After a bad night's sleep, we were up and away by 7:45. Our first crossing of a small inlet from the ocean - Matanzas inlet, went smooth as silk. Fallowing the new buoys placed after recent dredging and not show on the charts made for great water depth and proved the value of buying Cruising Guides in addition to just the charts. Got to St. Augustine about 11:30 (26 miles and a helpful tide the entire way. Squared away the boat, had some lunch and went into town. We have visited, shopped and ate here several times since buying the boat, but never made it into "The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Augustine". We decided to enter and say a prayer for family and friends - and for a safe voyage. What a beautiful place, as you see in the photos. Lots of Spanish history and influence in the town and a lovely place to explore.
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| Spanish Galleon guarding the bridge |
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| Neat tour boat! |
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| The main bridge is "Bridge of Lions" this is one of four guarding the bridge. |
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| Great architecture - a 24 suite hotel/residence, the church steeple, and the bell tower for Flagler College. |
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| Gerry and Ponce de Leon. Every town in north FL says he landed nearby! |
this is a really moving monument of recent history.
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| Lots of building with upstairs porches |
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| Downtown park |
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| Another view of the hotel/residences. |
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| The back of church |
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| The main Alter/Sanctuary |
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| Chapel Alter |
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| Beautiful stained glass. |
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| Fence around Flagler College main building. The spiked balls are about 6" in diameter! |
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| details under the bell tower |
The Alcazar Hotel, originally built as a hotel for rich folks, was purchased in 1939 by Mr. Lightner of Chicago to serve as a museum for items acquired from folks during the big crash and following depression. Kind of a depressing thought in itself! It was later gifted to the city and portions were turned into the City Hall.
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Courtyard
Garden and Fountain. |
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