|
|
St. Augustine: U.S.'s oldest city filled with history
Step back in time to St. Augustine,
America’s oldest continually settled municipality, and feel as if you are caught
in a delicious time warp. The town dates back to the Spanish conquistadores
of the sixteenth century. Ponce de Leon himself landed here, looking for a sip of
youth, they say, and by 1565, soldiers, their families and merchants were busily
building a community of coquina rock, mortar and cypress wood. Colonial Spanish
Quarter recreates the time, circa 1740. Costumed re-enactors authentically demonstrate
cooking techniques, blacksmithing, candle-making and other crafts.
At Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth park, you can see the excavation of the actual
stone cross Ponce de Leon and his men laid out in the sand upon reaching Florida
shores. Have a sip of "youth" while you’re at it. Can’t hurt – look what
it’s done for preserving this town. Nearby, Nombre de Dios marks the first Spanish
Catholic Mass and mission on American soil. Massive Castillo de San Marcos fort
has warded off enemies for 300-plus years. Spanish soldier re-enactors still shoot
off its cannons.
Despite fires and hurricanes, much of the original walled city remains in the restoration
district. "Old" is highly revered here, where you can visit The Oldest
House (1720), The Oldest Wooden School House in the USA (1763), The Oldest Store
(1840), and the Old Jail (1891), mostly within the Old Gates of the Old City. Narrow,
uneven streets in the 144-block Restoration Area lead to colonial architectural
treasures holding gift boutiques, restaurants, pubs, ice cream shops, antiques shops,
bed and breakfast inns and historic attractions. To tour it all, hop on a horse-drawn
carriage, trolley or miniature train. Or walk the streets at night to experience
the ghostly side of this spirited city. Other specialized tours explain St. Augustine’s
rich architectural heritage. It reflects the town’s eras of occupation by later
the British and colonial America. Railroad mogul Henry Flagler exerted the strongest
architectural influence when he built magnificent hotels for his passengers to paradise.
The Lightner Museum, formerly Flagler’s Hotel Alcazar, displays one man’s collection
of turn-of-last-century treasures, including Tiffany and other works of art glass.
An antiques mall makes a splash in the hotel’s remarkable old indoor swimming pool,
a wonder in its day. Flagler’s building boom also resulted in glorious churches
demonstrating the Gilded Age-era predilection for imitation with exotic arches,
towers, Byzantine spires, elaborate gold capitols and Mediterranean bell towers.
Other attractions
around the Old City balance the historic with the modern in the form of contemporary
theater, opera, art galleries, Potter’s Wax Museum, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
Museum and a chocolate factory. Restaurants range from a Spanish bakery that uses
heirloom recipes to a modern microbrewery. Festivals celebrate the multi-faceted
aspects of St. Augustine’s past and present, including monthly art walk nights and
annual costumed torchlight re-enactments of British occupation.
Outside the Old City walls, you will still encounter historic sites, along with
St. Augustine’s natural treasures and renowned golf resorts. Across the Intracoastal
Waterway on St. Augustine Beach, St. Augustine
Alligator Farm Zoological Park is the state’s oldest (circa 1893) and a fun place
to take the family. Then climb the 219 steps to the top of a 120-year-old black-and-white
spiral striped lighthouse and visit its museum and have a picnic in the park nearby.
The beach is home to Anastasia State Park, where beachers, fishermen and surfers
gather. Fort ruins and putt-putt golf centers round out the attractions along this
stretch of wide, hard-packed sand.
Scenic & Historic A1A Scenic Highway runs northward, bringing you to serious
golfing territory. For decades, the resorts of Ponte
Vedra Beach have given the area its reputation for professional and
amateur golf. Ponte Vedra Beach Inn & Club was among Florida’s first fine golf
resorts, since 1928. The Marriott at Sawgrass is the official hotel of the Tournament
Players Club and home of The Players Championship; it also hosts professional tennis.
Mecca for the obsessed golfer (is there any other kind?), World Golf Village has
it all –World Golf Hall of Fame, two celebrity-corroborated (Palmer and Nicklaus,
Snead and Sarazen) championship courses, PGA Tour Golf Academy, an IMAX theater
and a Renaissance Resort with its own virtual reality golf simulator.
|
|