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.

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

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.

A bride and her bridesmaids standing in the shadows along Aviles Street, St. Augustine, FloridaJ

A bride and her bridesmaids standing in the shadows along Aviles Street, St. Augustine, FloridaJust as we were exiting a dress shop on Aviles Street, we turned to see a bride and her bridesmaids standing in the shadows.  As we attempted to snap picture, the bride turned around and smiled that charming smile — not really a giddy smile, just a hopeful one — and I thanked her for being there because the scene made our day. We just celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary, we told her, so we wish you a long life together.  The whole party smiled.

Groomsmen on Aviles Street, St. Augustine, Florida

And then we looked right past the young women to see the groomsmen posing for the photographer as they cast long shadows on this oldest street in America.  Made our day again!

For more entries in the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Shadowed, click here.

Someone just may have to intervene and force us to enter a 12-step program to end our addiction to purchasing new art.  After all, we live in a condo filled with antiques and primitives, yet we can’t resist fresh, new paintings that depict whatever area we are visiting.  We have an uncanny proclivity to marine art even though we are not boaters nor have we ever owned a sailing vessel.  We guess there must be something about the sea that pulls us away — and causes us to buy.

And so it was that as we were walking Aviles Street in St. Augustine, Florida, the night of January 2nd, 2015 — First Friday, as it were — we stopped in at Aviles Gallery.  It’s an intimate place filled with photography, original art, and wood-turned bowls — all tasteful, artful, and enticing.  But it was the watercolors of Pam Pahl that drew us to the side wall where we spent nearly an hour until closing time studying the compositions, bright colors, and squiggles.  Yes, see those squiggles on the left side and beneath?  New to us, for sure.  And a technique that caused us to move in for a really close look.

But it was meeting the artist herself that made the difference.  Pam Pahl, a petite soft-spoken woman, introduced herself.  And the love affair began.  Educated in England, she has lived in the U. S., no stranger to the boating world.  As an owner of a sailboat in California and a traveler on numerous cruises and charters throughout the U. S. Caribbean, and Bahamas, Pam works from experience, using strong, graphic images and clear colors to develop her unique style.

Aviles Gallery, St. Augustine, Florida, on First Friday. Works by Pam Pahl on right wall. Photo from Aviles Gallery Facebook page.

Pam Pahl has been granted signature status in the American Society of Marine Artists and South Florida Watercolor Society.  But she now can say she has a giclee of one of her original paintings hanging in a small dining room in Knoxville, Tennessee! We are proud to have met this talented artist and purchased a Pam Pahl painting — it’s our something new for 2015.  And it just may spawn a redo of our decor. After all, wouldn’t a room in these colors make you happy, too?!!!

For more entries in this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: New, click here.

For more information on Pam Pahl, go to her website:  www.ppahl.com.

Pam Pahl shows her work in Aviles Gallery in St. Augustine, Florida, and Art of the Sea, South Thomaston, Maine.

Photo credit:  Facebook page of Aviles Gallery: https://www.facebook.com/avilesstreetgallery

Nights of Lights in St. Augustine, Florida — November 22, 2014 to February 1, 2015

With over three hundred million lights, St. Augustine, Florida’s Nights of Lights lives up to its listing in The World’s 10 Best Holiday Displays by National Geographic. Now that’s a lot of sparkle!  All over the city, historic buildings, plazas, trees, and even horse-drawn carriages are decked out in tiny lights.

The Lightner Museum (formerly the Alcazar Hotel) decorated for the Nights of Lights celebration.

Tourists and locals alike seem to enjoy the displays.  On the nights we were there in January, people roamed around the city taking pictures and enjoying the lighted venues.

Enjoying the Nights of Lights, St. Augustine, FL

The lighting goes back to Spanish origins when people placed lighted candles in their windows during the Christmas holidays.  Now celebrating its 449th year in existence, St. Augustine is proud to continue the tradition with its Nights of Lights celebration from November 22, 2014 to February 1, 2015.

Lighted trees, shrubbery, and buildings in St. Augustine, FL

For more information and a photo gallery showing scenes from St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights, click here.

For more entries in Ailsa’s Travel theme: Sparkle on her blog Where’s My Backpack, click here.

Photo credit:  Picture One:  Images of Nights of Lights

Peanut Butter Stack, Cellar 6, St. Augustine, Florida

So, here’s to a Sweet 2015 filled with fun, fantastic adventures both foreign and familiar. May you make memories and see the world — or maybe your own hometown — in new ways.

Happy New Year!

Bert and Rusha Sams