St. Augustine

We stopped for a brief time in St. Augustine on our way from Orlando to Asheville.  While there, we came across the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument.  It is a Spanish fort that had been built in 1672 and was used to defend Florida from the British.

Later on, the fort was used by the United States against the British.  

The fort was built of shell-stone.  You can see pieces of shell in the stone walls.  It was undergoing renovations while we were there so we were only able to see a small area of the fort.  

We also visited St. Augustine Beach, just south of town.  We spent about an hour walking along the edge of the ocean, watching the birds and looking for shells.  It was a very nice beach and it had the best sand of the four beaches we went to.  Someday, we will go back there to spend more time at that beach.  

St. Augustine is definitely a place we would like to spend more time.  It looks like a very beautiful city with a very rich and exciting history.  

Did you know St. Augustine is the oldest permanent European settlement in the United States.

For more information on the city of St. Augustine, visit www.oldcity.com

For more information on the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, visit www.nps.gov/casa