Riding to Saint Augustine from Edgewater is a short ride, only 90 miles. Joy suggested I take the coast route, Highway 1A. Nice choice. Though a little overcast, and I think it's the humidity fogging up my video lens, it was still a pleasant, leisurely ride next to the ocean.
Closer to Saint Augustine the predicted possibility of thundershowers looked more and more a valid threat and the sky looked downright ominous when crossing the bridge into town. But I made it to my motel without a problem. In fact, it never even rained. Rather, the intense heat from the returning sun was the problem and made it hard to leave the air conditioned confines of Howard Johnson's $69 room. No choice though if, during my one-afternoon-visit, I was going to make a dent in seeing this interesting city.
A quick and convenient way to absorb the sights and associated history of Saint Augustine is to take a narrated trolley tour. For $23 paid at the front desk you can board the "green" trolley (not the red choo-choo looking trolley) at the "Old Senator" tree in the parking lot. I did. And what a ceiling-bouncing, teeth-rattling ride it was.
Most of the video I attempted was of the floor, ceiling, and maybe a few chrome hand rail shots as I grabbed unsuccessfully for stabilization. I was able to edit out most of that chaos but due to the "chopping" process none of the trolley driver's narrative makes sense in the video, requiring it be muted and replaced with dubbed in music.
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| Branches of The Old Senator Reaching Across The Patio At The Howard Johnson Motel |
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| The Waiting Bench For The Red Trolley, Not The Green One. |
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| Tree History |
I ventured deeper into town, on foot, taking pictures of interesting old buildings too big to capture appropriately, such as Flagler College and Cathedral Basilica . Many of these places were revisited from the trolley once I was back aboard. The non-stop narration from the driver (over a loudspeaker) really brought the history to life but I can't remember any of it.
We passed the old fort in the distance. I never took the time to visit it. It would probably take a couple of hours to do it right and, given my near heat exhaustion, it fell pretty low on my "gumption meter". I had already surmised it would take two or three days to adequately visit Saint Augustine. The trolley tour gave great perspective of what's there but it would take several days to look at the details.
The videos and pictures below highlight my short but fun visit. Read about the historic city HERE .
Highway 1 A to St Augustine (6-Minute Video)
On The Streets Of St Augustine (10 Minute Video)
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| Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse In The USA |
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| Sherry Would Love This Place |
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| Crawling With Tourists ... And I'm One Of 'Em |
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| Ralph Took Me To The Columbia In Tampa. I Didn't Know It Was A Chain? |
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| Cathedral Basilica |
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| I Can't Remember What This Is |
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| Ponce De Leon |
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| Juan Ponce De Leon Explored The Vicinity Of St Augustine In 1513 |
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| Impressively Tall Building Is Cathedral Basilica |
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| Quiet Back Street |
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| Colorful |
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| In The Harbor This Old Sailing Ship Was On The Move |
Update: Yesterday (June 14, 2013) I reached the "turning point" of my journey, the big left turn at Saint Ignace, Michigan. I'm now inching my way home, dodging stormy weather. Three nights ago I was hunkered down in the hallway with other patrons of the Holiday Express in Portland, Indiana waiting for a tornado to pass by..... but that's a story for another time.
1 comment:
Glen, I'm back on th scene. You did a good take on St. Augustine and yes it takes several days there to get the full picture. Much has changed since my first visit 50 plus years ago. Great job on this part of your trip.
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