Sunshine & Summertime

 The St. Augustine Lighthouse and Keeper's House serve as both a scenic attraction and a maritime museum. Still an active aid to navigation on the North Florida coast, the Lighthouse and Maritime Museum is a private, non-profit museum dedicated to its mission "to preserve, present, and keep alive the stories of the Nation's Oldest Port as symbolized by our working St. Augustine Lighthouse." Standing 165 feet above sea level, the Lighthouse overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and Matanzas Bay from Anastasia Island. Visitors can climb the 219 steps to the top of the Lighthouse for an incredible view of the city of St. Augustine and the ocean. You'll have the opportunity to experience life at a Light Station through the exhibits at the Keeper's House, stroll through the grounds, check out the gift shop, or take a "Behind the Scenes" guided tour, included with admission. "Behind the Scenes" tours are offered on the hour from 11am to 3pm every day. It ...

 As I'm sure I've mentioned, we like to try new restaurants whenever we stay out of town. Since we're planning a move to St. Augustine, we're all about trying different places every time we visit so that we get to know our new home. My fiance and I were both working in the restaurant business when Covid hit, so we spent the end of our Ohio shutdown on Anastasia Island, since Florida had just reopened. It was during this trip that we began formalizing our plans to move to Florida. The Salt Life Food Shack is situated just across the street from the St. Johns Fishing and Ocean Pier, so when we saw it as we walked up to the street from the beach, and saw an open restaurant for the first time in two months, we had to give it a try.  We enjoyed a spectacular lunch on their rooftop patio with the breeze blowing off the ocean. Since then, I've done a little research into the place, primarily due to my own curiosity about the "Salt Life" logo emblazoned on the fro...

 As with all things in the architecturally stunning city of St. Augustine, the Bridge of Lions is more than just a way to get from downtown to Anastasia Island. It's a work of art in and of itself, and that's not by accident. St. Augustine and Anastasia Island sit on the Matanzas Bay, and in the early 1900s the crossing to the island was a wooden trolley bridge, alternately called simply "The Bridge to Anastasia Island," or "The South Beach Railroad Bridge." At that time, the beach on the island was called South Beach, and people took the South Beach Railroad to get to the beach once they had crossed the bridge. This bridge could be opened up to allow ships to pass through and were charged a toll. This bridge was prone to breakdowns, however, so in the 1920s, a man by the name of Henry Rodenbaugh stepped up to design a more reliable bridge. The Florida land boom was erupting by then, and with the advent and popularity of more affordable automobiles, tourism ...

 When my fiance and I stay in St. Augustine, we always stay on Anastasia Island, where St. Augustine Beach is actually located. We love being within walking distance of the beach and the pier. In fact, St. Johns County Ocean & Fishing Pier is often one of our first and most regular stops. There's a lot of personal history for my fiance there, as his grandparents regularly visited and had their photographs posted up in the pier gift shop for many, many years (it actually might still be there, I forgot to check on our last visit). There's also a lot of history in general regarding the pier, just as there is with everything in St. Augustine. In the 1800s, Anastasia Island was actually known as South Beach, and from the city of St. Augustine, beachgoers would take a ferry over the Matanzas River to the Island, then a donkey cart over dirt roads to the lighthouse. Later, a wooden bridge was built over the river, and visitors took the South Beach Railroad from the bridge to the b...

 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...