Play: St. Augustine, Florida

If you happen to be driving along the Atlantic coast of Florida, I would highly recommend planning a stop for a day or two in the beautiful coastal city of St. Augustine, FL, especially for the history buffs in your group. 

Established in 1565 - yes, that's right, long before anyone docked at Plymouth Rock - St. Augustine is the oldest city in America. So it's not uncommon to come across places and artifacts that are hundreds of years old here. I visited just 2 weeks after Hurricane Matthew swept along the Atlantic coast and St. Augustine's fortified walls bore little damage from the storm's raging winds and rising waters.

If you only have a few hours in town, hit the highlights by jumping on one of the Red Train Tours (our train however, happened to be black!) This is about an hour-long tour on a cute little train, driven by a knowledgeable tour guide that will cover a lot of the city's top sites and give you a rich history lesson. For the photographers in the bunch, I recommend sitting on the driver's right side for the best shots along the route.

If you have a day or two to explore, most of the main attractions are within walking distance. So grab your comfy shoes and hit the cobblestone!

Head to the famous 17th-century star-shaped bastion fort along the waterfront - Castillo de San Marcos, a US Park Service national monument (admission fee) and check out a cannon demonstration or talk to the soldiers or park rangers about the rich history of the fort where the British and Spanish clashed.

Run your fingers along the coquina ("shell concrete") and look for the etchings of battleships on the walls of the interior rooms. See the bare sleeping quarters with rows of thin mats on wooden platforms huddled near fireplaces big enough to stand in. 

Head up to the rooftop and check out the rows of cannons and their effective crossfire placement patterns - plus get a great view of The Bridge of Lions, one of the world's most photographed bridges. You might even catch the drawbridge up to watch boats sail through.

Explore the narrow streets of the city and check out the many fabulous restaurants, shops, or museums - like the Pirate & Treasure Museum - there's something for every taste!

Flagler College is a beautiful campus to explore and learn a lot about Henry Flagler, the man responsible for a lot of the expansion of St. Augustine in the 1800s and early 1900s, including hotels, churches, businesses, homes, and more. There are incredible works of Tiffany glass in some of the buildings - including the rounded cafeteria room!

Memorial Presbyterian Church, one of the magnificent churches in town - built in memory of Henry Flagler's daughter - was constructed in under one year. It has a magnificent interior that you are welcome to explore - there are even free pipe organ concerts occasionally if you are lucky to catch one!

Grace United Methodist Church, also financed by Henry Flagler and built in 1887, features incredibly intricate mahogany doors and still holds regular worship services weekly. However you will note that there is no bell in the bell tower - Henry didn't want any distractions if the pipe organ in the other church he commissioned to be built happened to be playing.

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One restaurant that I would highly recommend is a little off the beaten path from the tourist area of downtown... might be a little too far to walk? Just jump in your car or Uber it across The Bridge of Lions and head to The Conch House, where you can grab a delicous seafood lunch and request to be seated in the crow's nest, for a bird's eye view of the marina... you might even catch sight of a few dolphins playing nearby!

Oops started eating before I got a picture... it was so good!

Now that you've had a filling meal, back to the tour!

​Just north of the main city area is the original Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum! It looks like a castle - as some might remember from the TV show - and has a long crazy history, from a wealthy family with 14 kids and only 1 bathroom, to a hotel where celebrities frequently stayed. Let's just say it definitely lives up to its name of "Odditorium". Whether you're looking for shrunken heads, pirate booty, or spaceships made from matchsticks... and everything in between, head here for an exploration of Ripley's crazy collection! Just be warned, there's some stuff that might make you go "Ew!" or "Gross!"

On the way to our last stop, there's a few more sites to see. The world's tallest free-standing cross can be found at Our Lady of De Leche, a church built for prayer, especially popular for families struggling to have children... many prayers have been answered here!

Wander over to the Howard Johnson's parking lot... odd request, right? Well you want to meet The Senator, don't you? This 300+ year old live oak tree is old, crooked, and a little shady - haha!

From the back of the parking lot, turn left onto Magnolia Avenue - there's not a single Magnolia tree to be found, but you'll appreciate the "tunnel" created by massive oak trees, stretching their branches across the road and the Spanish moss blowing in the breeze. 

Just down the street is our last stop of the day - The Fountain of Youth, founded by Juan Ponce de Leon! Here you can grab a glass of water from the original spring... which tastes a lot like natural Florida tap water... and see if it adds some years to your life!

Wander the park and see the wild peacocks that roam the grounds. Just please don't chase or feed them.

See how the Timucuan lived - explore their huts and how they prepared food, created tools from animal bones, and more.

Watch a blacksmith work his craft... we saw how a pot hook was made and where the "stove knob" idea came from, hundreds of years before an electric stove was invented!

Another cool cannon demonstration to end the day... this was pretty up-close-and-personal, and the suggestion to cover your ears is definitely one to follow!

I could spend another day of exploring here, but more adventures await me this weekend.

Bitten by the travel bug... and I don't mean Zika!