DISTILLERY AND WINERY FREE TOUR

Wednesday, September 23 – We had three more things we wanted to do in St. Augustine, FL, before departing on Thursday. Since it was pouring down rain, we made a quick photo stop at the Oldest House. The "Oldest House" title dates from a period when the house was believed to have been built in the 16th century.

Next up was the St. Augustine Distillery. This is a small local distillery of Bourbon, Vodka, Gin, and Rum. They have only been in operation for a year and a half and only distribute in the state of Florida. They are a brand new business collaborative; a group of locals that share a dream. Everything from the sugar cane to the citrus is local.

There is a very nice museum that we visited while waiting for the tour to begin.

The tour begins with a short movie giving us an overview of how the distillates are produced. Following the movie we were escorted through the facility on a tour. This is a short tour taking less than ten minutes. The next stop is the tasting room.

They do everything by hand…even putting the cork in each bottle.

Our tour guide acted as barmaid mixing a delicious Florida Moose, their take on the well-know Moscow Moose. She used St. Augustine Distillery Vodka. It was delicious.

Our guide makes crushed ice the old-fashion way.

Our next drink was a Gin and Tonic. Marsha was only one of two in the crowd that does not like Gin. Our guide guaranteed this would be unlike any Gin and Tonic we tasted in the past, and she was correct. The local use of oranges and grapefruits is obvious in the flavor and a good improvement in our tasting. Best Gin and Tonic we have ever had!

We chased the G & T down with a neat taste of the Vodka and then a little Gin. Both were tasty, and we enjoyed them. The Bourbon is not expected to be ready until closer to Christmas.

All their alcohol and bar products are available at the gift shop. Average price is about $23/bottle. It is also sold locally and in some locations throughout Florida. It currently is not being shipped outside the state. It is the #2 place to visit on TripAdvisor. It was a really nice stop.

Our next stop was the San Sebastian Winery. Another free tour.

This too is a small operation selling most of their wine locally. This tour also began with a short video followed by a tour of the winery and then a stop in the tasting room.

They cork their bottles by hand also.

The wine tasting in itself was pretty extensive. Our sommelier was excellent. He explained that there are 5 S’s to wine tasting….See, Smell, Swirl, Sniff, Sip. We were given tastes of four different wines, plus a port and a sherry. We found them all pretty good, except one.

We showed are appreciation by purchasing two bottles to go! Marsha will save them for our wine tasting party next summer back in Ohio. We already have the theme for the party – Florida wines.

A mention about the weather. So far we are not a real fans of the weather here in the Northeast part Florida. It's been VERY humid. Temperatures haven't been really too unbearable with highs in the 80's and lows in the 70's, (It would be nice if it cooled down a little more at night.) but combined with the high humidity, it makes it pretty uncomfortable for doing much of anything outside. We don't particularly like sitting in the RV. Much prefer relaxing on the patio, but with the humidity even Bella, our cat, can only take about an hour at most before she's wanting to return to the AC. Maybe things will improve as we move South. Marsha has just about had it with “bad hair days.” :-)

This morning, we hook-up and headed to Hobe Sound, Florida. It’s located between Daytona and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We plan on spending most of our stay relaxing on several of the many beaches in the area.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

SUN ON A BEACH

Tuesday, September 22 – – Today was beach day! We arrived to a nearly deserted beach around
9 a.m. We like arriving early so we can get in plenty of sun before it gets too dang hot. Nice to have miles and miles of beautiful beach to walk along without thousands of people.

We did test the water, and it was pleasantly comfortable. Not too cold or not too hot. We spent the day relaxing, reading, strolling the beach and people watching.

It cracked us up that the two times we went for a walk upon returning to our chairs people had set-up less than ten feet away. What's wrong with these people? There's miles of beach here folks! Just relax, we'll pack up our stuff and move down the beach.....jeesh! (end of rant :-)

When Marsha walked over to the restrooms, look what was looking up at here by the steps.

We never thought we would see this in Florida.

We had enough sun shortly after 1 p.m. and headed back to the RV park at the St. Augustine Elks Lodge. On the way back, we stopped for a Kodak moment at the St. Augustine Lighthouse. It was difficult to get a good picture without paying for a tour. We weren't willing or is it too cheap for that, so we did the best we could.

Another RV pulled-in today making it five total. Not sure if they are full or not. There are several more RV hookups in the weeds beside us, but they look like they haven't been used for quite some time. Guess we'll have to wait and see if anyone attempts to use them.

Whenever we do a hike or a long walk, we rely on our iPhones to let us know how many steps we took and how many miles we walked/hiked. According to our iPhones when we did our walking tour of St. Augustine, we walked over 8.55 and took 18,462 steps. If that sounds too overwhelming for you, there are all kinds of trolley tours and carriage rides available. We considered taking one just to hear the driver's description of the sights, but we really enjoy stopping whenever we choose and seeing the sights at our own pace.

Marsha found the first thing she doesn’t like about Florida…the humidity. She keeps saying that she is having the worse hair day EVER. She says if she lived her she would have to cut her hair short. That ain’t happening, so I guess we won’t be moving to Florida in the near future.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

MORE OF ST. AUGUSTINE

Monday, September 21 (cont.) - Of course, what would a visit to St. Augustine be without stopping at the Fountain of Youth. We asked several friends about visiting this place, and we got mixed reviews. No one was wild about it, so we didn’t drink from the Fountain of Youth.  Guess we will just have to deal with looking old.

While at that end of town, we visited the Old Jail and Old Town. We just walked around and took it all in. Marsha did contribute to the local economy.

Actually where she belongs!

We visited the Old Drugstore that is now a wax museum of all things. On the inside are lots and lots of items that were recovered from the original store. An interesting stop.

The Oldest Wooden School House is a preserved building which dates to early 1700's. The living area transformed into a classroom for the Minorcans.

On the grounds of Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum of oddities and curiosities, we visited David. I don’t think he knew we were coming. He wasn’t dressed for guests.

We walked through the City Gates built in 1739 guarding the north side of the city and onto the oldest street in the USA…Aviles. Its original name was Hospital Street because of the Spanish Military Hospital and other hospitals were located here through the centuries. This section of the walled colonial city has been continuously occupied since the 16th century. It represents the location of the 1565 settlement of St. Augustine.

Cannon ball marks can still be seen on the wall.

Castillo De San Marcos is a Spanish fort begun in 1672 and stood firm against English attacks and helped Spain to hold Florida for many years. During the America Revolution, it was British stronghold. Later it became a battery in the US coastal defense system. This fort guards the port of St. Augustine and sits on the Matanzas Bay.

These past two posts can only whet your whistle for a visit to St. Augustine. There is so much more that we saw and did. Put it on your bucket list. You will be happy you did!

The End

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon.

THE NATION’S OLDEST CITY…ST. AUGUSTINE, FL

Monday, September 21 – We had a big day planned sightseeing in St. Augustine this morning as we headed out before 9 a.m. One thing to warn anyone considering a visit to St. Augustine, FL, is the roads are narrow. Really narrow if, like us, you're driving a dually pick-up truck. Even in their visitor’s brochure it reads….With streets and traffic patterns established in the 1600s, St. Augustine is fascinating for pedestrians but often frustrating for drivers. The good thing is there is plenty of parking available. We paid $10 for all day parking. While sightseeing, we did see a nice lot on the Flagler College campus for $5 but on the other hand, we saw some lots for $12 too!

St. Augustine has plenty of history to explore -- 450 years of it, to be exact, so our first stop was Flagler College. Flagler College is a four year liberal arts college that resides in the former Ponce de Leon Hotel, a luxury resort built by railroad magnate, Henry Flagler in 1888.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

The outside architect is gorgeous!
   

The fence around the campus is the most unique we have ever seen.

What a magnificent building. It was built as a hotel for wealthy visitors stopping in St. Augustine. The college has pumped over $58 million into renovations over the years. It is truly a very beautiful building and campus. They do have tours, but the times did not work out for us. They main floor is the only place open to the public.

The ceiling.

After stopping for a coffee and bagel at a nice little shop just off campus, we walked past many beautiful churches, as well.

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Augustine. Gorgeous!

The ceiling is outstanding.

Unfortunately for Marsha, all the churches were closed but The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Augustine.

Mission Nombre de Dios and Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche traces its origins to the founding of the City of St. Augustine. It was here on September 8, 1565, 55 years before the pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock, Pedro Menendez de Aviles founded the town of St. Augustine and Nombre de Dios mission. On the same date, Fr. Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales held high the cross and celebrated the first parish Mass. This is the site where western culture and Christian faith took root in our country. Amazing!

The bronze statue of Father Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales is 11 feet tall. The stainless steel cross in the background rises two hundred and eight feet high and stands as a sentinel over the Mission and a “Beacon of Faith” for all who pass.

 

The present chapel was reconstructed in 1915, and enshrines a replica of the original statue of Nuestra Señora de la Leche y Buen Parto – Our Lady of the Milk and Happy Delivery. Throughout its existence, the Shrine has remained a comforting place of prayer for mothers-to-be, for families, for special intentions and for those seeking to strengthen their faith.

This is just the beginning of our 7.62 mile walk around St. Augustine. We will continue the tour of this magnificent city in our next post.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!