St. Augustine waterfront

At the end of our Coasting adventure, we drove home talking about our best takeaways — from our favorite foodie places to the best beaches along the Atlantic.  Mostly we differed when talking about “besties,” but we agreed on one thing:  Travel involves choices if you’re going to make the most of the time and money you have.  No matter how few the days or the dollars you have, a trip through coasting towns in Georgia and Florida is about as good as it gets.  Here are our five ideas to maximize your next trip.

1.  Take the trolley first.  Then hit the pavement on foot.

Trolley, St. Augustine

We always recommend those hop-on, hop-off trolleys in any city for a first-time, all-around view of the best sites to see.  With knowledgeable — sometimes humorous — locals on the microphone (and sometimes at the wheel), you’re sure to get the background on the best spots as well as some insider information.  Go early in the day if you can.  You’ll not only see more spots but have time to get something from that great ice cream shop the dude on the bus will point out to you.

Close-up – home in St. Augustine

But don’t limit yourself to motorized transportation.  Old-fashioned walking — especially on side streets, in courtyards, and down alleyways — can net you an up-close-and-personal travel experience.  Like this one:  In getting to the Oldest House in America in St. Augustine, we meandered through a residential section where architectural details brought the Old South to life.

2. Savor the old, but save room for new.

Fort Frederica

If you like old buildings, old forts, old historical anything, good for you.  Read up on it. Dog-ear the page of your tour book.  And do it.  Like reading markers at Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine.  Or learning about tabby at Fort Frederica. We love it, too.

But be prepared to revel in new places, new things, new ideas. Like Ice Plant Bar, an upscale venue in St. Augustine housed in a renovated 1927 ice plant.  Innovative cities take old places and make ’em new, hip, and packed even on a weeknight. So, look for old if you love history; search out new if you’re interested in something fresh and out of the ordinary.  Or do both and find the best along the coast.

3.  Spend a little or spend a lot.

Turret at Jekyll Island Club

Your heart may tell you that only the finest will do.  Like accommodations at The Cloister at Sea Island.  Or fine dining at the Jekyll Island Club.  And who wouldn’t want to be pampered at the coast?

But remember that the ocean belongs to everyone, so you can have a great “vacay” even on a budget.  Stay in a 50s tourist court at Tybee Island?  Why not?  Same seagulls.  Same seafood down the street.  Same shops with seaglass necklaces and shell mirrors no matter where you spend the night.  Just check your budget and travel as you can.  You can see the best on a budget or luxuriate in the finest — but fall in love with the beach no matter what.

Sundown on the beach at Tybee Island

4.  Do your homework on restaurants; then eat like a local.

We’re in the habit of checking the Internet frequently for “best” places to eat wherever we’re traveling. Sites like TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Open Table have honored places among our phone apps for the info they share.

But our best tip for finding good food is just ask the locals. Best bet?  Ask the folks who run the shops you like — antique dealers, art aficionados, tour guides, or B&B owners. All know the area.  All eat out themselves.  So where would they go?  Just ask.

Moderately priced but loved by the locals: crab cakes at Barbara Jean’s, St. Simons Island

5.  Plan your day down to the minute if you must, but we say,

“Save time for serendipity.”

Fort Clinch at Fernandina Beach

Yes, we read lots of articles like the ones in the New York Times on what to do if you just have 36 hours in a certain place.  They help you maximize your time. And squeeze in all the must-see sites. Like museums, state parks, monuments, and other places to check off your list.

But what fun it can be if you let yourself stumble upon a place that you’ve never heard of! Like Gould’s Inlet on St. Simons Island recommended by fellow blogger, James Vance (Gallivance) where we had a lovely conversation with a local resident about Johnson rocks (Who knew?), making our trip to St. Simons even more delightful. J. R. R. Tolkien was on to something when he said not all who wander are lost. So roam a little.  Or a lot.  It’s your vacation!

Looking for a great vacation? Head to the coast!

Here’s hoping you plan a Coasting trip soon — East, West, South, or North.  Enjoy the old and the new, the scheduled and the not-so-scheduled — at any price. There’s not much in life better than sea, surf, and sand.

Let us know where you like Coasting and what we need to see and do on our next trip. Thanks for traveling with us!

Rusha and Bert Sams

To see all the posts in the Coasting series, click here.

For Twitter feeds on what’s happening in Georgia and Florida, follow these folks:  @ExploreGeorgia, @FLHistoricCoast, and @VISITFLORIDA.

Sunset on the waterfront, Amelia Island, Florida

After walking the broad Fernandina Beach and touring Fort Clinch, we longed for one last coastal sunset before heading back to Tennessee the following morning.  Ah, yes.  This will do: the waterfront at Amelia Island.

As we arrived, a man standing on a ramp was ending what he later told us was a nightly ritual: pitching fish into the water at sundown.

Feeding the fish at 5:30, Amelia Island, waterfront

The birds (mostly pelicans) loved it as they flew, swam, darted, and pushed — eager to get in there and get fish at any cost!

Seagulls, brown birds, pelicans, and more.  Didn’t matter — all wanted a piece of the action.  And here they came, flapping wings, splashing water, honking and screeching.  We scrambled to focus our cameras to take it all in.

Perched on a post at Amelia Island waterfront

And just as we started taking pictures, one singular bird — a rather large, pensive pelican — perched atop a green post.  And sat there.  Watching.  Waiting.  Taking us in, or so we thought.  He’s harmless, right? But with that stern look, we weren’t so sure.

He looked left and right.  He stared forward and back.  But he always seemed to have one eye squarely focused on us.  And then, just like that, he was gone.

Taking flight.

By this time the feeding frenzy had ended, the man was walking back up the ramp, and birds began paddling around, content. We looked past the marina into the sunset once more as we heard the man, now behind us, say softly, It happens every night about 5:30.  Come back tomorrow.  It’s fun every time.  

Looking into the distance at the Amelia Island waterfront

And we wished we could, of course.

Sunset, Amelia Island.

For more information:

Check out this post on Kate Harris’s blog:  “Fifteen Things to Do on Amelia Island in 2015”

And also take a look at the site Welcome to Amelia Island full of suggestions for what to do and what to see on Amelia Island.

Here’s hoping you’ll have more time than we did to see this lovely coastal area!

For more on the Coasting series, click here.

Looking down one of the walls at Fort Clinch at Fernandina Beach

As we said in our last post, we just didn’t have enough time on Amelia Island.  After viewing two other forts (Fort Frederica at St. Simons and Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine), we knew we couldn’t leave without seeing Fort Clinch.

Fort Clinch, located within Fort Clinch State Park  in Fernandina Beach, Florida, had the potential for being “just another fort.”  But it wasn’t.  Billed as “a historic fort surrounded by alluring beaches,” Fort Clinch deserves a higher billing since “soldiers” make the difference.  That’s right.  Soldiers.  As in people who dress up and perform everyday operations on Fort Garrison Weekends when we, quite by accident, arrived.  (See post on the soldier who locked Bert up in “prison”!)

People made the difference at Fort Clinch — knowledgeable, affable, engaging.

The people made the difference.  As they strolled the grounds, chatted with visitors, and explained the functions of various rooms, history came to life.

Buildings and battlements at Fort Clinch, Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island

Named for General Duncan Lamont Clinch, Fort Clinch began in 1847, one of a series of masonry forts known as the Third System Fortifications.  Its purpose:  to protect Fernandina’s natural deep-water port.  Although it was never completed, Fort Clinch served as a military post during the Civil War, Spanish-American War, and World War II.

But what we liked doing (other than being amused by the tales told to us by the “soldiers”) was just walking the battlements, looking at the architecture and cannons and openings, and pointing out wildlife in the fort’s park-like setting.

Tunnel walkway, Fort Clinch, Amelia Island

The folks at Fort Clinch make it easy for tourists to travel back in time:  Hours are 8 AM until sunset, 365 days a year.  But if you want to talk to a “soldier” (who may never get out of character) and relive the Civil War experience, be sure to go on a reenactment weekend.  It’s a trip!

For more information:

Fort Clinch State Park, 2601 Atlantic Avenue, Fernandina Beach, Florida; 904-277-7274; www.floridastateparks.org/park/Fort-Clinch

For more posts in our Coasting series, click here.  We hope you enjoy the Georgia and Florida coastal attractions as much as we did!

Amelia Island at Fernandina Beach

The last stop on our Coasting adventure was brief.  Too brief.  And, as it turned out, a bit of a mystery.  We arrived in Amelia Island, Florida, early on a Friday afternoon, anxious to see as much as we could before heading home the next morning.

At a public access, we walked from the parking lot out to the beach.  The view?  Large, naturally rough sand dunes and a wide stretch of beach that looked even wider on a rather foggy afternoon.  (Would love to know what the beach is like on a “crowded” day.)

Then off to find the third lighthouse on our tour, the Amelia Island Lighthouse. (Read about the lighthouses on Tybee Island and St. Augustine in our earlier posts.)  And that’s where the mystery began.

We set the GPS for Lighthouse Road but with no luck.  (We know now from this site to look for North Wolff Street.)  Since we could see the lighthouse in the distance, we kept driving around until Lighthouse Road finally opened up in a subdivision.  Between two houses.  That’s right.  No visitor lot.  No signage.  We wondered what was going on.

Traveling between the two houses on a short stretch took us to a locked gate.  And that’s where the journey ended.  We stared at this sign and went no further.

Sign at Amelia Island Lighthouse

With no more information than what we are sharing here, we snapped a picture through the chain-link fence of the lighthouse, even with that pole of a tree obstructing our view. But try as we did, we couldn’t get a better shot since we couldn’t get past the gate.

Our best shot, pole and all, of the Amelia Island Light taken through a chain-link fence

One thing for sure:  The Amelia Island Light is lovely.  Standing tall in its white “clothing” only, the lighthouse looked old (and it is) and intriguing (and it is).

So here’s the limited information we found through an Internet search back home.  No guarantees this is accurate.  It’s the mystery we haven’t solved.  But it’s better than nothing.

Just the facts we could find:

• It’s the oldest lighthouse in Florida located on Amelia Island in Fernandina Beach.
• Built in 1838-1839, it’s perched high on a bluff above Egan’s Creek.
• It’s only one of two remaining lighthouses in the state designed by Winslow Lewis, an American lighthouse builder.
• It’s a double-walled lighthouse — a “cone within a cone” — that stands 67 feet tall and houses a very rare granite staircase.

If you want to see Amelia Island Light . . . 

• You must make a reservation in advance with Fernandina Beach Recreation Center located on Atlantic Avenue in Fernandina, by calling (904)310-3350.
• Tours are available only on the first and third Wednesdays, leaving the Rec Center promptly at 10:00.  Tickets are $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for children under 12.
• Lighthouse tours don’t allow visitors to climb the stairs.
• Property tours are open to the public on Saturdays from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

And that’s all we know about Amelia Island Lighthouse, a light that beckons from the locked gate — and probably looks better up close!

If you’ve been, leave us a comment about what you saw.  This is one mystery we’d love to solve, but we’ll have to get to Amelia Island on a Wednesday!

Resources:

Amelia Island Lighthouse Tour, City of Fernandina Beach

Amelia Island Lighthouse Tours Fernandina Beach, September 16, 2010

“Amelia Island, FL.” LighthouseFriends.com

For more posts in our Coasting series, click here.

Strolling St. George Street, St. Augustine, Florida

As we prepared to say good-bye to St. Augustine, a town of many surprises, we remembered the sites that have become must-see’s for tourists:  Castillo de San Marcos, Flagler College, the Oldest Wood Schoolhouse in America, etc.  But we found ourselves leaning more and more toward an appreciation of the ordinary as much the tourist-book notables.

Ordinary is relative, we suppose.  But we mean ordinary in the sense that simple things can tell you about a place as much as its celebrated landmarks.  It’s what you see when you drive down a side street where people live, garden, and decorate for holidays.  The ordinary doorways, windows, and fretwork that have become worn by time.  The out-of-the-way things you share with each other as a way of enjoying “the find” as much as the check-off list.

One of the notables: Trinity Episcopal Church, St. Augustine

So here are some of our parting shots.  Some are ordinary.  But all hold special meaning. Maybe just because of where we were in our journey to “do” St. Augustine.

Sometimes the back of a place can be as interesting as the museum inside.  At the Gonzalez-Alvarez House (the Oldest House in America), the walkway behind the house was adorned with statues representing the seasons.

Walkway behind Gonzalez-Alvarez House, St. Augustine

Further to the right of the walkway, a little house of aging stone held artifacts of a simpler time.

And in the garden, peaceful statues stand among the vines.

Peaceful setting along a garden wall, St. Augustine

Harbor walks offer another side of life as there are usually boats and/or people coming and going.  Here’s a shot taken from the sidewalk that runs along the harbor leading to Castillo de San Marcos.

Harbor scene, St. Augustine

And at the Castillo, we marveled at the detail on the aging bronze cannons as much as we stood in awe of the size and strategic position of the fort as a whole.

Cannon detail, Castillo de San Marcos

Some buildings typified the old St. Augustine as no others could.  It wasn’t just one feature — the grillwork, the Spanish moss, the discolored walls.  But rather it was the whole of it that spoke to us.

Spanish moss, windows with balconies — St. Augustine

St. Augustine came to represent what we think of in terms of a city with history, but also a city of beauty and a city of fun.  It may have just what you’re looking for, but it also may surprise you by showing you what you never knew was there.  At least that’s how it was for us.

For more posts in our Coasting series, click here.

For more information: 

Florida’s Historic Coast: http://www.floridashistoriccoast.com/

Twitter: @FLHistoricCoast

St. Augustine 450th Commemoration: http://staugustine-450.com/

Facebook: St. Augustine 450th Commemoration: https://www.facebook.com/450th

St. Augustine Lighthouse

With our third entry in the Coasting series based upon our stay in St. Augustine, we have this maybe-because-we’re-old-folks revelation:  You don’t have to climb to the top to enjoy the St. Augustine Lighthouse!  Really? you might say in disbelief.  You couldn’t even make it 219 steps for a glimpse of the nation’s oldest port and the beach and the city?

Well, sometimes you just can’t do it all when you travel.  Or you’re not able.  Or just not inclined. But you can make the most of what you see.

So what’d you do if you didn’t climb up? you might ask.  And we’d answer: Try this! 

1.  Stand back and look up.

At 126 years old, the St. Augustine Light is just one of six Florida lights open to the

Window detail, St. Augustine Lighthouse

public.  We loved the barber-shop swirls in black and white — its daymark, we learned.  A daymark allows mariners to establish their location during daylight hours just by seeing the unique marking or paint on any given lighthouse. If you were to see these swirls, you’d know you were at St. Augustine.

On the other hand, a nightmark  is the timing of a lighthouse’s flashing signal that identifies this and only this one particular beacon for seagoing vessels.  Before the automation in place today, the St. Augustine Lighthouse was known for this nightmark:  one bright flash every three minutes, a pattern that existed for 62 years.

2.  Go inside.  Read.  Take pictures. 

Pretty impressive were the displays of artifacts housed in the lighthouse museum, the little house with the red roof.  From the history of shipwrecks to discussions of archaeological finds, the museum collections tell the story well.  (Read the lighthouse story here.)

Artifacts — St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum

You can also peer into the stairwell for patterns and photo-ops or just chat with the ones who made it to the top and back.  You can even ask a ranger about the paranormal tour — Dark of the Moon  — that will take you to the top for a moonlight view of St. Augustine.

View of the stairwell — St. Augustine Lighthouse

3.  Visit the Harns where they used to live.

In the setting of an actual lightkeeper’s home in the 1880s, learn about the family of William Harn, the first long-term St. Augustine Lighthouse keeper  (1875-1889).  Sit in the Victorian parlor, read about the six daughters in the Harn family, or try your hand at some of the interactive games.  At Home with the Harns helps you imagine what it would be like to live onsite and maintain a lighthouse day in and day out.

4. Watch artisans at work.

We’re not sure how many artisans ply their trade in an area to the right of the lighthouse or even which days of the week.  But we could see one artisan scrutinizing an old piece for cleaning and repair.

Artisan scrapes and cleans an old piece at the site of the St. Augustine Lighthouse.

Fascinating indeed was one finely crafted boat sitting under cover where we could examine the dovetailed joints and braces holding pieces together.  Digging through the St. Augustine Lighthouse website revealed this information:  Three mornings per week (Tuesdays through Thursdays), volunteer craftsmen build traditional wooden boats.

And according to the site: Using an old steamer box to soften the wood, each board is carefully molded into the keel, ribs and planking of a functioning vessel. Once a year, a completed boat is auctioned off to raise money for the maritime preservation and educational programs at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum.

5.  And then just envy those who climb.

OK.  So we really wanted to climb.  Just couldn’t make it on the day of our trip.  We looked up.  Then waved.  Then said, We oughta come back.  That view is bound to be worth the stairs!!!

People at the rim looking down from the St. Augustine Lighthouse

Whether you ascend the light or remain grounded, the St. Augustine Lighthouse won’t disappoint.  So here’s what we say: Travel at your own place.  But make the most of any adventure, no matter when you go.

Have you been to the top of the St. Augustine Lighthouse?  If so, tell us what we missed.  We’d love to know what you saw!

Thanks for Coasting with us,

Bert and Rusha

For more information:

St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum, 100 Red Cox Rd., St. Augustine, FL 32080; 904-829-0745; http://www.staugustinelighthouse.org/

Hours, tours, and events: http://www.staugustinelighthouse.org/visit/main

St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/staugustinelighthouse

The shape of Castillo de San Marcos as seen by air (photo by Wikimedia)

Built by the Spanish after watching Sir Francis Drake and other pirates attack St. Augustine over the course of many years , the Castillo was begun in 1672 and completed by 1695, replacing nine previous wooden fortifications.   Its greatest test came during the War of the Spanish Succession when the English occupied St. Augustine, burning the town before they left. But the Castillo remained unscathed even after 50 days of attack, making it a symbol of the strength and endurance of what was to become new St. Augustine.

Plaza de Armas, Castillo de San Marcos

Although the fort has been called by many names, the original name of Castillo de San Marcos was restored in 1942.  Now a part of the National Park Service, Castillo de San Marcos National Monument is open to the public every day except December 25th.

Above and below — Castillo de San Marcos

We took our time looking inside rooms that once held soldiers who normally stayed in their own homes in town but came in for rotating guard duty.  And as usual, we stopped to read information posted in the guard rooms, storage rooms, and powder magazine.

Outside on the upper level, we walked the bastions taking a closer look at beautifully wrought cannons, a thick-walled bell tower, and peaceful views of Matanzas Bay.  The aging structure of the Castillo offers scenery not just of itself but distant glimpses of towers and rooftops of St. Augustine.

The Castillo offers something for every age group. And ever-ready rangers give talks as small groups of visitors crowd around to learn more.

Ranger waits for crowd to gather prior to her talk on Castillo de San Marcos

Of course, we think touring the Castillo de San Marcos is one of the six must-do’s of the area.  But don’t take our word for it.  Look up some information.  Take a gander at your schedule.  And see if you can find time for this memorable glimpse into the history of St. Augustine.  You’ll be glad you did.

Colorful re-enactors at Castillo de San Marcos

For more information:

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, 1 S. Castillo Dr., St. Augustine, FL; 904-829-6505; www.nps.gov/casa

“Castillo de San Marcos.” National Park Service website: http://www.nps.gov/casa/

“Castillo de San Marcos.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.  Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castillo_de_San_Marcos

Photo of Castillo de San Marcos.  Wikimedia. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Castillo_de_San_Marcos.jpg

St. Augustine’s 450th Celebration: Facebook.com/450th and Twitter.com/StAugustine450

For more posts in our Coasting series, click the picture of the pelican in the right-hand column of this blog.  Or go to the Page at the top labeled Travel Series — Coasting.

Thanks for traveling the coasts of Georgia and Florida with us!

Bert and Rusha

Horse-drawn carriage, St. Augustine, FL

This is the year! America’s oldest city, St. Augustine, Florida, celebrates its 450th anniversary! So this is your year to plan a trip and make a list — a “must-do list” for beautiful St. Augustine.

Not sure what we expected, having waited until our retirement years to see St. Augustine for the first time.  But now we’re wondering what took us so long.  St. Augustine melds the Old World charm of New Orleans with the Bohemian atmosphere and laid-back fun of Key West into one.  For history buffs or party-hardies, St. Augustine comes in just right. Here are our six must-do’s for when (not if!!) you come down South to the city with the slogan “Beautiful beaches and the rest is history”!

Gonzalez-Alvarez House, known at “The Oldest House” in St. Augustine, dates back to the early 1600s. 271 Charlotte St.

1.  Soak up the beauty

It wasn’t five minutes after we stepped out the door of our B & B on Cedar Street that we grabbed our cameras and pointed upwards at the impressive architecture of the Flagler Buildings.  An original partner with John D. Rockefeller, Henry M. Flagler arrived in St. Augustine in 1883, had two new hotels built (the Ponce de Leon and the Alcazar), and purchased the Casa Monica (a Moorish Revival building) renaming it the Hotel Cordova.

Courtyard of the Lightner Museum, St. Augustine

Now, the Hotel Ponce de Leon is the home of Flagler College, and the buildings represent some of the finest examples of Spanish Renaissance architecture in America.  The Alcazar has become the Lightner Museum known for its extensive collection of Louis Tiffany stained-glass art. And, if you wish, you can spend a night or a week at the Hotel Cordova!

2.  Walk through time

After you stroll the campus of Flagler College and get a feel for the beauty of the Lightner Museum, you’re primed and ready to explore history on foot.  Be sure to head down Aviles Street, the oldest street in North America dating back to the 1500s.  Charm is the operable word here — a long bricked street frequented by horse-drawn carriages passing diners eating outside.

Dining out on Aviles Street

Here’s where you’ll shop if you love quality goods, art, and antiques.  Drop in at Georgia Nick Gallery and ask to see Georgia’s hand-made note cards sporting her own photos from around the city.  Or find a fashionable long skirt and creatively designed bracelet at Candida’s Closet.  Don’t miss Aviles Gallery where we fell in love with the watercolors of artist Pam Pahl.

Put on your walking shoes for the longer (and possibly more crowded) St. George Street, where shops have become comfortable in some of the most treasured homes of the city.  If you’re a history snob, you’ll have to overlook ice cream parlors, coffee shops, and t-shirts, but don’t let that stop you.  Spanish Colonial-style masonry homes abound, some with coquina structure (rock formed with tiny embedded shells) and original foundations.  Stand by the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse (everyone does!) and remember that it’s the oldest surviving wood frame building (cedar and cypress) in St. Augustine.  Go inside to see rare school books, slates, maps, and such. (Open daily, admission charge.)

3.  Fort-ify your outlook

Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort and the only extant 17th century fort in the continental U. S. Built in 1672-1695 to protect the town and treasure fleets on their way to Spain, Castillo de San Marcos  is the granddaddy of all the forts in our Coasting series.  The fort offers you a view of city buildings and Matanzas Bay from several vantage points as well as a chance to pose for a “selfie” beside the cannons!

Inside Castillo de San Marcos

4.  See the light

One of only six lighthouses in Florida open to the public, the 126-year-old St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum offers an authentic look inside and out.  Climb 126 steps to the top.  Or stay below, tour the museum, and watch craftsmen at work on the ground.

5. Sleep Inn 

Whether you prefer luxury accommodations, a night in a historic property, or the comfort of a B&B, you’ll find interesting places to spend time in St.

Augustine!  Use your favorite internet search engine or Florida’s Historic Coast for reservations, but don’t wait too long.  Special events like Rhythm & Ribs Festival (April 10-12, 2015), Celebrate 450! (September 4-15, 2015) and the 7th Annual Pirate Gathering (dates TBD) fill up available accommodations fast.

A Blue Christmas theme with Elvis on the balcony: At Journeys End, St. Augustine

Our B&B, At Journey’s End, and the other three on Cedar Street were still decorated for the Annual Bed and Breakfast Holiday Tour.  Lucky us.  Elvis greeted us from the balcony, smiled at us from the front yard, and graced us with renditions of “Blue Suede Shoes” from a hidden boom box.  Or some such apparatus!  And we loved it!

6.  Eat out! Drink Up!

Our view from the bar at Cellar 6, Aviles Street, St. Augustine, Florida

Make it a point to search for what makes St. Augustine truly unique — an eclectic mix of restaurants offering everything from Cuban sandwiches at the casual La Herencia Cafe on Aviles Street to the upscale Cellar 6 where we toasted in the New Year at the bar. (Best place to view the action and get to the know the bartender!)

But our one “blown-away” place had to be Ice Plant.  Focused on the art of mixing cocktails such as Florida Mule with vodka from their own St. Augustine Distillery located next door, Ice Plant also serves farm-to-table food (think grass-fed beef and local veggies).  Even if you don’t eat a thing, you should order a drink (even the type of ice is selected) at one of two bars in this renovated 1927 ice plant, smile at the waiters dressed in their 20s working-class attire, and understand just what made Garden & Gun take note.

Shaken not stirred at Ice Plant, St. Augustine

Here’s hoping you’ll find lots to put on your must-do list in St. Augustine. We certainly more to explore if we ever return.  And if you’ve been, why not leave us a comment:  What was your favorite thing to do in St. Augustine?

Who knows?  Come September, we may all gather to Celebrate 450!

Harbor scene, St. Augustine

For more information:

Twitter.com/FlHistoricCoast

Facebook.com/OfficialStAugustine

Instagram.com/FloridasHistoricCoast

Celebrate 450! http://staugustine-450.com

Twitter.com/StAugustine450

Facebook.com/450th

For more posts in our Coasting series, click on Travel Series and then Coasting at the top of this blog. And thanks for traveling the coast with us! Bert and Rusha

For the week of August 17, 2015, we’re linking up to #Monday Escapes hosted by @mummytravel.  For more great posts, click here.

The Jekyll Island Club, Jekyll Island, Georgia

Our Coasting series continues with a short one-day trip to Jekyll Island, one of four barrier islands in Georgia. Although Jekyll can boast of lovely marshes, moss-draped live oaks, and quiet beaches, it was the historically lavish lifestyle of the rich and famous that drew us to the historic district where several of the buildings of the Jekyll Island Club still stand.

One wing of the Jekyll Island Club facing the croquet lawn.

It was Newton Finney (served briefly as captain of engineers on Robert E. Lee’s staff during the Civil War) and his brother-in-law, John Eugene DuBignon, who dreamed of developing a hunt club for wealthy northerners.  Between 1879 and 1885, the men acquired the land and convinced investors to create the exclusive Jekyll Island Club. Finney and DuBignon then sold the newly incorporated club to the 53 member investors among whom were “Men of Means” (as the plaque on the grounds dubbed them) such as J. P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer, William K. Vanderbilt, Henry Hyde, and Marshall Field.

The iconic turret of the Jekyll Island Club.

Officially opened in 1888, the Queen Anne style Clubhouse, designed by Charles Alexander of Chicago, was hailed for its notable details — a signature turret, bay windows, leaded art glass, and sizable rooms with tall ceilings.  Club members and their families engaged in leisure activities that even today sound sumptuous — yachting, hunting, lawn parties, carriage rides, and formal dining in the evenings.  And yes, we were there on a day when white-clad players of croquet took to the front lawn much as we imagine the club members might have done.  Ah, the good ol’ days!

A game of croquet on the lawn of the Jekyll Island Club

Some of the cottages are open for tours; some can be rented.  Sans Souci (“without care”) was one of the first condominiums built in America with its original six units, owned in part by J. P. Morgan. Still in tact are the original floors, skylight, and stairway.(jekyllclub.com/accommodations)

America’s first condominium? Sans Souci on Jekyll Island

Other cottages are open only for tours.  Like Indian Mound Cottage, home of William and Almira Rockefeller, built in the early 1900s, subject of this video posted on YouTube.

Indian Mound Cottage, home of William and Almira Rockefeller

It’s a good idea to take a trolley ride complete with talkative driver elaborating on the history, architecture, and social life. Or just sit back and relax to the clop-clop of horses’ hooves as you tour by horse-drawn carriage.

Touring Jekyll by horse-drawn carriage.

And, if you’re wondering, you can (YES!!!) be a guest yourself at the elegant Jekyll Island Club where the interior is as interesting and luxurious as the exterior.

Sitting room, Jekyll Island Club

We sauntered out to the Jekyll Island Wharf for a leisure lunch and watched sea birds fly by, all the while pretending that we could be one of the Astors or Rockefellers or Morgans enjoying a picnic beside the sea.

Jekyll Island Wharf

Pulling away from the lap of luxury wasn’t easy, but we were interested in what else the island had to offer.  A lot, as it turned out.  Like Horton House Historic Site located on North Riverview Drive.

Needing a residence for his family still residing in England in the 1730s, Major William Horton (who served as second in command of General James Oglethorpe’s regiment) cleared a tract of land and built the sturdy structure now known as Horton House.

What remains of Horton House, built by Major William Horton around 1740.

Horton House was built of tabby, a building material introduced to us during our tour of Fort Frederica.  Tabby is created by mixing water, lime, sand, and oyster shells. But Horton had to first burn oyster shells to create lime, then mix the tabby, and finally pour it all into the forms that still remain today.  The house has been burned, rebuilt, and abandoned, but is now preserved as a designated historic site, open daily to the public.

Horton House, Jekyll Island

No matter what you choose to do on Jekyll Island — from looking at historic markers to roaming the beaches to pretending you, too, are a descendant of the Astors or Vanderbilts — you can’t escape the elegance and history of an “old money” world gone by.

No more cycling. We’re at the beach!

For more information, resources:

Explore Southern History: Horton House: http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/hortonhouse.html

Jekyll Island, Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jekyll_Island

Jekyll Island Club Hotel: A Historic Landmark Experience: http://www.jekyllclub.com

Jekyll Island Club – Haunted Houses: http://www.hauntedhouses.com/states/ga/jekyll_island.htm

Jekyll Island, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JekyllIsland

For more posts in the Coasting series: 

• Goin’ coastal before and after the TaxSlayer Bowl
• Coasting: The laid-back vibes of Tybee Island
• Coasting: Beautiful St. Simons Island
• Coasting: The serenity of Christ Church on St. Simons Island
• Coasting: Three reasons to stroll through Fort Frederica on St. Simons

Fort Frederica National Monument, St. Simons Island, Georgia

You may think that visiting a fort would be at the bottom of your to-do list when coasting.  After all, beaches beckon.  Or pastimes — shopping, fishing, golfing, and the like — call you to while away your leisure hours.  But on this tour of coastal Georgia and Florida sites, we found three forts — not just for visiting — but for really “getting into”:  Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island, Georgia; Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida; and Fort Clinch State Park on Amelia Island, Florida.

Seeing what remains of Fort Frederica would be awesome in its own right, but thanks to the Park Service, this National Monument (established 1936 under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration) is well maintained and carefully documented so that the visiting experience is rich on many levels.   For the meager entry fee of $3.00 (free if you’re under 15), you’re offered a museum with artifacts and park film well worth 23 minutes of your time.  Exit the Visitor Center and enter Frederica, a fortified town as well as a fort, with at least three good reasons to make this a stopping-off place on any Georgia coastal tour.

Walking from the Visitor Center onto the grounds of Fort Frederica

Reason 1:  Learn a little history

Named for Frederick Louis (Prince of Wales 1702-1754), Fort Frederica was a military outpost established in 1736 by James Oglethorpe to protect the southern boundary of Georgia (a new colony) from the Spanish in Florida. And the fort paid off.  In 1742, Spanish forces invaded St. Simons Island at Fort St. Simons (site of the lighthouse).  But after two battles — Gully Hole Creek and Bloody Marsh — the Spanish retreated, never to return.  Victory fell to the British but also signaled the end of Frederica. In 1749, the government abandoned the garrison, and by 1755, few residents remained.

Remains of Fort Frederica

Well-placed markers lead visitors to an understanding of where and how soldiers lived and fought and why the location in the bend enabled control of ship traffic on the Frederica River.

Well-placed cannon at the bend of the river, Fort Frederica

Reason 2:  Learn about the people and their lifestyles

At its peak, Fort Frederica was a “town” of about 800 to 1,000 people. Notably,  the Reverends Charles and John Wesley ministered to the soldiers and settlers at the fort, one of the many efforts that led to the establishment of the nearby Wesley Memorial on the island.  At the time of the Spanish attack in 1742, about 200 British troops were stationed at Frederica with some of the officers and married men living in their own homes or in town.

The barracks, with walls one foot thick, could accommodate more than 100 men.  Three walls of this tower have been preserved and stabilized by the National Park Service.

The Barracks, Fort Frederica

According to one of the markers near an excavated site, Frederica’s residents were literally “butchers, bakers and candlestick makers,” with many of them working more than one trade.  John Caldwell, for example, made candles and fine soaps but also served as “Conservator of the Peace” when he wasn’t a merchant, shopkeeper, and baliff.  His home shows the remains of a baking oven and two fireplaces, indicating that it was one of the finest homes in the area.

Remains of John Calwell’s home, one of the finest at Fort Frederica.

Excavations also revealed the foundation of the home of Mary Musgrove Matthews, General Oglethorpe’s Indian interpreter, the daughter of a white trader and Creek Indian mother.  (According to the Fort Frederica website, Yamacraw Indians, a group of Creeks, lived among the other settlers at Frederica.) Her house was made of tabby, a type of concrete made with water, sand, lime, and oyster shells.

Close-up of tabby from the home of Mary Musgrove Matthews. Tabby is a type of concrete made with water, sand, lime, and oyster shells.

Reason 3:  Appreciate the natural beauty 

Fort Frederica‘s park-like setting still bears street signs indicating how the “town” was laid out.  And today, majestic trees draped heavily with Spanish moss offer a canopy like no other site we’ve seen. From the website’s FAQs came this interesting tidbit:  None of the trees present today were onsite at the time of activity at Fort Frederica.  

We found ourselves looking sideways at the pathways and trees, but also looking up.  Rumor had it that we might see a bald eagle.  We didn’t.  But birds flew over, above, and into nests high up in the trees — as visitors snapped pictures and listened to the sounds overhead.

Bird perched high above, Fort Frederica

Plan to spend a couple of hours at Fort Frederica National Monument.  With the wealth of information at the Visitor Center and along the outstretched pathways, you’ll be hard pressed to rush through — and you won’t want to.  Whether you’re a history buff or nature lover or both, you’ll be pleased that Fort Frederica is preserved and ready for you to enjoy.

Street markers line the pathways at Fort Frederica

For more information:

Fort Frederica National Monument,  6515 Frederica Road, Saint Simons Island, GA 31522; (912) 638-3639

Website: http://www.nps.gov/fofr/index.htm

Visitor Center:  Open 9:00 to 5:00 seven days a week except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.

Frederica, Fort and Town: Historical Background: http://www.nps.gov/fofr/historyculture/upload/webhistory.pdf

For more posts in the Coasting series:

• Goin’ coastal before and after the TaxSlayer Bowl
• Coasting: The laid-back vibes of Tybee Island
• Coasting: Beautiful St. Simons Island
• Coasting: The serenity of Christ Church on St. Simons