Friday, November 16 – Still in St. Augustine:

            We happily thought we were in for a nice, sunny day today as when we woke up we saw it shining gloriously – for a nano-second – then it hid behind a solid gray cloud bank for the rest of the day - plus it was very chilly.  I guess this is what Floridians would call a wintry day.  Oh well, we had a nice pastry leftover from the bakery yesterday, and I made fried eggs for breakfast to go with it, and then we planned the day.

            First order of the day, was house (boat) work.  I still don’t understand how the boat can get so dirty and dusty from day to day, but Bob cleaned the outside and I cleaned the inside. 

            Then we called Heather, the taxi lady, and she picked us up and drove us downtown around 11:30 a.m.  First order in town was lunch at The Bunnery.  This is a little family owned restaurant that has been in business since 1989.  They make all their breads from scratch, and their soups and sandwiches all look and sound delicious.  We ordered potato soup and ½ Black Forest sandwich.  It hit the spot for a chilly, cloudy day and provided sustenance for being a good tourist for the rest of the day. 

            St. Augustine has a section on St. George Street that is totally touristy – chock-a-block full of gift and souvenir shops, and small and large specialty eateries, restaurants, and cafes.  It seems to go on forever, and was full of tourists.  We enjoyed walking through the street as it is a pedestrian thoroughfare only.  St. George Street takes you out to the Castillo de San Marcos Fort, which began construction in 1672 and is the oldest masonry fort in America.  It’s history is way too long to try and incorporate in this blog, but it is fascinating.  We walked around and then hung around for the canon firing demonstration.  I don’t think the canons were very accurate, but I thought they were loud enough to scare potential enemies away!  Actually, in reality, they were relatively accurate for the distances they could fire cannonballs – in some cases – over three miles!

            After our visit to the fort, we walked to the Ximenez-Fatio House, circa 1798,  one of the most accurately preserved and furnished historic house museums in the area.  After 1821, the house was owned by three consecutive women owners, Mrs. Cook, Mrs. Anderson, and Miss Fatio.  All three operated the property as an upscale boarding house.  The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America acquired the property in 1939 for its use as a museum.

            As it was getting on in the afternoon, and there were only four people who signed up for the tour, our guide, Cindy, gave us a bit of a more personal tour of the house.  She was very informative and told us some interesting facts that I never knew about the way of life back then – such as a device called a “spill” used to light candles and the evening fire, which was a tightly wound thin wooden wick-like piece.

            One of the more fascinating artifacts found at this site was a white bronze Caravaca Cross.  It was found by archaeologists in a 350 year-old trash pit.  Only a handful of these crosses have ever been found in North America, and only one other dates to the 1600’s as the one found at this site does.  It was a sacred relic and something only a person of great importance could have owned.  And it was found in a trash site! 

            After the tour we decide to search out some refreshments and actually wind up back at The Bunnery for coffee.  It’s about 4:00, and time to head back to the boat.  We call our friendly taxi driver, Heather, but our call goes to her voice mail, and we don’t hear back from her – so – Bob suggests we walk back to the boat!  Well, that’s fine with me.  It’s only about 1½ miles, and there is a sidewalk the whole way, and after the day’s lunch and afternoon snack, a walk would be a good idea. 

            Back at the boat, we play cards, watch the news then fix dinner – pork tenderloin on the grill, garlic mashed potatoes, and sweet corn.  As I write this, the wind is howling again, Bob has checked the weather, and it’s not looking too good – we really don’t have to go anywhere tomorrow, so who knows, we might just stay here another day – there’s lots more exploring to do in this lovely town.

Canon firing at the fort

Ximenez-Fatio House