 We followed I10 from Houston, along the Gulf Coast, all the way to Jacksonville, Florida. We had come full circle - from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific and back to the Atlantic. Unfortunately, the timing of our trip kept us from really enjoying the beaches. It was too chilly most of the time, and early December in Florida is nice, but again, too chilly for swimming. Instead we settled for searching for seashells, exploring beautiful St. Augustine, and visiting with our favorite former neighbors.
Our friends in Jacksonville are a Navy family, so the boys got a
personal tour of the base, including the helicopters. That was a real
treat for them. Mason now thinks he may grow up to be a helicopter
pilot. Mr. Brad made a big impression! We spent lots of time catching
up and letting our kids play together. They had been constant
companions when we were neighbors. We really hated to see them leave.
Lucky for us we left soon after, otherwise I think it would have been a
lot harder on our boys.
One of our best trips that week was a jaunt to the Castillo de San
Marcos in St. Augustine. This fort was
originally built by the Spanish to defend their claim to the New
World. During one demonstration we learned that when Ponce de Leon
came to Florida, although he did not find the Fountain of Youth
(although you can supposedly visit it in St. Augustine), he did
discover something very valuable. He learned that there is a current
in the water, called the Gulf Stream, that runs past Florida, up the
coast of North America, then turns toward Spain. This discovery was
very important because back then ships were powered by wind and
currents. Around that same time, a great deal of precious metals had
been discovered in South America. Spanish ships began using the Gulf
Stream to speed their transport of the valuable cargo home to Spain.
The problem was, pirates in the Atlantic Ocean soon figured out what
was aboard those and began attacking them. So, the Castillo de San
Marcos was built to protect the Spanish fleet from pirates off the
coast of Florida. Interesting. Later, the Castillo was involved in
many other battles, but was never defeated. St. Augustine, our
country's oldest city, is definitely worth visiting. Very quaint.
Very charming.
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We're excited to be able to partner