Relaxing in St. Augustine

St. Augustine, FL

Nestled just south of Jacksonville is a small city with a very prestigious title. St. Augustine is the oldest city in the United States. Or, if you want to get technical, it’s the “oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement within the borders of the continental United States”. (Thanks, Wikipedia.) St. Augustine was founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers and has gone through many transitions in the past 450+ years.

Historic Downtown

Many things about the town are obviously different in this century, but I especially loved that St. Augustine has maintained the historical appearance of many of the buildings downtown.

Mac and I enjoyed spending a few hours wandering the old streets and admiring the architecture and grandness of the buildings. Flagler College and the Lightner Museum (formerly Hotel Alcazar) were particularly striking.

We checked out Castillo de San Marcos (from the outside – we got there after closing time), and spent (more than) a few moments breathing in the fresh Floridian air and soaking up the much-welcomed sunshine.

Attractions

Because of the city of St. Augustine is so rich in culture and history, it’s not a surprise that there are ample attractions for visitors. One of these is the famed Fountain of Youth – claimed to have been discovered by Juan Ponce de León, a Puerto Rican governor from the 1500’s. Though the stories (and sadly, the fountain) have mostly been proven to be myths, there are still parks and sites devoted to this attraction. Thinking the Fountain of Youth was literally just a fountain, Mac and I walked the 30 minutes or so from the town centre to check it out. Upon our arrival to the admissions gate and seeing the too-steep-for-us fee, we decided to explore some other attractions nearby.

Just down the street from the Fountain of Youth are the Old Jail, Old Town, Old Store… you get the picture. As the oldest city in America, the “Old” title is often repeated. We spent some time roaming the area and having fun with the cheesy arcade games (not sure if these are original quarter games from the 1500’s or replicas!!).

Beach Days

St. Augustine Beach

Situated directly on the coast, St. Augustine has a fair number of beaches to choose from. At sunset one evening we headed out over the Bridge of Lions to St. Augustine Beach. This area is a town of its own and has an impressive shoreline and pier as well! Even at sunset the beach was full of families packing up from their sand-filled day, runners stretching on the boardwalk, locals on their nightly bike rides, and fellow travelers taking in the views.

We returned the next afternoon and checked out the pier (cost: $1. Totally worth it!). We had a close up view of the many surfers trying to catch waves. As we sat on the bench, we could even feel the pier vibrating from the waves crashing into the supports below us!

Crescent Beach

Just a few miles south of St. Augustine Beach is Crescent Beach. This stretch of sand is less populated than its northern counterpart which made for a blissfully peaceful day of lounging. We splashed around in the crystal-clear waters before basking in the sunshine (covered in copious amounts of sunscreen). Eventually the wind picked up and became a bit too much for us so we called it a day and spent the rest of the afternoon napping. Lazing in the sun really takes it out of you!!

Our three days and nights in St. Augustine were interesting but also relaxing. Just what we needed after 2 weeks of non-stop go go go on the road. And the relaxation was a perfect precursor to get us ready for three days of wedding fun in West Palm Beach! (No, not our wedding – don’t worry, you didn’t miss anything there! haha.)