2014-5 St Augustine Florida

2014-5

Palatka
St Augustine

Campground:  St John's RV Park, 2493 State Road 207, Saint Augustine FL, 32086, (904) 824-9840
PA discount rate:  $19.70 includes taxes, water/elect 50amp site, all pull-thru sites. Next to large Flea Market which is open on weekends.

Palatka to St Augustine, 30 miles

Having a few more days to explore the area, I drove into Palatka and took a right hand turn following the Historic District sign.  Had to stop and take a few pictures of yet another wood batten sided white church.  They are very prevalent in this part of the state and just have a charming look to them.  About a block away was another sign directing me to the Bronson/Mulholland house.  It’s an 1854 house and surprisingly was open on a Monday.  Self guided tours, but since a group from a small cruise ship was in town, I was able to join them and get a free tour of the place.  Not too much of the original furnishings or décor were present, but the house itself was worth a walk around.  Next door is the Putnam County Historic Community which is housed in the old Fort Shannon building.

good fishing along the St John's River

House tour, Palatka Fl

Small American Cruise ship docked on St John's River, Palatka Fl

• Putnam County is the poorest county in Florida.
• People line up along the St John’s river front in Palatka during shrimping season to catch shrimp.  The water along here is brackish, a mix of fresh and saltwater
• Some local fishermen use crab trap type devices to catch fish.  They are set along the river and the fishermen stop by every couple of days and pick up their catch.  No need for fishing poles, hooks, line or bate.
• Larger vessels could come up the St John’s river but Jacksonville purposely created lower bridges restricting traffic going up river forcing all large ships to dock in Jacksonville only. 

The Half Shell Resort gave me two days of free stay when I asked to stay a couple extra days due to some bad weather coming into the area.  Now that’s a friendly gesture one doesn’t see too often.  It amounted to a $46 savings, “Thanks Half Shell”.

Distance Traveled:  29 milesSt Augustine

I’ve arrived at this 451 year old city, St Augustine.  So much history to explore, besides it being a beautiful city.  When I travel I learn so much more about our country and the history behind it.  You may recall of course that Columbus sailed the ocean blue and discovered the New World in 1492, but he never landed or discovered the America’s, only some of those itty bitty Caribbean Islands .  North America was discovered by Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513, though he didn‘t realize at the time that it was a vast continent.  St Augustine was established in 1565.  Now to my way of thinking, they should celebrate Ponce de Leon as much as Christopher Columbus if not more so, but of course Columbus always gets top billing.

Having vacationed in St Augustine a number of times, I always love coming back and exploring more of it each time I’m here.  Today, I toured the Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth.  It’s where the Timucuan Indians had lived for over 3,000 years that is until the Europeans arrived.  Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles established the first permanent settlement in North America in 1565 and he decided to settle right in the midst of the Indian territory.  He had to first kick out the French upstarts that had recently landed in the area and were trying to establish a foot hold in the area as well.  Then the Indians kicked him out forcing him back to the barrier island along the Atlantic, Anastasia Island.  Eventually moving the Indians out and reestablishing St Augustine.  Then the English came and burned down the place.  After that pirates raided the place and in between all this the settlers were struggling to just stay alive and forage for food.  Not an easy start for this 450 year old city.

Fountain of Youth

one of my favorite shots of the week

I was surprised at the amount of history was contained on the Fountain of Youth site as it is more of an historical and archeological park than anything else, but I guess the moniker of being the Fountain of Youth was a way to get the early tourists interested in the site.  Archeology digs continue at the site, being mainly done by university graduate students.  Various exhibits explain the Native American history, the founding of North America by Ponce de Leon which he called Florida and the establishment of St Augustine.  What a nice way to explore the beginnings of this city rather than through the often times congested narrow streets of the old town.  Though that has it’s charms as well.  The mix of historical buildings, tourist shops and restaurants and the heyday of Florida as a tourist destination.  With the arrival of Flagler’s railroad into Florida and his grand hotels that he built in each city on the east coast like a string of pearls.  Starting with what I think is the grandest of the all his hotels, the Ponce de Leon, now Flagler College, right here in St Augustine.

Oldest House 1600's

outdoor kitchen

Each day I’m hear I get to explore a bit more like a visit to the oldest house, the Gonzalez-Alvarez house,  built in the early 1600’s.  Learning about the various improvements and additions made to the oldest house along the way.  Later, I’d take a tour on a tour boat along the intracoastal waterway just to get a different perspective of the city.

A series of historical homes in St Augustine

Private Homes in the old part of town

our tour boat

Bridge of Lions with Spanish Ship 

the fort

Along with time each day to relax and enjoy the superb spring weather we are having here.  75-82 degrees each day, with cool nights.  Sunny blue skies with big puffy white clouds, all the new green growth on the trees and flowers blooming throughout the city all make for super enjoyable days and evenings.  Here at the campground it feels like all of Ontario Canada has come to visit Florida this winter as they are now migrating back up north with lingering stops along the way, especially places like St Augustine.  Can you blame them for enjoying it so much.  Sunning themselves each day, trying to absorb as much of the sun as they can, getting dark tans before heading back into Canada for the summer.

I’ll be heading out and crossing the Florida/Georgia border this coming Wednesday, with a few stops through Georgia as I too migrate north before turning in a westerly direction.

Till the next report, enjoy each day by learning something new and exploring your own area.

White Peacock, Fountain of Youth park

More pictures on PICASA.

2014-4 Palatka Florida

2014-4

Palatka Florida

male Anhinga, blue around the eyes during mating season,
apparently quite the turn on for the females

Campground:  Half Shell Resort.  Satsuma Fl.  $23 per night with the weekly rate ($160).  Full hookups 30/50amp, wi-fi,  90+ cable channels.  A small park on the St John’s River.  Boat slips available for rent.  Mostly seasonal campers.  Free washers, $1.75 dryers.

Half Shell Resort

I had planned on staying at a Passport America park and even called to make sure they had space available. When I got there no one was around and after calling the owner from my cell-phone, he offered the only site available, between a palm tree, telephone pole and a fire hydrant.  Very close quarters which I wouldn’t even consider attempting to get into.  Fortunately the guy recommended the Half Shell RV park and I ended up there.

Distance Traveled:  117 miles.

After effortlessly packing things up and connecting the camper to the truck I was ready to leave Moss Park.  With mixed emotions about leaving such a beautiful park, but at the same time knowing I wouldn’t miss being the “enforcer” of rules in the park any more, I said my goodbyes and headed out onto the 417 toll road.  Yikkes, after paying $10.75 at numerous toll booths I finally arrived at the infamous I-4.  It’s always with a bit of trepidation when starting my summer travels and having to get back onto very busy highways while towing a camper, even if it would only be for about 15 or 20 miles.  Fortunately the on ramp is very long and it was easy to merge into the traffic lanes.  Unfortunately, when looking down at my GPS, I noticed it was going to take me all the way to I-95, another really heavily congested corridor leading out of Florida.  I had forgotten to set the GPS to the alternate route which would bring me north along hwy 17.  Not being sure which exit would get me onto that back roads highway, I took a chance at the next exit and muddled through and finally arrived on the correct route.  What a relief to be on a little used, single lane country road.  Going through small towns like De Leon Springs, Pierson, Seville and Crescent City. Lots of plant nursery farms, fern farms (this is where all the ferns used by florists come from)  Even a few old orange groves.

Yes, I’m back on all those back roads I so enjoy driving.

Palatka
San Mateo

boat docks at Half Shell Resort

old boats docked

A gentle breeze laden with the sweet smell of jasmine surrounds me as I relax on my weathered old concrete patio at the Half Shell “Resort”.  The patio faces east keeping it in the shade all afternoon.  The park, which they call a resort, is in actuality a small RV park around a single very narrow loop road.  An old boat dock reaches out into the broad St John’s river, one of the few rivers in North America that flows north. Old house boats, fishing boats and once grand cabin cruisers gently sway in their tired berths.  Each covered in old chalking paint, mold and weathering in the relentless sun.  Tall old oak trees covered in thick draping Spanish moss interspersed with palm trees in groupings of three and four surround the RV park.  A tired rec-hall sits on a rise overlooking the St John’s river.  Big dark windows look out onto the water.  From the other side, facing the park it looks more like an old abandoned ramshackle building with old forgotten broken chairs, tools and rotting wood under rusting corrugated metal roofing. This is old Florida, where the once new gradually is left to the elements to decay and go back to the earth in it’s own time.  Many of these older places, like their owners, have lost the energy to fix, repair or replace.

hibiscus

sunset

park in Palatka

Now Palatka, which is just up the street about 5 miles is one of those truly Old Florida Towns.  Once a thriving river town where as many as 35 steamers and paddle wheelers would stop daily collecting cotton, oranges and timber to be transported up to northern cities.  At one time it was a resort town as well.  Today, it is a up and coming old world town with new life being infused into a town with the usual Wal-Mart’s, Home-Depots, drugstores and popular grocery stores which meet the basic daily needs of today’s busy lifestyle.  Today it’s major industries are toilet paper, made in the Georgia-Pacific factories and potatoes.  Who would have thought that your soft tooshie paper or McDonald French fries might have come from this Florida community.  There are some great seafood restaurants in east Palatka right on the St John’s river.  Well worth the drive from Orlando and surrounding areas to explore this quaint river community and enjoy a great seafood dinner.  Or lunch in an old fashioned dining car right in downtown Palatka.  Maybe go for a mile and a half hike around the Ravine Gardens State Park or at the newly created Dunns Creek State Park where a hiking/biking trail leads to Blue pond .  Horse back riding is big in a number of the State forests nearby as well with trails and stables available for the horse community.

Ravine State Park

Doughboy from WWI

Bridge over the St John's River

murals throughout downtown Palatka

Billy Graham had his first ministry here

RV-ers Tip:

As we travel around the country, it’s not always easy to know what’s on TV, especially if you use your Rv’s over-the-air antenna or a cable connection at the campground.  There are two sources that work out pretty good.  One is by going online on your computer to the web site:  http://tvlistings.aol.com/listings .  The other source is an app for your smart phone, just do a search in the apps store for: TV Guide.  It’s a great listing of all the tv channels in your area.  You can of course change the settings for “over-the-air”, “cable listings” or “satellite”.

Not a bad way to start my first week back on the road.  The small community here at the Half Shell Resort are super friendly making for a nice transition from being a campground host back to being a civilian traveler.

Next stop, St Augustine which is celebrating their 450th anniversary this year.  The oldest city in the U.S. it’s always a great place to explore, have some good seafood and maybe go to the beaches on the Atlantic side.

More photos on Picasa.