St. Augustine, FL.

Several friends told us that we had to stop by St. Augustine while in Florida. I wish they had suggested allowing more time to explore the area. St. Augustine is the real deal.


If you know me well, you know that I love some of the more odd and historical touristy towns. I simply can't get enough of Salem Massachusetts. Savannah Georgia comes to mind too.


Well, St. Augustine is in the same family of towns as those two. Some interesting and odd events have occurred in these areas. Some of the structures and stories linger in the towns and add to the legend of the places.


And, to be honest, all of those towns have a "tourist trap" feel. I hate to use that phrase because some think of tourists traps in a negative way. Personally, I love them.


So, we drive in to St. Augustine and we immediately realized we needed to utilize our time wisely. There is a lot to see.


The staff at the visitor center were very helpful. A couple of trolley services sold tickets there, and there was a very nice gift shop. As I went through the gift shop, another staff person took a moment to tell me about how proceeds from the gift shop benefited their local historical society.


A highlight was the "Fountain of Youth." We really liked this place, and I will get a separate entry up for it.


St. Augustine is simply enough an attractive city. It looks nice. There are fun little shops everywhere, in addition to the museums and other places of interest.


There is a gift shop next to the jail we stopped at. Not to get off track, but the two of us each had a delicious hot dog and we shared a sweat tea for $8! For a touristy stop, and a nice hot dog and drink, I was very happy with the value.


The oldest Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum is there too! Who doesn't love Ripley's?


We visited the St. Augustine Lighthouse, which has been covered a lot lately. The place was cool, but it is a bit out of the way compared to some of the other attractions. It was fun (and exhausting) climbing the stairs to the top and all. If you only have a day in St. Augustine, I might suggest staying in the main area, since there is so much to do. Hit the lighthouse on your second day if you have one.

This is definitely I place I will visit again soon. I barely had time to see the main attractions, and I did not have enough time at any of the them.