Augusta, GA - February 21 and 22, 2017

We started making our way home. One last hurrah in Augusta. We walked their beautiful River Esplanade that had an analemmatic sundial (very cool) and toured the Morris Museum of Art. Augusta was a major cotton processing and shipping center in the 19th and early 20th century. Brenda also found a fabric outlet store and had a heyday buying fabric for her upcoming creations.

Amelia Island, Florida - February 19th, 20th, 21st 2017

We've gone back to the beach for a couple days. The temps are in the mid 70's and the setting is beautiful. We're probably about ready to start making our way home so this is our last hurrah. I found a nearby golf course and have made use of the driving range.

St Marys, Georgia February 18, 2017

We visited St Marys today, a quaint town on the inter-coastal waterway across from Amelia Island. There happened to be a tall ship docked there that we were able to board and look at. The town also has a beautiful park on the waterway where we sat and soaked up the surroundings. Notice the shells in the wall surrounding the park. This is called "tabby" construction and is an example of using what you have for construction materials.

Amelia Island February 17, 2017

After breakfast, we strolled the beach for a while. Beautiful, relaxing, mesmerizing all at once. We drove to Kingsland, Georgia and I found a golf course at the Trident Naval Submarine Base here. The course was designed by Arthur Hill who also designed Chaska Town Course! I hit a few balls at the driving range to try to get some of the rust off. It was good to swing the clubs again.

Movin' on February 16, 2017

We have now completed the scheduled part of our trip. We had a week in Charleston, 9 days in Savannah, and a week in St Augustine. Today we freelanced our way to Amelia Island, Florida, a barrier island just south of Georgia. We stayed near the Ocean and bummed around the historic district of Fernandina Beach. This part of Florida has been under the rule of 8 different flags including one pirate flag. The temps were a little cooler, in the 60's, but otherwise a sunny day.

Whetstone Chocolate Factory February 15, 2017

We took a tour of a chocolate factory today. Pretty delicious. Lots of good samples. This was our last full day in St Augustine. There were a couple of rain squalls, but it was warm and windy otherwise. Shorts and short sleeves weather.

Bridge of Lions, February 14, 2017

St Augustine connects to Anastasia Island via the Bridge of Lions. The bridge was rebuilt/repaired between 2000 and 2005 and is a draw bridge that opens in the middle to allow ships to pass through. The bridge was nearly underwater when hurricane Matthew came through last October. Anyhow, we happened to be on it today when they were allowing a boat to sail through. You can see from the picture what looks like a wall in front of us; that's the road tilted up 90 degrees. We made our way to a local distillery and had a tour, some samples, and our Valentine's day dinner at the attached restaurant. Nice day, high in the upper 70's.

Henry Flagler February 13, 2017

There is a college here in St Augustine called Flagler College. I've never heard of it before. It is housed in the former posh Ponce de Leon hotel built by Standard Oil co-founder Henry Flagler in 1865. The building is stunning. Inlaid mosaics, carved wood, Tiffany glass, solid gold ornamentation, fine paintings; the list goes on and on. The hotel was built as one of the first luxury hotels in Florida in 1880. It had electricity 5 years before the White House! Flagler was a businessman and built a railroad stretching the length of Florida to help bring clients to his luxurious hotel. Soon after, he built another luxury hotel across the street from the first one. It is now the St Augustine City Offices. These buildings are truly breathtaking. After his death, his wife left the first hotel to the college. The hotel building today houses the women's residence hall and the student dining hall. The college was originally a women only teachers college. Today it is co-ed but requires a 3:1 female to male ratio!

Castillo San Marcos February 11, 2017

The Spanish settled in St. Augustine some 450 years ago. They built a fort that still stands called Castillo San Marcos. We checked it out and watched a demonstration of cannon firing. Pretty cool.

Spanish town square February 12, 2017

As mentioned, St Augustine's European founders were the Spaniards. They built their town according to Spanish rules. These rules stated that the town should be centered around a public square anchored by the town hall and the Catholic cathedral. Further, when the Spanish adopted their constitution in 1812, they required all their cities to rename their squares "plaza de la constitution" and erect a monument to the new constitution. Then, less than 2 years later, the monarchy regained power and rescinded that order. In fact, they ordered all such monuments to be taken down. The people of St Augustine said "nuts to that". They had spent a lot of money to build the memorial and they weren't going to take it down. Consequently, it may be the only surviving constitutional memorial that exists in the Spanish world today!

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Arrival Saint Augustine February 9th and 10th, 2017

We drove the 3 hour trip from Savannah to St Augustine, Florida on Thursday. It was a very windy day but sunny and in the 60's. No complaints after seeing the northeast got hit with a foot of snow. St Augustine is the oldest city in the US having been founded by the Spanish in the 1500's. There is an old Spanish fort here that we'll visit in the next few days. The area is a bit too touristy for my tastes. Nevertheless, the weather is lovely and there is some great history here. We were able to watch the full moon rise from the roof-top patio of the San Sebastian winery last evening. Pretty cool.

Good bye Savannah!

Savannah is my new favorite city in the USA. Its many architectural, cultural, and historical attractions make it a vibrant, always interesting place. Its city design makes it easy and pleasant to walk. Its parks and squares are second to none. And finally, its fountains are soothing if not inspiring. Some of my favorites are below.