See you in St. Augustine

"People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering."~St. Augustine

Happy Thursday everyone!  I wanted to continue this blog with our trip to St. Augustine that Drew surprised me with.  When we arrived into town Saturday we immediately took to the streets to explore the 450 year old city.  St. Augustine reminds me of Cape Cod crossed with New Orleans, but it definitely has its own flair.  We walked through quaint little shop after shop.  One good thing is the homemade ice cream parlors on every block and since ice cream has been my main/only pregnancy craving this made me extremely happy.

Drew and I started planning out our day, and how we could get the most done without overdoing it (since this is supposed to be a relaxing trip.)  We decided on walking the streets to shop and get familiarized with the area, then eating dinner, going back to the room to relax, and at 9:30 going on the walking Ghost Tour (would I be able to sleep that night?)

The Ghost Tour was a lot of fun.  Our story teller "Matt" was very energetic and entertaining.  There has been a lot of bloodshed and death that has occurred in the city; because it is so old so there are many, many ghost stories.  My favorite story is about two Standard French Poodles that live in a jewelry shop called Benet.  They sit at the bottom of the stairwell, but when people pet them their hands go directly through the dogs (Dun Dun Dun!)  One of our last stops on the tour was at the fort Castillo De San Marcos.  We took a couple of pictures and there is definitely something we can't explain in one of them.
    

 Ghost Story Teller in front of one of the Graveyards.

                                                     Picture of the Fort with unexplained object

Close up of unexplained object

Sunday Drew and I got up early and walked The Bridge of Lions before breakfast; we were able to take some beautiful pictures.  After breakfast we headed over to mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine.  The Cathedral was built in 1797 and is the oldest Parrish in the United States. 

  Massacre Bay at 7am

Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine

After Mass we had a delicious lunch at O.C. White's gorgeous outdoor area (we didn't take any pictures- oops.)  Next we headed across The Bridge of Lions to Anastasia Island for a little bit of beach time.  I forgot how the Atlantic Ocean is so different from the Gulf as the tides and surf are more drastic.  When we pulled up, the walkway to the beach access was "temporarily unavailable."  Not sure what that meant, we walked over anyway to see that there was not a beach just seawall, rocks and ocean.  Further down we could see sand so Drew thought it was a good idea to climb down the rocks.  Me being over 6 months pregnant (clumsy and huge) thought otherwise, but Drew talked me into it (Sorry Mom).

    We made it to the sand!

Drew and I had made reservations for a sunset cruise on the Victoria III.  This was a lot of fun, and a great way to see the skyline and learn a little history about the bay.

Drew on the Cruise all smiles.

Lighthouse

St. Augustine skyline at sunset.  Do you see our little B&B?

Mission of Nombre De Dios at Sunset.

Sunday night we had dinner at Harry's Seafood another delicious restaurant with a live band (I need to come back when I'm not pregnant.)  The nightlife in St. Augustine is a lot of fun- live bands at every restaurant and bar and everything is within walking distance.  

Monday we finished up our trip with a Trolley Ride of the city, Museum tour, and Carriage Ride pulled by "Charlie Horse." You know how previously Drew said "What is there to do in St. Augustine?" Well, the answer is more then you can get done in just three day's time. There is so much more we want to do and explore that we will definitely be visiting again soon.  The city is only about 4 and 1/2 hours from our house so another weekend trip will be in order after Tristan arrives :).  The city is very family friendly and I saw so many strollers with little babies.  Any friends that want to come along next time are more then welcome!  Enjoy the rest of the pictures. 

Flagler College

History Museum

Charlie Horse

Drew and I on the Carriage Ride! (Yes I am very pregnant, lol)