St. Augustine, Florida

Well, we had an amazing opportunity to go on a Winter Vacation to St. Augustine, FL this last week. Grandma Kathryn was able to get some inexpensive tickets from SkyBus last Summer and we've been waiting for months to use them. We spent four days together, just Grandma, Mommy, and kids in a much needed respite from Ohio winter.



Rain or Shine- Here we are proving to the Florida natives that we Ohioans are indeed a nutty bunch. On our first day it was raining pretty heavily when we woke up. We hadn't had our first glimpse of the ocean yet, so we put on some rain gear and ventured out to the shore for what we had intended to be a short walk up the coast. The kids had other ideas. After getting that first image of the ocean, instinct won and they ran out into the tide. We were all a damp bunch from the rain above and sea below. A little sheepishly we sogged on back into the hotel and through the halls to our room to get dry again. Luckily, we only had a little rain that first day, and enjoyed sunshine for the next three.

Beach babe- Here is my favorite little beach babe. She took a few trips to wade into the very cold water but opted most of the time to run along the beach and play in the sand. Multiple attempts at sun block and hats couldn't stop those chubby cheeks from getting burned.


Boy at Play - Here is a boy at constant play. He loved to run out into the ocean and even completely submersed himself on a couple of occasions. He drew pictures in the sand, climbed trees, and generally had a great time.

Ways to Go- One of the fun aspects of the trip for the kids was the chance to try out different modes of transportation: the red rental car, a ferry, the airplane, the red train tour bus, swings, shopping carts, and even Grandma's shoulder.

Among the trees- We also enjoyed the beautiful trees in St. Augustine. We got to take a hike in a Maritime forest and climb big trees with amazing shapes. We saw trees that were permanently swept to one side from the sea side winds and passed under an enormous canopy of oak trees in the center of town.

Light house- Here we are at the gorgeous lighthouse at St. Augustine. Mom and I took turns braving the 12 story climb to the top. I know that once I got out there I was a little unsteady from that long climb. That coupled with the strong winds made me more than a little nervous about toppling over the side. It was a beautiful view, but I didn't stay up there long.

St. Augustine was an amazing place for us to visit. We are so lucky that we got to go. What I didn't really take many pictures of were the many historical sites around the area. St. Augustine is actually the oldest continuous European settlement on U.S. soil. It has over 500 years of history from the time the Spanish first settled there. Going through town actually reminded of being in Europe because some of the buildings were so old, the streets were narrow, and it was so rich in culture. I'd love to go back and get a closer look at everything. We also saw where Ponce De Leon thought he discovered the fountain of youth, but didn't actually get to the Spring for a taste! What a fun place to visit and a much needed vacation.