Sunshine & Summertime

 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...