I think we have returned to the land of sun!! It is so nice here in St. Augustine -- not quite shorts weather, but getting close. The palm tress are swaying, the sun is shining, and everyone is out enjoying this day.
A very old, historic town. Besides the Fountain of Youth (I'm not getting suckered into this tourist trap -- remember the Drive-thru tree in the Redwoods? -- I'm not doing that again!), they have a fort that dates back to the 1600's, the oldest school house in the states and many beautiful Spanish style buildings; all set around an azure blue harbor with boats bobbing lazily in the water.
We enjoyed a full day of sightseeing from one of the "hop on - hop off" trolleys with great narration about the city. Henry Flagler was the mover and shaker behind this town -- he was a VP at Standard Oil working for Rockefeller, when he got "burn out" and came to see his Dr. in St. Augustine -- and fell in love with it. He envisioned a railroad connection from the north, clear through to St. Augustine to bring his wealthy friends to this lovely area. He far exceeded his own vision -- bringing the railroad all the way to Key West and opening up Florida for development.
He first built the elegant Ponce de Leon Hotel in the late 1700's, which is now Flagler College, a 4 year liberal arts college, which is a breathtaking Spanish style building. The "cafeteria" seats 750 people at mahogany tables with priceless Tiffany glass windows all around them! An absolutely glorious room. Tiffany was hired to do all the interiors of the hotel. But Flagler wasn't satisfied with just this hotel, as you had to be on the "Social Register" to stay there, he wanted to build a separate hotel for the "entourages" of his friends, and others who came to town. So, across the street, he built another hotel of more moderate means. But, he also built what today would be called a Spa -- really the first spa in this country - a huge indoor pool, Turkish baths, steam rooms, a bicycle track, and other amenities. Pretty soon his rich friends were staying there instead of his more elegant hotel across the street!
But much of St. Augustine really predates Flagler. They have buildings dating back to the late 1500's and early 1600's. Ponce de Leon tried very hard to establish a permanent settlement here, and after several tries, the King of Spain outlawed development of this area -- but it only lasted 2 years, until the British came and finally got things going.
Before we left this area with all its beauty, we had to pay a visit to the International Golf Hall of Fame, sponsored by the PGA. What a wonderful facility this is! Only 2 years old and not overdone, not underdone. A nice tribute room to all the Hall of Famers', and a "front nine" showing the history of golf -- complete with an exact replica of the Swailcom (sp?) bridge from St. Andrews, and a "back nine" showing todays golf -- complete with a swing analysis booth and a putting contest, complete with TV coverage, a winners interview (I beat Phil and got the interview!), and your name in lights! Really fun. Outside there is a replica of the 17th at TPC - Sawgrass, which is a charity hole-in-one trial. Phil came really close and got a poster for his efforts. A nice lunch at Sammy Snead's Bar and Grill and a visit to the extensive Pro Shop completed a really fun day.
A nice drive down the coast landed us in Daytona Beach for the evening. Kind of a town in reconstruction and a "long neck Budweiser" kind of town. They are in the last stages of a "spruce up" for the upcoming Daytona 500 next week. Seems they have a ways to go. We landed in a condo hotel on the beach. Our room is very nice, but you can tell this is not an "upscale" town -- or hotel! We've had some good laughs already. Off to the race track in the morning, then off to Orlando to pickup Brother Tom for a trip to Cape Canaveral.
The racetrack was great! Really, a better tour than at The Indy. Got to see more things. The banked curves were especially interesting. A car has to be going 95 MPH to even stay on the bank! They are really steep. Lots of activity going on right now, as the Daytona 500 trials start in a week, although the actual race isn't until the 18th.
Had to get going, as we were picking Tom up at the Orlando Airport. That is a huge, confusing place! Of course, we the RWH, we couldn't park in the garage, and the parking for oversized vehicles was by the other terminal from where we had to go! Then, his flight landed at the furthest gate (124 -- can you imagine that many gates!) -- we almost missed getting there in time! But he was there, all went well on the flight.
Off to Cape Canaveral for the night, so we'd be ready to go in the AM. It's only about 45 minutes from Orlando.
The days have been cool and cloudy, but only sprinkles of rain -- and they need it desperately -- they are in a 2 year drought, and the water supplies from underground aquifers are drying up. A real problem here.
A clear, cool day dawns for our first outing with Uncle Thomas. Spent the whole day at Cape Canaveral -- went on the Behind the Scenes Tour that showed the launch pads, and many things Tom was familiar with. I don't remember this being as expensive -- $50 pp for both the Museum and the Tour. The next morning we went to the Astronauts Hall of Fame -- a really cool place -- lots of hands on things to do, in addition to the Hall of Fame. We took a flight to Mars in a simulator, Phil tried the weightlessness of the Moon, and crawled inside a Mercury Space Capsule. We all passed on the "4G" 's of pressure like going into space.
Off to Orlando, and a nice, if cool, afternoon at Sea World. Got to see Shamu, the Waterskiing expo, the Dolphins, and the Manatees among other things. Tom really liked it all. The last day, we headed for Epcot, but not til the afternoon--we were all getting tired, and wanted to stay for Dinner, the Parade and the Fireworks. It rained on us, but we had fun anyway. Didn't get to do the GM Test Track ride as it doesn't run in the rain, but saw most everything else. Had dinner in Italy (Tom's choice) and great seats for the Fireworks.
Next morning, put a tired, but happy Tom on the airplane back to Portland -- we headed out of this rain and clouds -- South, to the Beach!!