Sipping from the Fountain of Youth

As we do most mornings, we were awake early this morning.  We lingered in bed a bit before getting up around 5 am.  We turned the local news on the television at the Days Inn and had Raisin Bran, milk or yogurt that we bought at Winn Dixie last night.  We made tea with the motel coffee maker and took our showers.

We reviewed the maps of St. Augustine and decided to go to the Fountain of Youth area this morning.  Steve and Marcia were up and moving by 7:30 so we chatted a bit before leaving the room around 8:30.  

Since the Day’s Inn is very near the attractions in Old Town St. Augustine, we decided to not get the trolley pass in favor of walking to the sites.  The walk to the Fountain of Youth museum was less than a half mile, and we enjoyed the walk in the cool morning air.  

We walked past the walls made of the local “tabby” concrete that uses shells in place of gravel aggregate.  We arrived at the Fountain of Youth shortly before they opened and bought our tickets with the senior discount.  There was a display of a two story tall globe showing the paths of early explorers from Europe to North America.  We were amazed at the technology that was used when the display opened in 1956.  

From there we went to a planetarium showing how the explorers used the stars to guide their travel to unknown parts of the world.  We were in the display with a nice group of elementary students from a nearby charter school. 

We walked a short distance to the area where water from the area that Juan Ponce de Leon identified as the Fountain of Youth.  We all took drinks from the water source but so far none of us could see any rejuvenation. 

We walked around the grounds to a demonstration by a blacksmith, firing a cannon that would have been used at the time that St. Augustine was founded and several gardens.  By 11 am we were ready to take a break for lunch and to rest before the afternoon. We returned to our rooms at the Day’s Inn and had fruit, peanut butter, crackers and water that we bought at the grocery store last night.  

After a rest and lunch we decided to visit the fort at St. Augustine.  The fort, known as Castillo de San Marcos or Fort Marion, was constructed in the 1670s by the Spanish from a local material called coquina.  This is a compressed block of shells that have been fused over time in the shallow water of bay.  When freshly removed from the water, the coquina is easily cut and shaped.  However, once the material dried over the course of 5 to 12 months, the material hardened to become an excellent building material. 

Using Marcia’s National Park pass, we got admission to the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument at no fee.  We were amazed at the thickness and strength of the 12 foot thick coquina walls. The material is strong yet will not fracture when struck by cannon fire.  The fort is surrounded by a dry moat and is located in an open area where attackers would be vulnerable to fire from gun ports on top of the fort.  The fort has two drawbridges so if invaders breached one layer of protections they would be trapped between walls of the fort and easily killed. 

We went through areas where the troops slept as well as a powder magazine and other areas supporting warfare and daily life at the fort.  There are a number of artillery pieces on display representing many of the cannons, howitzers and mortars that were used throughout the history of the fort.  

We chatted briefly with a National Park ranger about how troops living the fort got water, and he pointed out the wells and cisterns in three of the four corners of the fort that served the soldiers living there.  There was a good deal of informative signage throughout the fort explaining the role of the fort since it was constructed in 1672.  It is the oldest and largest fort in the United States.  The fort has been occupied by Spanish, English, US and Confederate forces throughout its lengthy history. 

After exiting the fort we walked around outside particularly to see a large oven that heated cannonballs to be shot at enemy vessels to potentially catch the decks on fire.  We took several snapshots of the fort then started walking back to our rooms at the Day’s Inn where we rested a bit before preparing for dinner.

We decided on Sunset Grille for dinner since it was closed the night before.  We were seated and looked at some excellent menu options.  The restaurant is best known for their chowder and especially their chowder fries.  Although we love chowder, we don’t tend to like French fries with gravy or other liquid on them.  Mary had mahi mahi covered in crushed macadamia nuts and a mango sauce.  She had a baked sweet potato and sautéed green beans on the side.  I had Menorcan Datil shrimp, sautéed shrimp in a sauce made with local datil peppers, over a bed of rice and black beans.  I also had a side of cheese grits that had been deep fried on the side that were shared at the table.  Marcia had a bowl of their signature chowder and a fish sandwich that she reported was excellent.  Steve had coconut shrimp with French fries that he also enjoyed.  Everyone enjoyed the meal and couldn’t possibly eat one of the highly rated desserts.  In fact, Mary’s green beans and most of my grits came back to the motel to be for lunch on Friday. 

We came back to the motel for the evening.  Marcia worked on a couple of her cases and the rest of us were lazy and crashed for the evening.  We are looking forward to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm on Friday then heading to the Space Coast on Saturday.