Our home for last night and tonight is here at St. John’s RV Park in St. Augustine, Florida. The weather has been pretty awesome, warm and dry.

St Johns RV Park, #A4

The St. Augustine Lighthouse was our first stop today.  This is St. Augustine’s first and oldest brick structure, built in 1874 and still in use today.  We climbed all 219 steps to the top, oh yes we did, equivalent to climbing up a 14 story building.

St. Augustine Lighthouse

St. Augustine Lighthouse

The lens room still has the original 1st order Fresnel lens and is still rotating, ready to magnify the 1000-watt lightbulb into a signal visible from 25 miles away.

Light & Lens

St. Augustine Lighthouse

On the lighthouse courtyard we found these two guys building boats.  We also visited the Lighthouse Keeper’s house and museum and gift shop.

Boat Building

As we were walking back to the car we could feel that our legs were a little wobbly!  So time to sit down and enjoy a nice meal at Barnacle Bill’s Seafood Restaurant.

Barnacle Bill’s Seafood Restaurant

Here’s a business we just don’t see in Minnesota…Wild Hog Removal.  There are lots of wild hogs in the South and they can be a nuisance.  We keep our eyes open for them when we are hiking but have never seen one.

Wild Hog Removal

St. Augustine is loaded with history, and loaded with tourists.  The best way to get started is to take one of the various tour companies narrated tours.  We chose Old Town Trolley Tours.

Old Town Trolley Tours

St. Augustine is the oldest, continuously occupied European settlement in the continental United States. In 2015 they will celebrate the 450th anniversary of the founding of the city. There is so much history, so much to see, so much to do, so many restaurants, and so many shops!  Why not begin at the city gates!  Built in 1808 they guarded the north side of the city.

City Gates

There is no way I can include everything here in my little blog, and it would take several days to fully experience everything.  Here is some of what we saw today.

Oldest School House in the US

St. George Street

Hello Cutie

The Flagler College, a four-year liberal arts college, now occupies what used to be the Ponce de Leon Hotel, a luxury resort built by Henry Flagler in 1888.  We got tickets and took the guided tour.  Wonderful.

Flagler College, formerly the Ponce de Leon Hotel

The Lunch Room at Flagler College

After the tour we walked across the street to City Hall, which used to be the Alcazar Hotel built in the 1880’s also by Flagler.

City Hall Courtyard

On the waterfront is the Castillo De San Marcos.  Construction began in 1672 and took many years to complete.

Castillo De San Marcos

And there’s the Fountain of Youth, discovered by Ponce de Leon in 1513.

Fountain of Youth

Oh, there’s so much more….

• Gasoline Expense:  none
• Lodging Expense:   $24
• Parking & Tours:    $70