St. Augustine

 When I was a mere lad, back before the invention of knowledge, we learned that Jamestown was the first permanent British town in North America. As a kid, I didn't pay much attention to the words "British or English". Brenda and I have visited Jamestown, and it is an impressive historic site, and we recommend it plus the great history in the areas around it.

Several years ago, whilst working a space shuttle landing that was delayed, I drove by St. Augustine, FL on my way up to Jacksonville, FL. This past weekend we had a Cru Faculty Conference in Gainesville, FL on Friday and Saturday and left Saturday after the meeting for St. Augustine.

It was a pleasant and very rural drive over (yes much of Florida, away from the coast, is not heavily populated). Our first shock was paying $15 for the parking deck at %:15 PM only to discover later that street parking is free after 5 PM. The parking attendant didn't bother to fill us in, and mistakenly told us the St. Augustine Visitor Center was open another 1.5 hours instead of 15 min.

Our next big shock came when we tried to book a hotel for the evening. I had glanced at the prices the day before and was happy at the low cost. Not now! The price for a very low-end Econolodge-type minimalist hotel was almost $190 for the night. Wow! That caught me off guard.

We bit the bullet, paid for the hotel, learned that there was no free breakfast and toured the tourist walking

street.

We truly love visiting historical museums and sites, and St. Augustine has plenty. We look forward to a return visit. If this is your first time there, consider buying tickets to the on-off tour train. It is a great way to learn a lot and see a lot very quickly. It is pricey, no surprise, but if you buy your tix the evening before you can get a $5 discount.

Enjoy.