#5 Putters, Pirates and Old Sea Shells

On our last trip to Florida, we visited two treasure museums a little south of here. The museum in St. Augustine was moved here from Key West last year, and while its exhibits are a little more polished, it didn’t seem to have as many original artifacts as the others. A couple of original ones, however, were the largest of three known existing pirate ship flags, and an original pirate treasure chest.

It also has some interesting history of the most well known pirates. Do you recognize the one standing behind Anne?

The old town area of St. Augustine has many shops and restaurants housed in historic buildings lining the narrow streets.

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine was built in 1793 – 1797, after several prior structures were built on the site beginning in the late 1500’s. The current cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Bishop of St. Augustine. It was good to sit in the pews for a while and contemplate the history surrounding this magnificent old church.

Although we didn’t partake, a good way to see all the interesting areas around town is to take a tram or carriage ride.

Our friends Don and Sharie have been visiting with Sharie’s dad, Joe,  in The Villages, and made a trip up this way to visit the World Golf Hall of Fame, a large resort complex with luxury accommodations, golf course, school, shops and restaurants. We all had a great time at lunch at the Caddyshack, a casual restaurant operated by Bill Murray and his four brothers.

We have griped before about not being able to see much of the ocean from the roadway, but on a drive along the coastal highway, A1A, towards Daytona, we found a small town, Flagler Beach, where you could drive along the ocean and park along the street, get a cup of coffee and enjoy the view.

About 10 miles south of St. Augustine on Rattlesnake Island, lies another Spanish fort, Fort Matanzas. This smallish fort was built in the 1740’s to protect and provide advance warning of any threats to St. Augustine.  It served the Spaniards well, fending off attacks by the French and British. The National Park Service does its usual great job administering the fort – even providing a ferry ride across the Matanzas Inlet to the fort.

The name of the fort means “slaughter”, and it is a little unsettling to learn the story of how 200 French soldiers lost their lives in an ill fated attack on the fort.

All this talk of forts may bring up the question of what these structures were built with.  The answer is Coquina stone. This is a solidified mix of sea shells, mud, sand and clay that is quarried in blocks. It is soft at first, and then hardens when exposed to air and sunlight, sometimes for as long as one year.

Here is a a close up of a block of Coquina at Fort Matanzas and of the exposed ceiling in one of the rooms at Castillo de San Marcos:

Because of its porosity, Coquina stone has great impact resistance, and in one battle when the Castillo took some enemy shells, the soldiers repaired the damage easily overnight. Some of the marauders thought it was magic when they renewed their attack in the morning and the damage they had done was gone.

One of the Coquina quarries is right here at the entrance to Anastasia State Park. Walking a short path, you can see one of the Coquina beds. It is mostly grown over, but note the side walls surrounding the depression.

Henry Flagler was a Florida and East Coast railroad baron who stands tall in the St. Augustine area. One of many public places named after him is Flagler College. Housed in the former resplendent Ponce de Leon Hotel, Flagler College is today a Coed liberal arts institution and the hotel houses administration, a dining hall, and some terrific glass (Tiffany) and stone work.

Flagler built a number of hotels here and along the coast. Around the square flanked on one side by the former Ponce are a hotel, the Casa Monica, and the former Alcazar Hotel, now home to the City Hall and Lightener Museum. This panoramic shot shows all three.

As we prepare to leave St. Augustine and look back on our two-week stay, here are a few pictures that we particularly liked from this oldest continuously occupied city in the US.

Oh, that pirate standing behind Anne.....was the undead pirate from Pirates of the Carribean, of course!

Stay Tuned ………