Florida Trip, Day 1

I’m back from my beachy fun in Southern Florida and back into the real world. I am glad to report that I survived my first day back at work. It seems that first day back is usually a killer. Yet I'm alive and have tons of photos and tales of the trip from snorkeling in Key Largo to sunsets in Key West, so I will begin with Day 1 of the trip.

Now just to put this into perspective, the drive directly down to Key West from my home is 846.2 miles away. (New York City is 880.8 miles!) Of course, I did more than just drive the direct route. Adding St. Augustine, a drive through the Everglades, and all the island hopping from Long Key to Key Largo and to Key West came to a grand total of 2148.7 miles driven on this trip! That’s a round trip to Boston, Ma or a one way trip to California!

That being said, Day 1 of my trip was mostly just the drive to Homestead, Florida where Best Friend and I spent the night. We did make a stop for a couple of hours in St. Augustine, the oldest city in the US. (founded in 1586) I fell in love with the place when I first visited there about 15 or so years ago, but Best Friend had never been there and I was looking forward to showing her around. The city has that Savannah/Charleston, SC feel about it except that the architecture is rich in Spanish influence whereas the other two cities have that old English and French feel about it.

I didn't take that many pictures here (at least not many for me) on this trip because I have so many of them from previous trips. But here are a few of them...
This is the Castillo de San Marcos Fort, built by the Spanish in 1672. This is one of my favorite coastal forts, not only because it it is so old, but because it is built of Coquina (a locally quarried limestone formed from little sea shells bonding together) rather than the usual red brick.







Here's the Old City Gate which leads down St. George Street. This street is comprised of restored buildings of the old town. While quite touristy, it's still very charming and I always enjoy a stroll down this street.





A view of St. George Street.








Further down St. George Street.








The oldest wooden school house in the U.S. (Don't you just love it when people step right into your pictures even though they clearly can see you are about to snap a shot?)






The Old Mill which is now The Old Mill Tavern. They have pretty good burgers and sandwiches here. (Or at least from what I remember. It's been a long time since I have eaten here.)





<---And this was the upsetting part of the visit for me. This bridge is the Bridge of Lions, a beautiful draw bridge graced with lion statues that guard the entrance on either side. It wasn't just the construction that upset me, but the fact that the lions weren't there! Where did the lions go? I'm sure that once construction is complete, the lions will be placed back in their rightful spot. But where are they right now? I was very sad about this!



Here are some boats on the harbor. I'll bet they were all sad that the lions aren't there anymore, too.





After leaving St. Augie, we pushed further southward for Homestead. We would've been there much earlier than we actually arrived IF IT WEREN'T FOR ALL THE FREAKIN' TRAFFIC and road construction between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami!!! It is not a hidden fact that I detest Atlanta traffic, but the mess I ran into on this night made being stuck on I-285 or the downtown connector feel like a cruise through the country! I am sad to say that on this very night I began to understand and identify with road rage.

But alas, Best Friend found us an exit and got us onto US 1, which lead us to our cozy hotel in Homestead. We needed all the rest we could get because Day 2 was going to be packed with adventure.

Details (which are much more interesting) from Day 2 are coming soon!