St. Augustine

Made it to the oldest city in America – St. Augustine, Fl. It was founded in 1565 by Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles of Spain and is known for its Spanish colonial architecture. We stayed at the Conch House Marina & Resort which is about a mile walk to downtown – over the Bridge of Lions. We enjoyed the Old Town Trolley Tour around town learning about its history. We had a great dinner at the Conch Resort with Jim and Jennifer Bladek and went to see the movie Jesus Revolution – which we all enjoyed. Jim and Jennifer were camping 6 miles south of us, so on St. Patrick’s Day we scootered to check out their campsite right on Crescent Beach. We enjoyed an authentic St. Patty’s dinner at Ned’s Diner – it was very tasty! We went to Saturday Mass at The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Augustine – America’s first parish founded September 8th, 1565 – with Ken and Anne Hall, our son-in-law Charlie’s parents. It was so great to see them and catch up! We also enjoyed a nice brunch with Gary and Jean Ziegler, who we bought the Sea Ray “Moonshadow” from way back in 2003 (our first live-on boat). It’s been so wonderful to run into friends and family along the way and to share stories and just to stay in touch. Currently, Robin and Ardis (sister-in-law) are preparing to leave for a cruise in Portugal and Spain with 17 other ladies for 2 weeks. John is having 2 friends join him on the boat and they plan to cruise the St. Johns River south of Jacksonville, FL. So, our adventure is changing for a few weeks, but we look forward to continuing our journey up the east coast once we are back together on Moonshadow II.

Bridge of Lions entering St. Augustine

St. Augustine historical center.....some of the tall buildings are part of the Flagler College.

Cross on the water in St. Augustine. Erected in 1965 to celebrate the city's 400th birthday, this gleaming, stainless steel cross is 208 feet in height - the tallest free - standing cross in the western hemisphere. It marks the location where the Spaniards came ashore to proclaim the site of St. Augustine in the Name of God, Nombre de Dios.

We really like this marina......great people we have met and good restaurant.

Conch Resort Restaurant.....these table huts are very unique

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument - the oldest remaining fortress in the US and a key to the stability of America's oldest city.

Pictures from the Ripleys Museum...fun to visit!

More Ripleys!!!!

I thought this was pretty amazing!

Okay.....a silly picture:)

Believe or Not.....

This is the museum....we have not visited a Ripleys before!

Trolley Ride

The view from our slip at Conch Resort Marina

St. Augustine Lighthouse

We enjoyed a great St. Patty's Day dinner at Neds Restaurant!

We all got the same dinner on St. Patty's Day....imagine that!

Ken and Anne Hall ( Charlie's parents) stopped by St. Augustine to share mass with us at the Cathedral of St. Augustine.....so great to see them!

Inside the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine.....represents the oldest diocese in the US. America's first parish founded September 8, 1565.

Another inside picture of the Cathedral

Outside of the Cathedral

Dining with the Ziegler's.......this is Jean

St. Augustine Beach.....I like the beach much more than John.....he decided to stay in the car.....LOL!