Security with a View

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April 25, 2023

Our winter road trip continues in St. Augustine:

After a great tour of Castillo de San Marcos and its bird’s eye views of Matanzas Bay, our water-views continued with a walk along the bay for a better look at the Bridge of Lions. We finished off this wonderful day with a magnificent meal and a stroll along St. George Street and through yet another security measure.

Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.
To start at the beginning of this series, visit Seeking the Sun 2023.

Visitor Information Center

Since you know how much we love Visitor Centers, today we parked in the $15 flat rate parking lot that was close by one. Our stay today wasn’t nearly as long as most of our VC visits, but there were some very cool exhibits and a nice gift shop.

A beautiful mosaic mural of an old world map was outside near the entrance, and was worth the stop on its own! We passed through the building and walked out the other entrance, which set us up nicely for our first stop at Castillo de San Marcos.

Public Burying Ground

After the onset of yellow fever in 1821, the “city fathers” realized that no place existed to bury non-Catholics. The cemetery inside the city gates would not allow it, so the city council initiated a search for a suitable lot for public burial of all “Protestant denominations of Christians”. They received permission from the United States to use this land. A burial fee of four dollars was established, with the city paying the expenses for the “indigent poor”.

The Old City Gate

The first photo below shows the old city gate as we approached from the north. The last two were taken after our long day as we walked back through the gate at the end of St. George Street. The gate (as well as the Castillo de San Marcos) are made of coquina stone – which is actually seashells!

Coquina – The Rock that Saved St Augustine

“A Fort Made Out of Seashells? Who would think that a fort made of seashells would last 300 years? Who would think that a fort made out of seashells would last three days under cannon fire? But the Castillo de San Marcos, made of local coquina stone, did just that. What exactly is this strange rock? How was it formed, and where did it come from? And how did this rock shape the history of St. Augustine?” ~ READ MORE

Wall of Defense

The earth-and-palm-log embankment in the first picture below is a replica of the Cubo Line – one of two defensive walls that enclosed the city. The Cubo Line marked St. Augustine’s northern edge and extended from the fort to the San Sebastian River – a half-mile away.

On the last day of January, this was an absolutely perfect day for a walk, with beautiful blue skies and cool breezes. For more history of the city’s defenses, check out The City Gate & Cubo Defense Line.

Castillo de San Marcos

Built by the Spanish in St. Augustine to defend Florida and the Atlantic trade route, Castillo de San Marcos National Monument preserves the oldest masonry fortification in the continental United States. The fort was obviously very strong and also very good looking (with great views), making for some very nice pictures!

The Sally Port

“The most vulnerable part of the fort is its entrance in [the photos below]. To protect it, the Spanish designed an elaborate set of defenses: a heavy grated gate called a “portcullis,” two drawbridges, and the ravelin. The larger drawbridge took three soldiers fifteen minutes to close and remained open except in times of danger. Soldiers closed the outer drawbridge at night when most of them returned to their homes in the town. The ravelin protected the fort’s front door.” ~ from the sign in the last photo below.

Living Conditions

Similar to Fort Macon in my previous post 300 Years of History, many of the casemates were open and staged to give visitor’s an idea of the living conditions during a soldier’s tenure at the fort. Interpretive panels were also available in the casemates with information about prominent people and weapons used at the time, as well as the many flags that have flown over the fort over the years.

The Parade Grounds

Although a visit to the fort is designed to be a self-directed one, there are rangers and volunteers in period dress around to help. They will pose for pictures, answer questions, and share stories on the life and experiences of the colonists who called this place home. Musket or cannon demonstrations occur on most weekends and there are special programs that occur throughout the year. Check the website for what may be happening during your visit.

A Virtual Tour of the fort gives several great aerial shots to get an idea of how big this place is! It also provides a few videos which are also helpful.

Up to the Views!

A few historic stairs will get you up to where the bird’s eye views are – they are well worth taking!

Speaking of Bird’s Eye Views

This seagull had no problem with my picture-taking for a while. And once I started admiring what he was admiring, I noticed the St. Augustine Lighthouse in the (way) distance – or closer in the last photo.

For an even closer close-up of Augie, check out There’s No Place Like Home. As it turned out, that was the only thing we saw on our previous visit to St. Augustine in 2020, just before the whole world shut down. There are several other lighthouses at the beginning of that blog that we snuck in on the way by. So scroll towards the end to see St. Augustine’s.

Water Views Continue to the Bridge of Lions

A Stroll in the Twilight

After a fabulous early dinner at Harry’s Seafood, Bar & Grille (to miss the rush), we strolled along St. George street past many more places to visit on our next trip. It appears that folks left their lights from “Nights of Lights” up a little past the event and I can see why! I was also very impressed by the gorgeous petunias that were blooming in glorious pots in the last photo! This is the last day of January for heaven’s sake! It’s almost the end of April in Wisconsin today and we’re still waiting!