What. A. Day!!!!!!!

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Yeah, buddy!!! Vacations are made of days like this. And oh! What! A! Day!! I’ve mentioned before that St. Augustine is one of my favorite places. I’ve been here countless times, and you can add today to that countless count. Since parking is at a premium in the historic district, I opted to ride the tour tram. While I think it was a little overpriced ($41, including tax), it was worth it. The photos are mostly from the trolley as we ambled around the historical district. I only got off once (which I’ll discuss later). The tram went past a number of areas related to the Spanish settlement in the 16th century, as well as a lot of the things that Henry Flagler built. (Since I spent my teenage years in Florida I got to know Flagler’s name very well; however, you might not know him. He was an oil magnate, a co-founder of Standard Oil. He moved to Florida for his wife’s health, fell in love with the state, and started making a lot of impact. His accomplishments include the railroad that went to Key West, damaged beyond repair during the Labor Day Hurricane in 1935.) The long photo (right) is of Memorial Presbyterian Church, a church that Flagler had built in memory of his daughter who had died in infancy. He is buried there, as is his first wife and the infant daughter. It’s a gorgeous place, and I promise you that photo doesn’t begin to do it justice. The top photo on the left is the Bridge of Lions. It’s a drawbridge with statues of lions, and one of the main tourist attractions in the city. The lions on this (the west side) approach to the bridge are marble, and the final gift to the city from Dr. Andrew Anderson, who died before they were officially dedicated in 1924. The lions on the east side of the bridge (not shown) are granite. They are exact replicas of the Medici lions. In the middle you see the “Old Senator” tree. It’s a live oak, over 600 years old. The oldest tree in the oldest city! The bottom photo is the only one I didn’t take on the trolley. It’s the bay (Matanzas Bay) with the span of the Bridge of Lions, taken from the top of the Old Fort. That was the only place I left the tram to visit, and I’ll discuss that more soon. What. A. Day!!!!!! PHOTO COLLAGE: (Left Upper) Bridge of Lions western approach (Left Middle) Old Senator oak tree (Left Bottom) Bay and bridge from the Fort (Right) Memorial Presbyterian Church