Castillo de San Marcos, St. Augustine

Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States, the Castillo de San Marcos is a large Spanish stone fortress built to protect and defend Spain’s claims in the New World. It’s a National Monument and, is over 315 years old, it’s the oldest structure in the entire city.

The bridge over to Anastasia.  I did like this bridge, very picturesque.

Just loved that hat, was so right for not getting burnt to a cinder. The crochet shrug I'm carrying around is not to keep warm, but to put on to stop from being burnt, but then of course you can't stand it because you are far too hot and it lands up where it is dangling on my bag.

We were being terribly cheap and did not want to pay the fee to visit the fort.  I guess when you've visited castles and forts in Europe, this falls a bit, if not a lot short of that, so we were content to just walk around the outside.

Just having fun with Picasa

I do like the above sketch style photo.

Christy

Cruising St. Augustine

Our second day in the St. Augustine area we decided to eat Breakfast out.  We went on a recommendation which was OK, but not special.  Still it was good and The Boy is tucking in.

Here I am driving, we are just poodling around some of the residential areas looking at houses.  Always a fun thing to do.

Love the dappled light.

Just part of our day at St. Augustine.

Christy

P.S.  What am I reading?

Another Persephone book Hostages to Fortune by Elizabeth Cambridge see here

I have almost finished it and will write a review.  Quite insightful.

St. Augustine Florida

Hi Dear Folk,

What a crazy day.  Started off thunder, lightening and pouring with rain.  By the time I started out to work the roads were all flooded, water gushing down the edge and certain roads flooded and blocked off.  One area I pass through on the way to work is down by the mill and river, it always floods.  So I was diverted along another road, this proved to be most fortuitous for me, because I have found a short cut to work.

Instead of having to travel a U at the end of my journey, I can just cut across the top.  This must cut off about five minutes, I know that doesn't sound much, but each way, then multiplied by five, is a savings of fifty minutes per week in travel time.  When you think about it, that's quite a savings.

The roads were so dry coming home that you would never know so much rain poured this morning.

Well back to Florida and a continuation of our travels.  Our long drive across Florida took us through some very time warped towns.  Amazing back roads with no traffic on them and long lonely drives, you wouldn't think so in Florida.  Traveled by huge logging trucks and mining trucks.

The above photo may just express the juxtaposition of culture and life styles in Florida. Rob is standing in the background taking a photo. I had fun trying different photo finishes.

We stopped for gas at one place and then we could not get the VW started again.  We waited fiddled with the ignition and voila it started up.  This happened several times throughout the trip, it seems that Chinese parts do not always work, but the owner had installed a by pass ignition switch, but somehow we must have not heard that part of the tutorial.

By 5:30 pm we were pulling into St Augustine old town.  We were able to park in the RV parking lot which was free, great.  From there we walked down into town.

St. Augustine has an old Spanish colonial history and reflects this heritage, in the buildings, courtyards and fountains.

It was yet again, Hot so I decided that a beer would hit the spot.  Unfortunately for Rob 21 is the age to drink over here, so I was the one who got the Pilsner, we shared salsa and chips and got to listen to a little early evening music, that was great.

Some of the architecture.

The Boy could not help running over to talk to an elderly gentlemen who had spent some serious money on Minis and had several. This was a very special edition, The Boy could tell you what was special about it.  Unfortunately as you know his Mini demised and is no longer with us.  That all happened after we got back from Florida.

The boy enjoyed a splurge on this concoction.

We spent such a pleasant evening here, then went on to a camp site at Anastasia, just outside St. Augustine, across the bridge.  We spent the evening walking on the beach, wading though deep pools left by the receding tide.  Watching gulls run backwards and forwards with the waves.

A nice ending to a long day.

Christy

Leaving the Panhandle

Leaving the Panhandle Bend behind, this was our longest day of driving, right across Florida to St. Augustine on the east coast.  This was quite early in the morning.

Christy

Troops Riqueval Bridge WWI

This is a photo from World War I, it was taken at Riqueval Bridge.  It is a very famous photo, although I myself have not seen it before, and I've followed a lot of WWI history, but it is a powerful photo.

Next year will be the 100th Anniversary of WWI.

These men I knew as a child and teenager.  They were my friends grandfathers, I visited widows of this war, ones who never married again because there were no young men left to marry.

Now they are all gone.

The war to end all wars.

Christy

Watermelon Gazpacho - Great For A Summer Tea - Summer Soups

Watermelon Gazpacho

Makes 8 cups

8 cups pureed watermelon (approximately 2 quarts cubed or ½
large watermelon)
1 cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper
1 cup coarsely chopped English cucumber
1 cup coarsely chopped red onion
¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves
¼ cup fresh lime juice

Garnish: fresh cilantro leaves

• In the work bowl of a food processor, combine watermelon,
bell pepper, cucumber, onion, cilantro, and lime juice, and pulse
until finely chopped. Transfer mixture to an airtight container,
and refrigerate for several hours until cold.

• Serve cold.
• Garnish individual servings with a sprig of fresh cilantro, if
desired.

When we were at Tilly Mint's Tea Room we had cold cantaloupe soup and it was great.

Ran across this recipe and thought that it sounded good.

These Summer Soups are so nice served at Afternoon Tea Time.

Christy

Apalachicola, Florida

"Apalachicola" I just love that name, it rolls off the tongue.  It comes from the Apalachicola tribe and is a combination of Hitchiti Indian words "apalahchi" meaning "on the other side", and 'okli", meaning "people".  With the original settlement there it probably meant "people on the other side of the river".

Also people from certain parts of the South are called Oki's well I guess mostly from Oklahoma, but that is very close to the work "okli" meaning people, just a thought.

Apalachicola is on the bay and mouth of the Apalachicola River.  Sitting on the Gulf of Mexico.  It was the third largest port on the Gulf, starting out in cotton and lumber.  In 1831 there was a Trading Post there called Cottonton.  At the turn of the century they moved into sponge diving, oyster and shrimp fishing.  Today this is what they are known for.

As we were driving to St George's Apalachicola was on our way and Rob says "let's stop mum", and what a great idea that was.  We loved this town, slow quiet, but a lot of little interesting places.  A wonderful second hand book store in a small old warehouse type building with big open front.  Old sofas and carpets with big fans running, you needed it.

An old shrimp boat.  You felt this was Bubba Gump country.  We can say the oysters are wonderful.  We ate them steamed with butter, oh! so good.  Sitting there on the waterfront in what must have been an old tin fish warehouse, not too much changed.

We wandered down to the Bay front and walked around, just soaking up the atmosphere and imagining what this must have been like.

The bridge leading to the St George Peninsula.

Some of the old cotton warehouses turned into shops and apartments.

It was a scorcher of a day, so we stopped off here at a true soda fountain bar, and we had Root Beer Floats.

Now to be quite honest to an English person root beer tastes somewhat like medicine, but on a hot day a cold root beer float, which is a scoop of vanilla ice cream in root beer soda, well it hits the spot.  Hard to explain why, but it just does.

I loved this store, a lot of things from Mexico.  Pots and fish water fountains, even some lovely bathroom sinks all patterned that come out of Mexico.

Easy parking, wide streets.  No driving round and round.

Some of the boutique type shops.

What a lovely memorable time we spent here.  Old world Florida, I would recommend a visit here to anyone.

Christy

P.S.  The whole trip I kept saying Apalachicola,  "mum don't say that again"  it's a lovely name.