St Augustine

St. Augustine has a rich and varied history like most cities on the East coast. It is, though, the oldest city in what is now the USA having been established on September 8, 1565. This was 42 years before Jamestown. Believe me, the locals are quick to point that out and that fact is the basis of the beginning of ever tour group that you see.

We arrived at St. Augustine on April 2, 2013. That would be 448 years after the original settling of the town. In between that time the city was held by the originating Spanish as it was established by Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles. The fort that was built was called Castillo de San Marcos.

This was built around 1672 and some of the original walls still exist.

The walls at the fort as well as around the town are built with a substance called coquino. This is a cement like compound made of the residue of burned oyster shells, sand, water, and chunks of shells mixed in. It makes a long lasting structure. In some places the walls of the fort are 12 feet thick at the base narrowing to a mere 7 feet along some of the ramparts.

Sir Frances Drake and the English took over the town after a long bombardment in 1586 where it remained in British hands until after the Revolutionary War. The fort was used by the British as a staging area for battles up and down the coast and as a prison as well.

With a city this old and well preserved there are MANY historical sites to see and visit. One of the nicest was the old Alcazar Hotel built in the early 1800's and is now a museum and used as the City Hall for St. Augustine.

The oldest street in America is Aviles Steet...

 which today houses a number of restaurants, shops, and homes which provide glimpses of the architecture of days gone by.

 Below are a few of the old doors, windows, and entryways from days gone by.

When we pass by some of these doors, we always wonder what is behind them.

A few that were "architecturally cooperative", helped provide the answers.

Back at the marina there is always activity. The city of St. Augustine is building an addition to their docks where a portion will act as a breakwater to some of the waves that form from strong northern winds. One afternoon a construction barge stopped by to drop off some materials ...

only to find itself in a very compromising position as it came close to crunching up several boats as it maneuvered around.

We were very happy to be one of the smaller boats in the harbor that day.

On Thursday night Jeff and Kathy returned to take us to dinner as they were completing the driving portion of their vacation. On Friday night we enjoyed the Friday night art walk in the city. That finally provided us the  opportunity to see some manatees whose viewing so far had eluded us.

As boaters you always see clever names that people have selected to name their boat. This in conjunction with the notion that "happy hour" starts at five o'clock provided this boat owner with the name of their boat. I think they could be thought of as "party central" when they are out cruising.

Nautical Word For The Day: [from seatalk.info]

Painter:

1. A light rope attached to the bow of a small boat as a towing line or as a bow line.

From Great Loop Jargon:

2. Having had a lot of experience at this one, it is the term for the person on the other end of the brush that is applying paint to the wall and is often accompanied by the phrase...
" Yes, dear, I'll be sure to touch that up".