Wandering America
January 2010 Part I
| A New Year The year began with us at the Cedars of Lebanon State Park in Lebanon, Tennessee. We had arrived there to spend Christmas with our son, Matt, and his wife, Jackie, along with our two adorable little Grand Daughters, Catia and Kalina. Jackie's parents were arriving the Wednesday after Christmas so we "stayed put" to see them again. They were our very best friends when we lived and w*rked in Harbor Springs, Michigan and we hadn't seen them in four long years.  The weather turned cold on us; when I say cold that is an understatement. We had been in cold weather in Michigan but never had our sewer pipe freeze as it did in Tennessee this January. We ended up staying an extra day so the pipe could thaw and we could dump our tanks. I installed a heat tape on the sewer pipe and still had to take apart a valve in order to get things flowing again. We could have left but with all our tanks pretty close to full we didn't want to travel with all that extra weight - the truck is maxed out when running with empty tanks and an extra 1000 pounds would only exacerbate the issue. It was frigid cold and snowing in the picture below.  We had planned to spend a few days at McKinney Corps of Engineers park on Lake Allatoona in Acworth, Georgia but the cold weather drove us further south. We ended up staying over night at Twin Oaks RV Park in Elko, Georgia which is about three hours further south and then made our way to St. Augustine the very next day. Twin Oaks is a very nice little Passport America park which is very convenient to I-75 and for sightseeing at Andersonville Civil War Prison as well as Americus and Plains, Georgia which is Jimmy Carter's old stomping grounds (see our March 2007 Travelogue).   We finally found some 50 degree weather in St. Augustine but, that was short lived; that same night it dropped to the mid twenties and never got out of the 30's the next day. Brrrrrrrrr!!! But, that did not deter us from doing some sightseeing.   St. Augustine, Florida In 1513 Juan Ponce de Leon, in a quest to find gold, silver, and the Fountain of Youth, discovered the Florida coast. He returned to Florida in 1521 and attempted to establish a settlement, however, he was wounded in an attack by Native Americans which he later died from. Forty years later, in 1561, Frenchman Jean Ribault explored the mouth of the St. Johns River looking for a home for the French Protestants (known as Huguenots) and in 1564 Fort Caroline was built at the mouth of the river atop of St. John's bluff (which is now part of Jacksonville). King Phillip II of Spain sent Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles, who was then governor of Puerto Rico, to the "New World" in 1565 to drive the French out of what he considered to be Spanish territory. On September 8, 1565, Don Pedro Menendez landed on a stretch of land along the Florida coastline claiming it for Spain and the Church and called it St. Augustine. From there, Pedro Menendez went on to defeat the French at Fort Caroline thereby re-establishing Spain's possession of La Florida. St. Augustine has remained occupied by European descendents since that time thereby making it the oldest city in the United States. We began with a train tour through the city to make note of the sites we would want to spend some more time visiting over the next couple of days. We drove to the parking area at the Mission of Hombre de Dios to "catch the train". This is stop number 20 on the train tour and provides free parking. Our tour guide was Kirsten who was very knowledgeable of St. Augustine's history as well as very entertaining, keeping us all fully engaged throughout the tour. She was so good that we didn't want to leave the train until the tour was finished.  Mission of Hombre de Dios and Shrine of Our Lady La Leche After returning to the Mission of Hombre de Dios, which completed our train tour, we spent some time walking about the Mission grounds and the visitor's center. The Mission of Nombre de Dios traces its origins to the founding of the City of St. Augustine, Florida. It was on these grounds that Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales celebrated the first parish Mass and began his work at America’s first Mission. Today the Mission grounds are referred to as "the most sacred acre in the world".  A beautiful fountain stands in the circular entrance to the Mission grounds. As you can see by the second photo, it got so cold while we were there that the fountain actually froze; which is a highly unusual sight in Florida.   To the right of the circle is the Prince of Peace Votive Church which was built in 1965 to commemorate the Mission’s four hundredth anniversary. Prince of Peace is a consecrated church that is dedicated to prayers that God would deliver the world from atomic warfare.   The Great Cross was, also, erected in 1965 to commemorate the mission's 400th anniversary.  This massive structure, made of stainless steel, rises two hundred and eight feet above the marshes of the Matanzas River standing as a sentinel over the Mission and as a “Beacon of Faith” to all who enter these grounds.  In the center of the Mission grounds stands the Chapel of Our Lady of La Leche which was established by the Spanish settlers around 1615 as a dedication to mothers and mothers-to-be. It houses an exquisitely carved statue of Mary nursing the infant Jesus and provides a tranquil place for prayer.   North of the Chapel is an outdoor altar commemorating the first parish Mass celebrated by Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales on September 8, 1565, the founding date of St. Augustine.  While strolling through the Park, Judy found this Palm Tree that she liked so I snapped a picture of it - should have had her standing next to it, shouldn't I? I think it was just the way the sun was hitting it because it would have been much prettier if it were standing by itself, however, everything on the Mission grounds was so beautiful and tranquil. We can see why they refer to it as "the most sacred acre in the world".  St. George Street A striking site towards the north end of St. George Street is the Old City Gates which were, at one time, the only entrance into St. Augustine. The two ancient columns, which are made of stone, were built in 1808 as a line of defense for the city.   Once entering through the Old City Gates you find St. George street which is the heart of historic St. Augustine. It is an eleven block stretch of charming shops, museums, restaurants, and historic sites that is blocked off to traffic and designated as a walking mall.   One of the first historic sites that you will encounter along St. George street, after passing through the Gates, is the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse. It was constructed completely by hand using red cedar and cypress along with wooden pegs. Today it is a museum where you can browse through the one-room schoolhouse and see the schoolmaster and the students as well as listen to them describe a typical school day.  A little further down St. George street is the "Spanish Quarter in Historic St. Augustine" museum where you see a colonial village with restored buildings, demonstrations with costumed historians, craftsmen demonstrating their trades, along with many other exhibits depicting the life and times of the 1740's. We didn't visit this attraction but will most likely do so on a return visit. There are "cute little shops" lining both sides of the street, however, the most interesting part of the walk is the various architecture. The are buildings constructed with both Spanish and English influence. The main difference being that Spanish architecture has front doors that enter into a garden area whereas English buildings have front doors that open directly on to the street. The main reason for this was that the Spanish were security conscience and wanted their guests to enter into the garden area before approaching the front door. That way they could either welcome the guest or shoot the intruder. The next two photos demonstrate the architecture; the one on the left is a Spanish design and the one on the right is a English design.   The Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, which is located at the corner of St. George street and Cathedral Place, is the oldest Catholic parish in the United States having it's roots back to the founding of St. Augustine. Just across the Plaza from the Cathedral Basilica, Judy and I bumped into the cast of Seinfeld. They were being featured in the front window of Potter's Wax Museum which is also billed as the oldest wax museum in the country - go figure.    On
our back up St. George Street we noticed a fountain that was down a
little alley way just before coming back to the Old City Gates.
On a warm day this would have been a great place to have had
lunch sitting at the tables on the side walk. Just north of the
Gates is the Visitor's Information Center where we found "Mile Marker
Zero" which is a large coquina (Ko-Kee-nah) ball that marks the start
of the Old Spanish Trail. This was one of the first trails that
ran from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. There's an
identical coquina ball in San Diego, California that marks the other
end of the trail.   The Authentic Old Drugstore The Authentic Old Drugstore was built by Antonio Gomaas in 1739 and stands as a tribute to the early days when St. Augustine was a Spanish hamlet. It was built as a place of revelry, within the the jurisdiction of the city, for protection, but away from the actual settlement. They sold liquor and tobacco along with their own medical concoctions. The building was moved to Orange Street in April of 1887 where it stands today. Judy found a real flavorful herbal tea called "white chocolate toffee" that made its way home with us.   St. Augustine's Oldest Living Resident The Old Senator is St. Augustine's grandest of granddaddies standing less than 600 feet from the Fountain of Youth is well over 600 years old. This glorious old live oak tree may very well be a living testament that Juan Ponce de Leon discovered St. Augustine's famed Fountain of Youth afterall.  The Fountain of Youth The Fountain of Youth is a legendary spring that reputedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks of its waters. The legend bacame prominent during the 16th century and it was one of the things that Juan Ponce de Leon was in search of when reaching the shores of La Florida in 1513. Other than the Old Senator, I don't know of anyone who has shed old age as a result of drinking its waters, however, it's always worth a try. Just maybe it will cure cataracts, or something.   Flagler Presbyterian Church, Flagler College, Lightner Museum A real boon to St. Augustine as a tourist center came in the late 1800s when Henry M. Flagler built two hotels, Ponce de Leon and Alcazar, and took over a third, Casa Monica, as part of the Flagler hotel chain. Henry Flagler was the co-founder, along with John D. Rockefeller, of Standard Oil and was one of the wealthiest individuals of his time. Both the Hotel Ponce de Leon, which was built in 1888, and the Hotel Alcazar, which was built in 1889, are magnificent examples of Spanish Renaissance architecture. Today the former Ponce de Leon is part of Flagler College and the former Alcazar is the St. Augustine City Hall - Lightner Museum. The Casa Monica Hotel was redone as a county courthouse, however, it was reopened in 1990 as the restored Casa Monica (we didn't snap a picture of the Casa Monica).    Memorial Presbyterian Church was built by Henry Flagler in 1889. It is one of his most significant projects since it was constructed as a memorial to Flagler’s only daughter, Jenny, who died from complications during child birth. The mausoleum adjacent to the church is where Flagler, his daughter, granddaughter, and first wife are laid to rest.     St. Augustine's Oldest Houses The
Gonzalez-Alvarez House is the oldest surviving Spanish Colonial home in
Florida. It was built shortly after the British attacked and
burned St. Augustine in 1702. The
second oldest surviving house in St. Augustine is the Fernando-Lambias
House which was
built in 1763. It is one of many original coquina (more about
coquina coming up) structures found
around the city. The houses are located fairly close to each
other on St. Francis street and you can tour the Gonzalez-Alvarez House
- we chose to just do a drive by on this visit to St. Augustine.   Castillo San de Marcos The Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest stone fort in the continental United States. It was built over a period of 23 years, from 1672-1695, with walls that are 30 feet high; sixteen feet thick at the bottom and six feet thick at the tops. The walls were built out of a stone called coquina (pronounced co-kee-nah) which literally means "little shells". Coquina is a sedimendary rock that is made up of a mixture of sand and seashells which was "mined" from the shores of Anastasia Island, approximately 16 miles away, and transported to the fort's building site. This stone makes a very good material for forts, particularly those built during the period of heavy cannon use, because of it's softness. Cannon balls would sink into the walls of the fort rather than shatter or puncture them. In November 1702, forces under orders from Governor James Moore of Charles Town, set sail from Carolina in an attempt to capture the city. Upon their arrival at St. Augustine, the British laid siege to the city. All of the city's residents, some 1,200 people, along with all of the fort's soldiers, some 300, remained protected inside the wall of the fort for the next two months during the attack. The British cannon had little effect on the walls of the fort. Then, in 1740 British General James Oglethorpe laid siege to the Castillo and the city of St. Augustine. The coquina walls of the Castillo once again withstood British bombardment, and on the morning of the 38th day of the siege the British withdrew their forces. The fort is currently operated by the National Park Service and they have daily Park Ranger's talks along with cannon demonstrations on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. We visited on a Wednesday when some renovation work was taking place so there were no Ranger talks. It was wet and rainy on both Friday and Saturday so we missed out on the cannon firings as well, however, we've seen cannons fired before - they go boom with lots of smoke.      Statues of St. Augustine Juan Ponce de Leon, Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles, and Henry Morrison Flagler are the three most noted individuals that have influenced the history of St. Augustine. Their statues can all be found along King Street; Ponce de Leon at the Plaza de la Constitucion, Pedro Menendez in front of the Lightener Museum, and Henry Flagler in front of Flagler College.    Hopefully you found our travels during the first half of January interesting. Next we are off Bunnell, Florida to spend two weeks with a group of Habitat for Humanity Care-A-Vanners. We are scheduled to finish up two houses and begin framing two more. Judy and I are leading this build so that should make things a little more interesting - how do we let ourselves get roped into these things? Take care until next time. |