Sunshine & Summertime

There are 33 Ripley's Believe It or Not! museums across North America, but did you know that none of them were opened during Robert Ripley's lifetime? Or that the original and first odditorium is located in St. Augustine, Florida? My first visit to a Ripley's Odditorium was during my most recent trip to the Oldest City, and it piqued my curiosity about the history of the building and of Ripley himself. Castle Warden, shown above, was built in 1887 by William G. Warden of Philadelphia as a winter home. It's an imposing four stories of poured concrete Moorish revival architecture. Warden himself was partners with Henry Flagler and John D. Rockefeller in the Standard Oil Company, the president of the St. Augustine Gas & Electric Light Company, and the financial director of the St. Augustine Improvement Company. Because of Warden's wealth and influence, the castle home was a center of winter social events during his life and ownership. The castle remained in the War...

 Let me share with you upfront in one of my very first posts a couple of things: First, I'm partial to St. Augustine. My fiance and I bought some undeveloped land there about 8 months ago and we plan to build the place we'll retire there. As a result, you'll likely be inundated with many, many stories and references to my favorite Florida city, the oldest city in the United States. Second, we have a personal tradition of experimenting with local pizza places when we travel. It started with our first trip to St. Augustine 15 years ago, and we've continued this tradition everywhere we go.  I'm so excited to start this whole experience by sharing with you my all time favorite pizza place: Antonio's New York Style Pizza. Antonio's is a tiny pizza diner that doesn't look like much from the outside, but trust me when I say you won't be disappointed. They make their own dough and use homemade sauce and fresh ingredients.  They are located seconds from the p...