Yes, We're Still In Florida

It's been a quiet couple of days, days without WiFi which makes it pretty tough to blog. 

 We spent 3 nights in St. Augustine; the oldest city in the US.  I remembered it being charming from that visit to FL 40 yeas ago, and it still is, if a bit busier and more touristy than I remembered. However, the fortress is still there looking out over the harbor and other buildings around town that date back hundreds of years are standing and still in use.  

Fortress at St. Augustine

 There are narrow alleyways, one-way lanes, moss-draped tress and lovely architecture.  Well worth a visit.  We thought we'd be clever and avoid traffic by riding our bikes around town, but the narrow streets and pedestrian ways defeated us and we settled for touring via auto.   

Old schoolhouse

Presbyterian Church in St. Augustine

The navigator was very excited by the Fountain of Youth billboard but I persuaded her that it was likely another tourist trap and we didn't go in.   

The campground was a great place on a barrier island just north of town with very private sites, a good restaurant a short walk away on the river, beach across the street and good access to the historic district. 

Riverside dining

Dinner remains - whole flounder

 I also took an opportunity to visit a UU church on Sunday and enjoyed meeting fellow UUer's including a transplant from Winthrop Harbor, IL which is a small town just a over the border into IL from home.  Small world and all that jazz.  This is why my mother says you always have to be on your best behavior.  All in all, we really liked the area.

Superbowl Sunday dinner on the new grill-pork tenderloins with apple/onion hash

From St. Augustine we tackled a long drive and came back to St. Andrews State Park in the armpit of FL's panhandle.  There was some confusion with our reservation but we ended up back in the same site we had before, which is lovely and Chuck was again staring out into bay.  We had one very rainy day which gave us time to do laundry at a nice laundromat with great WiFi and a very perceptive attendant who helped us along. The next day we went back to Seaside and rode our bikes around the quiet streets and enjoyed gawking at the variety of homes.   

Typical (?) Seaside home

Great TV available at St. Andrews Beach - even better than cable.

We're starting to plan the trip home.  We're currently in Milton, FL, near Pensacola.   We have to be back by Feb. 15th take care of some business so the days are winding down.  The dilemma is do we try to find a storage place down here in southern FL or AL to leave Chuck in unknown hands but we won't have to winterize him or,  do we take Chuck back to his maker in No. AL to have  some very minor stuff fixed and leave him in trusted hands but winterize it.  Winterizing is doable; Tiffin (Chuck's maker) will do it for $90 or we can do it ourselves.  We've had some instruction (30 mins back at Will's RV in Sturtevant) and we have the antifreeze in the storage bays. It would probably take us a couple of hours to do it ourselves.  We also have to make sure any liquids are removed from Chuck so they don't freeze.  All doable.  So stay tuned, we'll keep you posted. 

Lights on the other side of the bay at St. Andrews State Park