After 3 months on the road, we finally made it to Florida and our first stop was Jacksonville. We stayed at an RV park that was on a lake and were able to pull in head first for a full lakeside view of birds, ducks and turtles. This entertained both us and the cats. We continued our usual past time of exploring the city and finding plenty of beach time at Jax Beach in honor of our favorite neighbor friend Jackson. We hiked to the famous boneyard beach at Big Talbot Island that is covered with the skeletons of live oak and cedar trees that once grew near the ocean… it was very mystical looking.
We then traveled south to St. Augustine, the oldest city or better known as the “Ancient City”. We took a trolley tour viewing the historic sites, the first jail, the oldest store and another National Park that was once again closed due to the government shutdown. We learned about Henry Flagler, a man that pretty much owned everything in this area. He partnered with John D. Rockefeller with Standard Oil and made his millions during the late 19th and early 20th century. We strolled through the historic pedestrian mall in the heart of St. Augustine and were amazed at how beautiful the Spanish themed architecture still defines this city, including the private liberal arts school of Flagler College and City Hall (Lightner Musem). We sipped the waters of the Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth hoping to add many more years for traveling and exploring. We visited the St. Augustine Lighthouse which is the oldest surviving brick structure in the city. It rises 165 feet above sea level and contains 219 steps. The view from the top was amazing. On Sue’s sister Sandy’s recommendation, we visited the World Golf Hall of Fame. We found it interesting and enjoyable.
By luck and good timing, we then made it to Daytona Beach. The biggest event after Bike Week was occurring, the Bike-toberfest! We could not have planned this part of the trip any better. And we were fortunate enough to stay at an RV park right on the beach again. We went to many biker events including one at the Daytona International Speedway and on downtown Main Street. We also went to the famous Iron Horse Saloon (as seen on TV) on Sunday where everyone except us was hungover, the atmosphere a bit subdued. We missed out on viewing the cabbage wrestling and the wet t-shirt contest, but did enjoy a nice dinner at the “Top of Daytona” restaurant for a beautiful sunset. We did a popular ride in Daytona called the Ormand Loop that had miles of tree canopy roads. And of course, we enjoyed our time relaxing in Daytona soaking up the sun at the resort pool and beach.
In Ft. Lauderdale we stayed at an RV park called Yacht Haven. We were surrounded by multi-million dollar yachts on one of the famous Ft. Lauderdale coastal waterways. We visited with friends Dee and Diane, who we met on our Tahiti cruise back in 2005. We enjoyed three nights in a row of stone crab (yummy!!!) at Billy’s Stone Crab Restaurant and at Catfish Dewey’s Restaurant. We also feasted on a pound and a half of stone crab at the RV after purchasing them at Whole Foods.
Miami will be our next adventure as we continue down the Atlantic coast.
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