods, starting with Spanish colonial architecture. I walked towards the military cemetery expecting to see a lot of the earlier architecture. These homes were more late 18th century and later. The area wasn’t what I expected, but the homes had been well maintained and many were currently being renovated.

I later discovered that many of the old homes in St. Augustine are located in the downtown area and are characterized by their Spanish colonial architecture. They are typically built of coquina, a type of sedimentary rock that is native to the area, and feature red clay tile roofs, stucco exteriors, and decorative ironwork. Some of the homes have been converted into museums or bed and breakfasts, while others are privately owned and serve as residential properties.

St. Augustine National Cemetery

The military cemetery in St. Augustine is home to graves of soldiers from various conflicts, including the American Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. The graveyard is located on the grounds of an active military installation of the Florida National Guard known as as St. Francis Barracks.

There were three mounds at one end of the graveyard which is where the men from Major Dade’s command are interned (see photo of the plaque). On December 28, 1835, 108 men parishes during the Second Seminole War. I wasn’t familiar with the Second Seminole War. There are three mounds at the back of the graveyard where the men are interned (see photo).

I later learned that the Massacre of Major Dade and his troops was a significant event in the Second Seminole War and was seen as a major setback for the U.S. Army. The conflict between the Seminoles and the U.S. government had been ongoing for several years, and the massacre was a major blow to the Army's efforts to subdue the Seminoles and remove them from their lands in Florida. After the defeat, the U.S. Army increased its efforts to defeat the Seminoles, eventually leading to the end of the Second Seminole War in 1842. The conflict resulted in the forced removal of the Seminoles to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) and marked the end of the Seminole presence in Florida.

Many of the graves are marked with headstones or monuments that bear the names and dates of the deceased, as well as their military rank and unit. I had never seen an entire graveyard with wreaths at each site.

I was still having issues with my knee as I walked around. I had parked the car but it was high season and moving the car was difficult because of the number of people in town. I walked through the old town just to have a look around. It was mostly shops and restaurants. Shopping seemed to be the thing to do. I would recommend taking a tour to get a sense of the history. I walked back to the car to top-up the meter and a would said “Parking is free after 5:00”.

I decided to have dinner at Columbia which opened in 1905. There was a minimum wait of three hours and they told me I could sit at the bar if there was room. The bar was mostly empty at 6:30 pm, but filled shortly afterwards. Everyone was talkative at the bar and I met people from New England, New York and Florida. A young guy beside me was a partner in a software company and we talked about artificial intelligence (AI) including ChatGPT and Dolly, two AI apps. He had studied AI development.

Lights

During the high season, there are over three-million lights installed on buildings and parks throughout the city. There are also the typical seasonal light displays scattered around the city. I noticed several city light tours being advertised around the city.