Our Great Loop Adventure

Our second day in New Smyrna (Thursday, March 13) was spent washing, cleaning, and buying groceries. We had entertainment as we sat on the back of the boat having a beverage. There were several pelicans having a feeding frenzy while the fishermen were cleaning their catch and throwing the scraps to the birds. Friday we docked at Halifax Harbor in Daytona. It is bike week and there were large gatherings of motorcyclists all over the city. We rode our bikes into town, which really only consists of four of five blocks on the Halifax River. Since we did not have a car, we did not cross the river and see Daytona Beach. On Saturday we left the marina after tossing our bathroom keys into a net held by a dock attendant at the office. We continued north passed Ormand and Flagler beaches before entering the Fox Cut, a narrow channel with communities of homes interspersed among marshes. Docking at our next marina, Marineland north of Palm Coast was an adventure because of the short docks and the need to toss stern lines onto posts as you bring the boat into the slip. Leon, who had his boat the marina, hopped on the Summer Recess after we got a pump out and did the honors. The short docks also posed a challenge to me when I got off and on the boat. We walked to the beach. We were to surprised to see lines of large boulders perpendicular to the beach. We figured there were placed there to prevent erosion. We also took a hike in the Matanzas River National Preserve.While walking, we came across a turtle sunning himself, we were able to get close for a picture before it decided to move back into the underbrush. On Sunday again Leon and our dock neighbor, Chuck, helped us to back the boat out. Thank God for good samaritans. We made our way to St. Augustine where, with gusty gusty winds, I successfully caught the mooring ball the first time. We took the dinghy to shore and checked in at the marina. We then began the first of three days exploring this historic town. St. Augustine was founded in 1565 as a Spanish military outpost and is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the United States. Spanish Renaissance architecture can be seen all over the city. We started by walking down St. George Street where for blocks there are many shops and restaurants. We, of course found The Bunnery, a great coffee shop. For our first tour we went to the Colonial Quarter, which traced the history of St. Augustine from the 16th through the 18th Centuries. We saw a Spanish caravelle being built, a blacksmith shop, an armsmith shop accompanied by a musket demonstration, a soldier's home, a print shop and other interesting exhibits. We then visited the museum in the Government House and passed the oldest wooden school house, made of cypress and cedar. Finally, we saw the Cathedral of St. Augustine. The interior is filled with beautifully carved wood, frescoes, and beautiful stained glass windows. Sunday night was filled with storms and we awoke to rain on Monday morning. There was a break in the rain late Monday morning so we ventured, complete with slickers, to shore again. The rains came and went all day. Our first stop was Flagler College. The buildings are absolutely beautiful. The central building was once the Ponce de Leon Hotel, which was built by Henry Flagler, one of the founders of Standard Oil, as well as a railroad pioneer with a great interest in Florida's east coast. The hotel was completed in 1888 and the college was founded in 1968. A female dorm as well as a cafeteria and administrative offices are housed in the hotel. Again there are great examples of woodwork and stained glass windows. Fifteen buildings were added to the campus in the same style as the hotel. Across the street is the Lightner Museum. It was the Alcazar Hotel, which was also built by Flagler as an annex to the Ponce de Leon containing ball rooms, saunas and a pool. The Alcazar was purchased by Otto C. Lightner, a Chicago Publisher, in 1946 to house his extensive collection of Victoriana. Everything from buttons to matchbox covers, to cut glass, to furniture, to cigar labels and on and on and on. When we got back to the dinghy it began pouring rain and by the time we got the dinghy back to the boat, drained and covered it, we (mostly Tony) were soaked to the skin. Monday night agin was stormy, but today we only had intermittent rain. We moved the boat from the mooring ball to the marina. Our sightseeing began with a four mile walk to and from the St. Augustine Lighthouse. (We had been lead to believe it was just a short walk.) The original watch tower was built by the Spanish in 1737. However, the present lighthouse was completed in 1874 as an aid to navigation with a beacon visible 25 miles away on a clear night. It is 140 ft. high and 219 steps to the top (Tony climbed up to take two photos). The grounds also has a keeper's cottage. However, the lighthouse was automated in 1955. After returning from the lighthouse, we toured Castillo de San Marcos, the Spanish Fort in St. Augustine was started in 1672 and completed in 1695. One of the most interesting things about the fort was the construction material. It is called coquino, which is a form of limestone containing millions of small shells. The coquino occurs naturally on Anastasia Island, which is across the river from St. Augustine. The rock was a wonderful material to build the fort from because it absorbed the shock from cannon balls striking it without cracking or collapsing. We have thoroughly enjoyed our visit. This has been a highlight of our adventure.