Day 19 – (05/21) St. Augustine, FL (Day 1)

Weather – ditto from yesterday, except the temperature reached 95.  The love bugs really bugged us for most of the day.  They disappeared by the time we got to St. Augustine.

The trip today was only 155 miles.  The route: FL A1A north to I-95, north on I-95 to exit 284, east on FL 100 to Flagler Beach, north on FL AIA to St. Augustine, west on FL 207 to I-95, north on I-95 to FL 16 at exit 318, west on FL 16 to Stagecoach RV Park.  The twisting and turning came because we followed part of the National Geographic A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway (P 136).

Highlights

Flagler Beach to Palm Coast – this coastal route (A1A) was beautiful.  The homes became newer and larger as we passed Beverly Beach and made it to Palm Coast.  We think this area competes with Vero Beach for the most desirable we’ve seen.

Flagler Beach

We decided to explore a bit and drove to the old town area of St. Augustine.  We walked St. George Street and took a quick look at Castillo de San Marcos National Monument.

Beginning of the Old Spanish Trail to San Diego

Entrance to Colonial Spanish Quarter

St. George Street

Carol knocks at the oldest wooden schoolhouse

More shops on St. George Street

Castillo de San Marcos Fort
(we'll tour here tomorrow)

Bridge of Lions over Matanzas River

We crossed when the drawbridge raised

It raised for this big guy

Barb Stevenson (Carol’s best friend from college) suggested dinner at O’Steen’s Restaurant.  They are famous for fried shrimp … we discovered why.  We had the best shrimp dinner ever!  The facility is unassuming, doesn’t take reservations, doesn’t serve beer or liquor, only accepts cash and is very successful.  There was an hour wait when we called at 3pm on Saturday. 

This is it.  Impressed?

O'Steen's sign-in and waiting area.  Nice, huh?

They have an interesting relationship with The British Pub a little way down the street.  Here’s how it works.  (1) Walk up to O’Steen’s window and put your name on the list.  (2) They tell you the wait time ... our wait was an hour.  (3) You can wait on a bench in the parking lot or they suggest you go somewhere, have a drink, etc. and they’ll call when the table is ready.  They will call The British Pub and let them know your table is ready if you choose to go there.  Another option is to order carry-out (it’s faster), take it to The British Pub and have a drink with dinner.  How do you spell symbiosis?

We preferred to wait here

Dave (the proprietor) was most gracious

The Pub had lots of fun stuff ... including darts.

Oops!

We tested OnStar today by locking our keys and cell phones in the car.  A neighboring camper loaned us a cell phone, we called OnStar and they magically unlocked the doors.  Our embarrassment is only slightly exceeded by our gratitude for a service that works when needed.

We're going to stay here another day to do laundry and see more sights.