St. Augustine - Flip Floppin' Flags

Hi Blog! On Sunday, January 25, 2015, we decided to ride our bikes four miles into historic St. Augustine to see what we could see. As we started our ride north on A1A, the St. Augustine Lighthouse called to us. The closer we got to the city, the larger the tower appeared. We felt compelled to stop and climb to the top. After all, it had been almost a week since the last time we climbed a lighthouse! We're getting into the groove now.

The tower was completed in 1874, and put into service with a new first order Fresnel lens. Clockwork was used to turn the lens.  The cables and weights ran down the center of the staircase. The lighthouse keeper had to wind the clockwork each day.

As we climbed the 219 stairs to the stop, we were able to rest on each of the landings and learn more about the history and restoration of the lighthouse. In 1986, the lens was damaged by a high powered rifle, and 19 of the prisms were broken. As the lens continued to weaken, the Coast Guard considered removing it and replacing it with a more modern, airport beacon. Championed by the Junior Service League, this plan was dismissed and the 9-foot tall lens was restored. This was the first restoration of its kind in the nation.

Here we are at the top.

We finished touring the lighthouse grounds and then continued our bike ride into town. Before long, we are crossing the Bridge of Lions - a double-leaf bascule bridge that spans the Intracoastal Waterway. A part of State Road A1A, it connects downtown St. Augustine to Anastasia Island. A pair of Medici lions made of marble guard the bridge. Don't get too excited the lions are just copies of those found in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, Italy.

As we crossed the bridge, we couldn't help but notice a tall ship moored in the harbor. It dwarfed the other boats around it. While we were eating lunch, we did a quick internet search and learned that the El Galeón is a reconstruction of a 16th Century Spanish galleon and it was open for tours.

After paying a rather hefty entrance fee, we began our voyage of discovery. First stop:  below decks to watch a short video on the construction. Dave was eager to climb up to the crows nest, but that part of the ship was closed off to tourists.

We learned that the ship is owned by Nao Victoria Foundation, a non-profit whose goal is to spread the knowledge and experiences of the sailors and explorers from our ancestral past. The crew of El Galeon lives aboard the ship 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When not sailing, the crew hosts tours of this amazing sailing vessel. Just keeping all the rope straight would be a full time job!

Next, we were off to Castillo de San Marco National Monument. The Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States. Construction began in 1672, 107 years after the city's founding by Spanish Admiral and conquistador Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, when Florida was part of the Spanish Empire.

The Castillo is a masonry star fort made of a stone called coquina, Spanish for "small shells", made of ancient shells that have bonded together to form a type of stone similar to limestone. Workers were brought in from Havana, Cuba, to construct the fort in addition to Native American laborers. The coquina was quarried from the 'King's Quarry' on Anastasia Island in what is today Anastasia State Park, which we visited yesterday. Construction began on October 2, 1672 and lasted twenty-three years, with completion in 1695. This model gives you a birds-eye view of the fort.

Here Kathy tries on some coquina on the fort's San Agustin Bastion.

Dave just had to find a bigger one!

Being from Philadelphia, we think we cornered the market on all things colonial. However, St. Augustine was founded in September 1565 and served as the capital of Spanish Florida for over 200 years. Now, the history of Florida is a little confusing because its control kept flip-flopping back and forth. Here's the score card:

First Spanish rule (1513–1763) - 250 years

British rule (1763–1783) - 20 years

Second Spanish rule (1783–1821) - 38 years

Florida Territory (1822–1845) - 23 years
Statehood in the U.S. (1845-present)

With all that political unrest, the Spanish Troops had to be ready to defend the Castillo. Here, park rangers and volunteers demonstrate how to load and fire a small cannon.  It may have looked small, but the concussion knocked over Dave's water bottle.

Right next to the fort is St. Augustine's oldest neighborhood, Colonial Quarter. For a small fee, you can tour four different colonial villages from the 1600's to 1800's. We ended up not going in for the tour since it was getting late in the day. We did take a stroll down St. George Street. Here is a picture of the Oldest School House.

Unfortunately, most of the other buildings in the historic district have been turned into upscale shops and restaurants.

Just before leaving town, we took a spin by Flagler College. With the scaffolds up, we didn't get to see any of the famous Tiffany stained glass.

However, the Internet knows all:

From the College, it was a quick ride back to camp. Tomorrow, we are looking forward to a day on the beach.