Road Trip
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (127563)
Gainesville, Florida
December 27, 2025 8:24am CST
The girlfriend and I are headed to St. Augustine, Florida today for an easy little road trip. St. Augustine is a historic city on the east coast of Florida, founded by the Spanish nearly 460 years ago. It's the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the continental US, and was established nearly 200 years before the US even became an independent nation. One of its most famous landmarks is the Castillo de San Marcos, a Spanish stone fortress that is nearly 300 years old. Today, it is a US National Historic Landmark, and open to visitors year round. It is managed by the US Park Service.
Anyway, that's not the reason we are going, although we'll probably visit the fort while we are there. We have two things we want to check off our bucket list today. First, we are going to visit the San Sebastián Winery, a local winery that produces some great wines made from muscadine grapes, a variety of grapes native to the southeastern United States. They do a wine tasting tour, something we love to experience each time we go, but mainly we want to stock up on my gf's favorite wine, a cream sherry they produce and sell only at the winery.
The second thing we want to do--and we'll have to wait until the sun goes down--is see all the Christmas lights, which St. Augustine calls "Nights of Lights." As many times as we've been to St. Augustine, we've never visited during the Christmas season and have never seen the beautiful lights strung all over the city. So I'm pretty excited about that.
What do you have planned for today? Are you still recovering from Christmas and/or Boxing Day?
In the photo is the St. Augustine Lighthouse, another favorite location of mine to visit when in St. Augustine.
17 people like this
16 responses
@LadyDuck (494309)
• Italy
28 Dec
@moffittjc - I am really sorry we did not visit, we have seen the French influence in Louisiana, particularly New Orleans and the Spanish influence in the south of California. I am sure that St. Augustine is an interesting little town to visit.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Dec
@LadyDuck What you see in St. Augustine with the Spanish influence if very similar to the French influence you see in Louisiana.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Dec
I'm sorry that you never had the chance to visit St. Augustine. It's such a beautiful and quaint little town, full of history and lore. Much of our nation's history is based on British perspectives/interpretations, so it is nice to see history (at least Florida history) from a Spanish perspective. The Spanish controlled Florida for a longer period of time than the US has been a nation, so we have some very long and rich Spanish heritage in our state.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Dec
I didn't really get any good photos to post, but the entire town participates. Public parks, the city square, the waterfront, all the downtown businesses, Flagler college, the museums, and even the neighborhoods all participate in the holiday lights. The entire city is lit up with holiday lights. Such a dazzling display, and none of it is tacky in any way.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Dec
@just4him It truly is a wonderful sight to see.
2 people like this
I’m just going to enjoy the two NFL football games today. @moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Dec
I can't believe in the hundreds of times I've been to St. Augustine that I've never been at Christmas time when they had all the lights up!
What NFL games are on today?
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (113798)
• United States
27 Dec
@moffittjc The Texans vs. Chargers and the Ravens vs. Packers. Playoff ramifications!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Dec
@AmbiePam The only team I like out of all of those is the Packers. Of course, I'm rooting for the Jags and the Bucs to make the playoffs!
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (169103)
• United States
27 Dec
I slept most of the day today.
I hope your trip turned out nice.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (169103)
• United States
28 Dec
@moffittjc I've been awake for about an hour and 15 minutes now. I've done dishes, cleaned counters and the stove. Then dirtied up the counter again and the stove and cleaned them again. We now have cooked burgers for lunch and supper later today.
I'm glad the day went well for you. 
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Dec
@DaddyEvil I've done nothing so far, except make coffee and play on myLot. lol
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Dec
I just got up, so I slept away more of my Sunday than I had planned. Our trip turned out much better than expected; we did more things than I had planned on doing; and it ended up being a great romantic day together.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (215083)
• United States
28 Dec
We had St. Augustine on our map for our aborted trip to the Keys. Oh well. I hope you have a great time. I have nothing planned for today. I've pretty much recovered from my food coma of Christmas Day!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Dec
@LindaOHio It’s the most crowded I have ever seen the town. Traffic was backed up for miles on every road leading into St. Augustine. I can only assume that tourists by the thousands were flocking there to see the Christmas lights at night.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (215083)
• United States
30 Dec
@moffittjc Wow! Sounds like Vegas. The traffic comes to a halt there as well.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (215083)
• United States
29 Dec
@moffittjc I'm glad you had a good time. I didn't know they would be so crowded; but it is winter after all.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (55378)
•
28 Dec
It sounds like a wonderful and special day for you both. I'm glad for you.
Our Christmas day was very quiet, and that's OK. I am simply thankful that we had Christmas Eve with my oldest and her husband.
St. Augustine is a place I love to visit, I hope you have the best time!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Dec
We had a better time than I had expected, it was more romantic than I anticipated, and we discovered some new things there that was fun experiencing. I hadn't planned on it, but we were able to take a nice, romantic walk on the beach.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Dec
@MarieCoyle It was a definite break from the frantic pace of life, and one we both needed. Now we move on to preparing for our vacation this coming week.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (55378)
•
28 Dec
@moffittjc
How nice for you, Jeff. I am so glad. Taking time from the frantic pace of life can mean everything, I hope you can do that again sometime soon.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (203646)
• United States
27 Dec
I love St. Augustine, if I ever become a snowbird, I would look for a place around there. It is truly a beautiful little city. They have muscadine grapes in NC..but I don't think there are any here in Virginia that I know about, but I could be wrong
2 people like this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Dec
I love St. Augustine as well, and have always said that if I ended up staying in Florida when I retired, that would be the place I would want to live. Unfortunately, it is super expensive to live there; we were looking at some cute little homes near the historic district, and they were all over a million dollars. Too much for me to ever afford!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 Jan
@snowy22315 Times have really changed. It's no longer cheap to live in Florida, due to the continued population explosion. They say over 1000 people move to Florida every day.
@xstitcher (38165)
• Petaluma, California
27 Dec
Going to go and take a dog to the dog park, and then come home and hopefully get something done around here.
2 people like this
@xstitcher (38165)
• Petaluma, California
27 Dec
@moffittjc I don't think that I'll be taking the decorations down until January, either.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Dec
@xstitcher I'll be heading out on a 9-day vacation next week, so since I didn't take down the decorations today, the next chance I'll even have to do it will be the second weekend in January.
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Dec
My options today were taking down all the Christmas decorations, or go to St. Augustine. I chose the more fun option. The decorations can wait until January. lol
@FourWalls (83425)
• United States
27 Dec
Ooh, so jealous! I love the stuffing out of St. Augustine!! Have a great time!
I’ve climbed that lighthouse, by the way.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Dec
I'm glad you've experienced St. Augustine. It's such a cool little town, full of history and lore. I almost always visit the lighthouse when I am there, but unfortunately we didn't have time on this trip to climb the lighthouse. The city was so busy and crowded due to all the tourists visiting, so I imagine there would have been some seriously long lines to get into the lighthouse.
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (39588)
• Toccoa, Georgia
28 Dec
We have only driven through St Augustine.
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (39588)
• Toccoa, Georgia
28 Dec
@moffittjc We were on that road, I think its called US 1 or A1A.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Dec
@LeaPea2417 Both go through St. Augustine! Lol. US 1 is west of the downtown area, and A1A takes you right past the Spanish fort,
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (130377)
• Marion, Ohio
27 Dec
It sounds like you have a very fun day planned. Nothing much here
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (130377)
• Marion, Ohio
27 Dec
@moffittjc Hope you get a nice breeze.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Dec
@wolfgirl569 As long as it's not raining, I'll be fine! Of course, it's cloudy here in Gainesville, it could be sunny in St. Augustine for all I know (it's 1.5 hours away).
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Dec
I really hope we have a fun day. I wish it was a little cooler though. But we'll probably have a decent breeze in St. Augustine since it's right on the coast. If it wasn't so overcast today, we might have planned on a few hours at the beach as well.
2 people like this
@RasmaSandra (94797)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
27 Dec
I love lighthouses glad you had such a nice trip, I am just hanging out by my PC.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Dec
I was hoping we'd have enough time to visit the lighthouse, but we had a lot of other things to accomplish/do. They have a cool event at the lighthouse called Sunset/Moonrise, it takes place every once in a while when the sun sets in the west at the same time the full moon rises in the east. It's extremely hard to get reservations to, because they only allow 10 people to go to the top of the lighthouse to view the sunset and moonrise. They also serve champagne and desserts at the top during the event. I have done it before with a past girlfriend, it is very romantic, and I hope to do it again someday with my current girl.
1 person likes this
@JESSY3236 (21637)
• United States
6 Jan
When I was little, my grandmother, my mother, and my great-aunt went St. Augustine. We saw the fountain of youth and drank from it.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Jan
It's funny, out of the hundreds of times I've been to St. Augustine, I've only been to the Fountain of Youth once. And like you, I drank from it while I was there. But for some reason I still seem to be getting older....
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 Jan
@JESSY3236 Maybe I need to go back and drink from it again!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Dec
@JudyEv very interesting that your country has also seen a rise of the smaller breweries. I guess the trend has spread worldwide.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Dec
We had a very fun time, although the small, quaint city was very packed with tourists visiting to see all the Christmas lights. We enjoyed the winery, and found out that there is a bourbon/whiskey distillery right around the corner, so we were able to experience both the winery and the distillery. We also got to take a nice romantic walk on the beach, which was completely unplanned.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (372811)
• Rockingham, Australia
29 Dec
@moffittjc Glad you enjoyed the time away. We seem to have a flood of boutique breweries which have opened up recently. Not sure about whiskey distilleries though.
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (54314)
• United States
27 Dec
Have a great time. I have been there as a child. I don’t remember it, but would like to go back.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Dec
If you ever get the chance, it's worth a visit. From the historic downtown area (St. George Street and vicinity), the fort, the lighthouse, the museums, the waterfront and beaches, it's such a beautiful place.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (127563)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Dec
I thought about doing that tomorrow, but the girls will kill me if I take them down now. But we'll be on vacation all next week and a few days into the new year, so if I wait to take all the decorations down, it will be in the first or second weekend of January.
1 person likes this
