Hello everyone. I thought I would take a moment out of the sun (using my nephew%26#39;s computer) to let you know about our first week here.
The weather has been great but surprisingly the water temperature in the ocean is cooler than I expected. It%26#39;s refreshing but much cooler than I remember it being even in Myrtle Beach.
We%26#39;ve tried several beaches including the one at the pier on the island in the evening. The sunset gave us a real show in the sky both east and west with awesome colors. We check out a beach about half way down to Crescent Beach and actually paid to drive on the beach and park. We loved the soft white sand and the fact it was much less crowded than the one we went to today at Crescent Beach Park.
Along with the beaches we rented Wave Runners from Raging Water Sports at the Conch Marina. Having never done this before we were a little apprehensive but WOW what fun. My wife and 9 year old son were on one and I drove the other with my 21 year old nephew on the back (you have to be 22 to drive one, or take a short class). We enjoyed this so much we may do it again before we leave. My wife said she wants to buy one!
My son and I walked to the top of the Lighthouse offering an incredible view of the area. It was tough doing all those steps but the payoff was worth the work. We even saw a nest of six baby raccoons and their mom in the top of a tree while we were up there.
In the Old City we took advantage of the Old Town Trolley and took the entire tour before stopping at a few places. Jay was an awesome guide for our trip. We went through the Florida Heritage Museum, The Old Jail, The Oldest Schoolhouse, the Old Drug Store and the Castillo de San Marcos Fort along with shopping along St George Street.
We used the Entertainment Book to get Buy One Get one deals for the Trolley and The Jail!
Meals were various and included Panama Hatties - used a $25 Restaurant.com certificate - Great beach food and drinks. Sunset Grille - awesome seafood! The Spanish Bakery - fresh and delicious lunch served by a wonderful lady! Cheap too!
Wildflower Cafe - Awesome breakfast but a little pricey.
St George Street Eatery - great bratwurst and wraps! Also used an Entertainment Book BOGO here. We went to Athena for what they called GREEK Night on Thursday. They were supposed to have special music and special food. The place was nothing special to look at and had no music. The food was authentic and good, but pricey, and paying that much I expected more atmosphere and something special so I probably wouldn%26#39;t go back. After dinner we dropped into the Cathedral-Basilica to hear part of a concert of the Symphony Chamber Orchestra.
We were disappointed to find out that two restaurants we planned on going to were now closed - Pesky%26#39;s Baja Grill and Crescent Beach Cafe.
A favorite stop for my wife and I was the Fruit Wine store next to Cafe Del Hildago (Spelling). We had a great time tasting wines and smoothies. The woman who runs the place is great.
We also went to the Music By The Sea concert series at the pier and enjoyed ';The Limits'; band who were actually from eastern PA. The food was also great and provided by Pizza Garden/Pastabilities.
That%26#39;s all for now. It%26#39;s hard to believe we have seven more days before we have to head home to PA. I%26#39;ll check bak sometime next week with the final week of our St. Augustine trip. - Ron ';Chordshark';
PS - We had car troubles on the way down (A Bad Catalitic Converter which made the car sputter and chug from West Virginia to Florida, sometimes not going more than 50 MPH.) A big thank you to the Jack Wilson Chevrolet dealer in town - especially Lindsay who were all amazing to deal with. Thank you!
Enjoying ourselves in St. Augustine!
Chordshark,
Great post! Sounds like you had a great time with time to spare! Did you meet up with any locals from T/A? My time is coming only about 4 weeks If I could I would leave earlier !
I am surprised the the water Temp was cool I have been watching the water temp online for the last week at St Augustine Beach it has been around the high 70s guess you where in a coll spot if you get time visit Vilano Beach it has that kind of '; not crowded feel'; .Where did you get the discount books?
Enjoying ourselves in St. Augustine!Cordshark - Long time no see....so happy that you are having a great time! Have one for me!
Will be checking out Vilano Beach next week. Everywhere we go the water is cool. Like I said it%26#39;s refreshing but I wish it was a tad warmer. My wife has been staying out because it%26#39;s too cold for her.
We%26#39;re relaxing right now and heading to Gypsy Cab Company for dinner. $10 off when you spend $50 from the MINT Magazine my nephew gets in the mail. All kinds if great coupons there. The BOGO%26#39;s are from the Entertainment Book. Just do a search for Entertainment Book and you can get the Jacksonville Book which offers discounts in St. Augustine as well. The books are really cheap now, I think $9.99. I easily got that back and more.
You can even save money when you by your groceries at Publix.
Well, leaving for dinner soon and then going to race Go-Karts tonight.
Ron
Wanted to quickly mention that the Entertainment Book also offers discounts for the IMAX Theater, The Fountain of Youth, Lightner Museum and Oldest House. Plus many other places to eat etc.
Ron
Have you visited Fort Matanzas and the beach at Matanzas Inlet? Sunsets are IMO more than breathtaking in this particular area.
Hi Chordshark i am glad you are having a wonderful time in St.Augustine and its beaches area. Water temperatures are usually cooler than air temperature but i am glad it was really cold though. Glad you guys spend some time on the beaches as well as in downtown too :)
Mehmet
The older you get, the colder the water seems to be!
Spirit,
Boy, aren%26#39;t you right. My son seems to have no problem with the water. Although if I get all the way wet quickly it%26#39;s much easier to deal with.
We went to Fountain of Youth today and had pizza at Hungry Howies - both with a BOGO coupon from the Entertainment Book. The Fountain of Youth was informative and we really enjoyed the various birds including a beautiful show put on by the male peacocks both albino and standard colors. The tail feathers were about seven feet across (amazing!)
We came back and took a nap after lunch and are watching a storm pass by the condo. My son and wife are now feeding the resident ducks and turtles from our balcony.
We%26#39;re hoping to go to ';Uptown Saturday Night'; tonight and then to The Wine Room and Tapas for dinner to enjoy some unique food, spanish music and flamenco dancers. I hope then weather cooperates.
Tomorrow we%26#39;re heading to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for two days. That%26#39;s all for now.
Ron
Chordshark
Hi Chordshark thanks for the update. Glad you guys went to Fountain of Youth. Did u like the water from the fountain lol . I totally forgot about uptown saturday night event though hope you guys went to tapas tasting room despite of the gloomy weather it didn%26#39;t rain much though after 7pm rain stopped and i was in town too pretty evening to spending some time in town. Hope to hear more from you :)
Mehmet
Ron, did your son take home a bottle of water from the fountain? 10 or 11 yrs ago we took my soon to be 23 yr old niece and her girlfriend(same age) to see the FOY. They enjoyed it immensely as did we. Rachel took home one of the souvenior bottles of water which she still has to this day. The bottle made the return trip to Pittsburgh that yr as well as another trip back to FL when my brother moved a few yrs ago and has accompanied her to Orlando where she is now finishing up college.
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