Salty St. Augustine

Wow! All we can say about this area and the Atlantic Ocean is Wow! We have had wonderful weather, gorgeous flowers and foliage, a beach within 20 minutes that has waves and so much movement, a REALLY old town that is so walkable, we find this whole area mesmerizing. What’s crazy is we have only seen a small portion of it to date and have so much more to go. We’ve already extended our trip by two weeks at this location and will definitely be returning every fall.

We started and ended our day today, by becoming Florida residents. Dave and I were able to get our new FL drivers licenses with Real ID, veterans plates for Homer and the car, in about 1 hour. That’s right, no waiting for any of it to mailed and for all of that, the cost was about what I would of paid for the tabs on my explorer in one year in MN. Our license is good for 8 years and our tabs are good for almost 2 years. I know each state has it’s strengths and weaknesses, but Florida sure knows how to do this right. And just look at what Homer is wearing! My dad would be so proud.

We’ve had to use some of our time since arriving here identifying and getting set up with new doctors and scheduling our normal, routine stuff. Not a big deal and we’re moving through the process fairly quickly, but it has impacted some of our “free” time to do what we want. LOL!

We did visit the old downtown one afternoon and realized there is so much more for us to see. Like Dave said, it feels like Bourbon street mixed with the state fair. We have learned St. Augustine is the oldest city in the US and was settled long before we became our own nation. Our history is so short compared to most countries, but that was still a looong time ago.

We have yet to see the Lion’s bridge, the lighthouse and haven’t been through the fort. Dave is also looking forward to getting his Florida fishing license now he is a resident and going to Rattlesnake Island for some fresh fish for dinner. (I may go to the beach that day just based on the name of the place!)

Speaking of the beach, all we can say is WOW! Compared to our time on the gulf, there is so much more movement to the water. Even just sitting on the beach is an adventure to the eyes and senses. Watching the water move in and out from the shore and hearing those crashing waves is hypnotizing. We were also amazed at how much saltier the Atlantic ocean is to the gulf. The puppies still love walking on the beaches and have decided they love to chase the little sandpipers.

Max and Rocky continue to amaze us with how well they have settled into this lifestyle. Every time we pull into a new spot, they very patiently wait for us to get everything set up and when they see the fence go in place, they know we are home again. We threw them the other day when we had to close everything up, put them in the car, and moved the camper all of 18 inches. (I missed getting us in the perfect spot and we couldn’t open our back awning). It didn’t take that long and since the car didn’t actually move, they were a little crabby that their nap was interrupted just to go back inside.

Knowing we have so much more to see in this awesome city, I would expect to provide our next update prior to my typical every two week timeline.

See you on the road,

Dave and Theresa