St. Augustine

There are trains in St. Augustine. When you travel with a just barely two year old you tend to look for things along the way that might bring on that squeal of joy "Oh boy!!!!" Boats, bridges, planes, helicopters, red trucks, white trucks, big dogs, and oh yeah - trains. Sara and I decided to take a short drive over to St. Augustine while Bob and Travis went up to Brunswick to install a new door for his parents. We packed all the necessities - water, snacks and bunny-bunny, and set off for the coast. Sara and I are both fond of taking local trams when available to learn about the history of the area and figure out where we wanted to walk around. The Virginia City one in our own area has always been a favorite "must take visitors to" site. We parked in the St. Augustine visitor center, purchased our tickets, and off we went. Cash was THRILLED. Mind you this was not a real train, but you sure could not have told that from his enthusiastic squeals every time the whistle blew. And blew it did, at every sightseeing stop along the way - 22 of them, and every start, 22 more. We decided to just ride the entire route he was enjoying it so much, and lucky for us, our on board conductor was filled with local lore and was very entertaining.

We found ourselves in the Bubble Room for lunch, a new establishment that also has a location in Captiva Island over on the west coast of Florida by Sanibel Island. This is a must see for anyone that enjoys 30's and 40's memorabilia, and I even had to call Lucia right after we left to tell her all about it. She would have been in there for hours!!!

St. Augustine is an absolutely breathtaking city. The old forts, the beautiful Victorian homes, the history of how Henry Flagler put his touch on so much of the development and a beautiful old church on every corner. It is a city to visit over many days, and don't forget, the train ride. It is worth every penny, even without a two year old in tow. Till later, Susan