St. Augustine

Since we had an extra day in our schedule before we could check into Walt Disney World, Rick arranged for an overnight stay in St. Augustine. An historic city, I’ve always wanted to visit there, especially from an architectural standpoint. The sign at the city limits says it was founded in 1565, apparently by Ponce de Leon.
We left Eagle Roost in Lake Park, FL about 9:30 this morning. We took our time getting ready and then made the short trip to St. Augustine (about three hours total). Rick called lunch at Cracker Barrel near Jacksonville. We had that timed just right so we would arrive at the campground at check-in time: 1PM. Good thing they gave us specific directions to get here. It isn’t easy dragging this Big Rig through the twists and turns of the city streets. Once we got to the campground, it was worth the effort (North Beach Camp Resort). The campsites are tucked within palmetto shrubs with little or no visibility from site to site. The roads are sand, the sites are sand, but the views are wonderful and are in walking distance of the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the bay on the other end with water access.
We parked the camper and then drove downtown to sightsee in the Man Truck (F350 dually). I had flashbacks of Charleston, SC where there was very little room to park or pass in the narrow streets. I think if we had another day we could have parked and done a little walking. Since we only had a few hours, Rick drove through the streets while I snapped pictures. We did find a place to park at the “Castillo de San Marco” Fort. Grandma Creech sat down on the park bench while Rick and I walked inside just in time to watch them touch off the cannons. Gr Creech had no idea what was about to happen! BOOM! We fully expected to find her passed out on the bench! But no, she said she was not surprised at the shot after seeing the cannons on top of the fort. Smart lady. After our visit to historic downtown we headed to…Where else?? Wal-Mart! I wanted to stock-up before heading into WDWorld where everything costs more!
We stopped at the camper then headed for an early dinner on the beach at The Reef restaurant. Of course we all are shrimp lovers and we each ordered our favorites in honor of Bubba Gump: Fried shrimp, broiled shrimp, sautéed shrimp (with fettuccine and sun dried tomatoes). MMM! Even the broccoli was yummy. (Grandma Creech says so and she doesn’t even like broccoli!) We are sitting here in a food coma trying to keep our eyes open until 9 PM.
Tomorrow to Walt Disney World!