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Published: August 7th 2022
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Mom and I were leveling up our morning routine by taking our breakfast to the outside patio. We would now eat while listening to the waves and breathing in the Atlantic air. The harsh New York winter was melting away from our memories with every absorbed ray of sunshine. Our St. Augustine itinerary for the day was Castillo de San Marcos, historic downtown, and finally a ride out to the mythic Fountain of Youth.
Castillo de San Marcos was part of the National Park Service so once again we were subjected to covid bureaucracy. Even though, it was quite a large open-air fort they would only let in 100 visitors at a time. This led to a long line forming outside, given the fact that they wouldn’t let one group enter until an equal number of people had exited. Luckily, I had read up on the situation and had gotten there relatively early so the wait in line only took 15 minutes. I got a stamp in my national parks passport to commemorate the visit and headed in.
Castillo de San Marcos was built in 1695 by the Spanish to defend their new colony of Florida as well as
their Atlantic trade routes from foreign marauders. It is the oldest stone fort in North America. Over its history it changed hands many times, but never by force and always as the result of a treaty. The fort went from Spain, to Britain, back to Spain, to the United States, to the Confederacy, and finally back to the United States in remarkably peaceful fashion.
We were required to wear masks the entire time we were in the fort. This was not a pleasent feeling in the broiling Florida sunshine, and if I’m being honest did take away from the whole experience. There were a couple of different levels with rooms down below and a top deck of the fort which had great views of the scenic surroundings. Mom found a bench to sit on while I wandered around to each far-flung defensive corner of the fort. The fort contained many spectacular cannons throughout, and I had fun imagining myself defending the Castillo from dastardly invading forces.
It was a little hot for us, but we didn’t want to give up our precious parking space so we walked to St Augustine’s historic district on foot. Not too far, but
we always have to be wary of Mom overexerting herself. There were many people in the narrow colonial streets. It was the first time since the pandemic began, where I was in a crowd of people where over half of them weren’t wearing masks. We were all there to have a good time and be around our fellow humans once again.
The target we had in mind was a highly recommended Spanish/Cuban restaurant. Upon entering, the hostess informed us that it was going to be a 20-minute wait. We didn’t care. We had walked a long way and wanted to eat here. I gave her my phone number, so she could text me when a table was ready. However, I soon realized that my phone was still in the car. I walked back up to the hostess to tell her this crucial detail and point out where we were sitting in the lobby. To my amazement, she said that someone had just canceled and that we could be seated right way. Buena fortuna!
We had an absolutely delightful young waitress, Ines. She spoke with a thick accent from her native Venezuela. She was very hardworking while also being
theatrical in her expressions. Mom mentioned to her that she had a Venezuelan roommate in college. Ines said that Mom’s friend was lucky to have lived in Venezuela back when it was still a good place. Things had taken a turn for the worse in Venezuela for years now and it was not the country it had been for her parents generation.
The interior of the restaurant was spectacular. There was a light atrium feeling to the place with plenty of plants and colorful tiles. It had been around since 1905 and just oozed an old turn of the century Spanish charm. Mom remarked to me how lucky she was to be here and how she couldn’t understand why her friends remained resolutely shut in their houses. The years were fleeting and should be taken advantage of. I took advantage of an excellent meal of empanadas, pollo de manchego, and churros served with caramel and chocolate sauces.
To cap off our day, we drove over to the Fountain of Youth. The fabled spring was discovered by the Spanish conquistador, Ponce de Leon, in the 16th century. It was said to restore the youth to anyone who drinks from
it. It was our turn to try it out for ourselves. Who could pass up a chance like this?
Just walking into the park where the fountain was located was like stepping through a portal to another world. It was so quiet and serene, full of soothing moss-covered trees. I could see why people might have thought you could stay eternally young in a place like this. There were signs saying to wear a mask, but no one was and the staff didn’t seem to particularly care. It was in this relaxed atmosphere that we explored the area.
We first headed straight for the Fountain of Youth, which wasn’t actually a fountain, but rather a small spring which was pouring out of the rocks in a shaded grotto. We were each given a cup to catch the vital water and drink it down. I was particularly happy to see my mom drinking down the route to eternal youth. Fantastical and crazy story, but you never know, right?
The park revealed other fascinations as we wandered around. There were replicas of Native American huts staffed with descendants. There were colonial demonstrations including ear splitting cannon blasts. And a
regal statue of Ponce De Leon himself. There were even a couple of peacocks hopping about that predictably Mom tried to make friends with.
I left Mom on a bench to rest as I walked farther afield. I had spotted a long boardwalk at the edge of the park leading off into the distance. I opened a gate and passed through to the elevated walkway. On either side of the boardwalk was a marine estuary full of sawgrass and other marshy plant life. Flying around were herons, eagles, and other sorts of birds. Might there be some alligators down there too? It felt like I was getting an early glimpse of our ultimate Everglades destination.
On the way back to our hotel we got stuck in some horrendous traffic. This led us to take our chances with finding our way back on the winding back roads. We were soon on a wild goose chase of trial and error. We were so exhausted by the whole excursion that we took dinner back to eat in our rooms. Although, much later we were tempted back outside to the ocean to see the moon rise high once more above the jet-black
waves.
* * * * *
For breakfast the next morning we wanted to savour the place we had come to cherish. Outside on the patio was the perfect amount of hazy warming sun. We took our breakfast and moved down the side alley, getting as close to the ocean as we could. The waves were pounding loudly in our ears as we ate both our first meal of the day and our final meal in St. Augustine.
Mom liked the spot so much that even after we finished she continued to sit. I however walked back down to the beach. It was actually a lot nicer than my first impression of a few days ago. In fact, I think we would have requested beach chairs and sat there all day if we weren’t leaving today. But leaving we were. We had successfully rested up from the long drive down here and acclimated to the sunny Florida atmosphere. It was time to plunge farther down into this remarkable state.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Columbia Restaurant
For a chain restaurant this one still has good food. We love the black bean soup.