St. Augustine, Florida, founded in 1565, holds the distinction of being the first permanent European settlement in the continental United States. Forty-two years before the English colonized Jamestown and fifty-five years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.
Fort Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States. The construction began in 1672, 107 years after the city was founded by Spanish Admiral and Conquistador Pedro Menendez de Aviles. All the other pervious forts located here were made from wood and were destroyed by fire and war.
Possession of the fort has changed six times, all peaceful, amongst four different governments: Spanish Empire, Kingdom of Great Britain, Confederate States of America and the United States. Spain and the United states having possession two times. Only the Fort survived destruction of the city by invading British forces in 1702
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| Fort Castillo de San Marcos |
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| Andy's escort ! How did he grow his beard like that ? |
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| It is 34 feet thick at the base of the wall and 5 feet on the top |
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| Andy ...no ! See below. lol |
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| Andy on Pot with her gnome..oh yes she did ! |
We traveled all the way to Florida so we could get us some water from the "Fountain of Youth".
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| WE FOUND IT ! $22 bucks later...lol |
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| Fountain of youth ! |
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| Andy drinking her Fountain of Youth water. |
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| IT WORKED ! Right before my eyes...she looks twenty again ! |
It didn't work on me so that is why I didn't post any pictures. Dang, I was sure hoping it would have worked. This belly fat, wrinkles and grey hair is getting old...Oh, I don't mean old ...I mean seasoned.
Cathedral Basilica St Augustine Florida was founded on Sept. 8, 1565. The first and two that followed were destroyed by fire and war until finally the current structure was erected. This time they decided to build a mission church from Inflammable materials. It took four years to build from 1793 to 1797.
We stayed at Mayport Naval Station while we visited St Augustine. The base is right on the water, of course it is silly, it's a navy base! We could watch all those Navy, Coast Guard and even Cruise Ships come and go.
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| The evening skyline at the base...thinking of you Jeff |
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| Our view from the front seat of our RV. We have a Top Secret Clearance of course! lol |
Bits and Pieces
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Epi has a new friend...Wilson...Andy's idea ! Let her explain...lol
Andy here explaining: Seahawks....Wilson/From the movie Castway...who does he look like....Wilson! Epi is so excited to have a new friend to share the adventure with!
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| Yes ! That's $2.95 a gal...normally in the area it is $3.10 |
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| Another big bridge....Andy really doesn't like these things. This one was big ! |
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| Parents taking their cat for a walk...just like a dog ! REALLY!! The cat would start to wander, they would turn around and say something and he would trot right up behind them. Very funny!! |
Preston and Andy, I have been reading your blog for a while now, thanks to your links on the Escapees forum. It's just uncanny how similar our travel paths are! I think we've been following you around the country for a few months, even staying at some of the same military bases. Perhaps someday we'll catch up to you! (LOL) Heck, we even have a "camping pig" sorta like your Epi. We are currently in Virginia, heading down the coast to Florida soon. Here's our blog, if you're interested: www.coach-and-six.blogspot.com I enjoy reading about your adventures, partly because it helps me plan what to do on our own trip! Keep up the good work! ~Karen, aka "Kinsa" on SKP forum
ReplyDeleteKaren,
ReplyDeleteIt was nice hearing from you. I read your blog and find it very interesting. I see we have stayed and visited many of the same places. Are you guys stalking us ? Just teasing of course. Hwy 17 South is a good road !!
How long will you guys be on the road...I did see something about a year but not for sure.
We are now at Patrick AFB and will be heading to McDill AFB in the morning for two weeks. Afterwards we will be heading to Key West for the winter...If we like it that is!
Maybe, we just might run into each other which would be interesting.
Preston
You can Email Andy at andyp2189@aol.com She is much better at maintaining emails than I.