Excitement in Clay County

We've moved on from St. Augustine and find ourselves in a lovely B&B in Green Coves Spring, FL.

 It's located only a block from the St. John's River,  with a lovely park sandwiched in between.

While I was admiring my surroundings, I looked up to see this beautiful osprey watching the water intently.

The day had begun cold and cloudy when we were leaving St. Augustine, but, as you can see, the weather changed for the better as the day went on. 

Our morning began with yet another fabulous breakfast at our B&B prior to our departing for Green Cove Springs.   When planning our trip, I had spotted online that the NE Florida Scottish Highland games were being held at the Clay County Fairgrounds on Saturday, Feb 22.  

Now, I ask you, just how could I pass on that opportunity?  After our numerous excursions to Scotland,   we felt more than a wee bit like joining in on the festivities.

So, after checking in to the Riverpark Inn early, we headed to the Fairgrounds.  The place was abuzz with activity, and if there is such thing as a redneck clansman, then believe you me….we were immersed in them!

The event is obviously quite an annual draw for people of Scottish descent.  I had only learned that there was a large Scottish community here in Florida, so it's understandable why this type of function would be so well attended.

The main arena was encircled by a booth representing a different clan.  That's a LOT of tartan in one place.  And, we finally were able to place the Yellow/Black Tartan, which we'd never seen in Scotland, to an Isle off the North west coast, which explains why we hadn't run into it.

The activities were numerous, with men in kilts playing bagpipes 

young ladies showing off their Celtic dance skills (which was extremely interesting to watch…..how those girls can jump and land on their toes over and over again is amazing.)

There were Scottish dogs on parade

and highland "coos"to admire

And numerous booths featuring the highlights of their clan.  If there was a prize for the most original, I'd have given it to this one.

They brought in their own castle!

One of the most entertaining events was the sheep herding, featuring the skills of the border collie.

Is that the most unbelievably cute dog that you've ever seen?  She's patiently watching the sheep.

And, the sheep were nervously watching her!

It was quite amusing to watch those sheep run around as if they were velcroed together while the dogs were able to send them in the direction that their owner requested

All done by a whistle!

That's one happy dog!

The ceremonies began with each clan marching around the arena.  I'll admit that I was extremely worried if that elderly man was going to make it even half way.  

His banner kept dropping to the right.  But, you've got to give him credit for still being able to participate!

In the same arena were the highland games, involving anything from throwing a huge rock to tossing a caber.  There were a lot of participants, in kilts, competing, and when they were successful, you could hear the howl of enthusiasm radiate across the fairgrounds.

I'm not quite sure what this woman represented, since her kilt looks more like a tutu, but she was able to pick up that 130 pound pole

And she was actually successful in tossing it…the crowd roared!

It was QUITE a site!

The evening had us strolling around, checking out the local attraction, a famous mineral spring which can be easily spotted from our B&B.

I took some evening photos.  The water runs from the spring through a public pool, and then falls down leading towards the St. John's River.  Here you can see the water spilling out from under the pool.

Here is the actual spot of the spring, which, by the way, reminded me of the slag pile smells from when I was a kid visiting my grandma. It's supposed to be therapeutic, but I just can't see how one could relax while holding their nose closed.

And, here you see the sign with the chemical breakdown of the "therapeutic"waters.

I don't know about you, but I don't like the fact that the "Dissolved Solids"is covered up by that sign.  And, what is a dissolved solid anyway? 

As Marty and I were scrutinizing the chemical makeup of the spring, outside, in the dark (although the park is well lit in this area), we could hear a local band playing at a nearby bar, belting out its music.

Werewolf in London.   It kind of added to the moment.

We'll have to see if we can find something equally exciting for tomorrow.

Rainy Day Fun in St. Augustine

Our morning began once again with a lovely breakfast at our B&B, in the company of our good friends, Jennifer and Howard.  

I thought I'd treat you to a photo of our delectable morning fare.  

Are you drooling yet?

We had such a delightful time with our friends, but it was time for them to return home, so we bid them fond farewell and went about planning our last day here in St. Augustine.

Since the weather forecast looked bleak, and rain clouds were on the horizon, we decided that it was best to view some inside sights today.  So, we started off at the Dow Museum of Historic Houses.  Thanks to the generous benefactor, Kenneth Dow, this museum features nine historic houses, from various years in St. Augustine history, the oldest being the original house from 1790 and the newest dating from 1906.  Not all of the houses were open for viewing,  but we still managed to really enjoy the tour.  Not only are the houses restored to the time period in which they were originally built, but they contain many items from the personal collection of Kenneth Dow, who traveled around the world seeking rare and unusual treasures.

The first house on the tour was the 1840 house built by Antonio Canova.

The interior featured furnishing from the time period

and some unusual items , including a full size confessional by the front door, which certainly seemed out of place, and several porcelain items that ranged from Bonaparte

to porcelain dogs.

There was also a set of little porcelain monkeys dressed up as various professions, but I'll spare you that find.

Heading out the door, we found ourselves walking through a lovely outdoor garden, on the way to the next house.

A quick peek around the back and we spotted a pond filled with Koy across from this very interesting sign.

We were confused, as no mention of a tavern is made on the walking tour.  As luck would have it, one of the curators came walking by and he was excited to tell us the story of the sign.

According to this man, Jesse Fish lived in St. Augustine when it became under British control.  At this time, the Spaniards emigrated to Cuba, but Fish stayed behind, telling the story that he was a Spanish Ambassador and that he was responsible for collecting the money for the houses that were abandoned by the Spaniards. 

Well, the scheme managed to make a huge profit for Fish who never delivered any monies to the rightful owners.  

The curator claimed that the familiar phrase "Fishy Story"came from the circumstances surrounding Jesse Fish, and that Dow was so amused by the story that he had the tavern sign made up as a reminder.  

This, of course, could be a Fishy Story in itself, as I could not find any documentation of Fish posing as an ambassador, but, either way, you get the point, right?

The next house on the tour was built in 1839 and is one of a few wood houses that has survived from this period. It is built from straight sawn heart pine lumber, with wide floor boards and an exquisite yellow interior.

We walked out the front door and headed down the path to the oldest house in the museum, built in 1790 and once lived in by Dow, himself.

In the spring of 1824, Charles Louis Napolean Achille Murat, nephew of Napolean, arrived in St. Augustine and stayed in this house.  He was considered to be quite the oddball by the townspeople, and he ended up marrying George Washington's grandniece, Catherine, and moving to Tallahassee.  

One added feature to the Murat house, as it was called, is that Ralph Waldo Emerson once vacationed here in this house. 

This next house may appear a bit out of sorts.

Apparently this "Carpenter's "House separated from the foundation, resulting in the pronounced lean.  Needless to say, the interior was off limits, for safety reasons.

Across the plaza stands the Emancipation bell,

which was rung in January of 1863, announcing the freedom of all slaves in the state of Florida.

My favorite house was the Worcester house, built in 1906.  Something about it really appealed to me.  I don't know if it was the arched windows, letting in so much light,

or the striking staircase

 which featured a gorgeous stained glass window on the first landing

The house just seemed to exude character, and Marty and I both enjoyed this one the best.

We'd been walking through houses for nearly 2 hours, and we decided that it was time to move onto something else, so we headed to Aviles street to the Father Miguel O'Reilly Museum.

As soon as we entered the door, we were greeted by an extremely friendly nun, Sister Patrice, who was excited to give us a tour and tell us the history of the house.

She began by telling us that excavations had been done on the house in 2000,  which determined that this property was actually the oldest house in St. Augustine.

Now,  I'm not quite sure how the proprietors of the "Oldest House in St. Augustine", located a few blocks away,  are handling this competition.  We had spotted it the day we arrived.

 But here's how I see it:

The official "Oldest House"charges $8.50 per person admission.  

The O'Reilly Museum is free.  

This is a no-brainer for me.  Plus, I'm sticking with the nun's story.  Wouldn't you?  

Ok…you don't need to answer that.

Let me just say that this place was Awesome!   We learned that in 1862 Florida became property to the North and in January of 1863, all slaves in Florida were set free.  Father O'Reilly brought the Sisters of St. Joseph from France to St. Augustine, where they were responsible for educating the poor freed slave children.

We were amazed to see a harp and violin as well as Chemistry beakers and flasks, astronomy tools and a miniature microscope.  Students were taught ribbon weaving and how to paint on porcelain as well as fabric. In addition, the religious icons and Catholic vessel collection were much to be admired.  All of this history on the second floor of this Oldest House in the Old Town.  Truly amazing.

While the tour was winding down, the rain was becoming torrential, and despite adequate rain gear, we found ourselves quickly getting soaked as we ran down the road seeking shelter.  We popped into a small restaurant that featured Greek and Polish food.  

Quite an unusual combination, I'll admit.  But more entertaining that I could have ever imagined.  

Marty ordered mushroom/sauerkraut pierogies which were complimented by a pint of Polish Beer.

I ordered a Greek platter, which was quite yummy, but the best part of the experience was the entertaining  conversation with the owner as we compared Polish and Slovak languages.  She was definitely quite a hoot!

After the rain finally let up, we headed back outside and decided to tour the Ximenez-Fatio House Museum.  The house is made of coquina stone, like so many of the other structures and dates back to 1798.  It was a boarding house, changing owners several times over the years.  

We were able to catch the last tour at 3:00, (which was only us), and we learned a great deal of life over the years in this boarding house.  It is decorated in period of the last owner, Miss Louise Fatio, although the history of all of the owners was discussed as we walked through the extensive sets of rooms.  One famous boarder was Caldecott, the artist, who, unfortunately, died in St. Augustine quite unexpectedly.  He is buried in the local cemetery.

After the tour was complete, we headed back down the block to catch a glimpse of the Basilica.  The doors were still open, so we popped in to take a peek. The first thing that I noticed was the unusual ceiling

the stained glass windows were amazing

and the main altar was quite stunning.

There was even a shrine to St. Patrick due to a large Irish community in the area.

Walking out the door, I captured the frescoes on the back wall

Certainly quite a feast for the eyes.

As you can well imagine, by this point we were pretty tired, so we decided to walk back to our B&B for some relaxation.

Along the way, I noted how the weather had dramatically changed.

Blue skies had returned!  Now let's just hope that they decide to stay!

The Beauty of St. Augustine

I'd say that today ranked pretty close to perfect.

The morning greeted us with a bright blue sky and Marty and I couldn't resist heading out for a quick walk prior to breakfast to capture some of the beauty.

After a scrumptious breakfast of Eggs Benedict served in a puff pastry, we headed out to explore the town with our friends, Howard and Jennifer.

Our first stop was the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, a fort constructed by the Spanish between 1672 and 1695.

The walls of this fort were built from coquina, which is a type of shell stone quarried from the island of St. Anastasia located across the bay.  Walking around town, we soon noticed that many of the buildings are built from this unique stone, which I had never heard of until today.

This history of the fort was quite interesting, and the occupation changed so many times that it was difficult to keep track.  Spain, England, Spain, the United States, the Confederate States of America, and finally the United States again.  But never once was the Castillo taken by force.  The change in occupation only came through military agreements.

We walked through room after room filled with explanations of the history of this unique place.  I'll just feature a couple of the highlights. 

Here you can see a typical casement where the soldiers would have slept.

There were various type of canons in the fort, and we learned that these canons were capable of shooting a distance of 3 1/2 miles.

We spent several hours exploring the fort and admiring the beautiful views.

Here you can see Jennifer, Marty and Howard checking out one of the cannons.

And, just look at how the water sparkles: picture perfect!

We then decided to walk a bit out of the Old town to the Mission Nombre De Dias and the Shrine of La Leche.

St. Augustine is America's oldest city being named such on Sept. 8, 1565 by Pedro Menendez de Aviles.   The Mission Nombre De Dias stands on the site where the Spaniard landed and proclaimed this site for Spain and the Catholic church.

This statue represents Father Francisco Lopez, the chaplain traveling with Menendez.

Walking through the grounds of the shrine we saw many interesting icons.

There was the rustic altar where it is said that Father Lopez immediately said Mass upon landing here.

There were beautiful carved motifs.

A shrine to Our Lady of Perpetual Help

Another to Our Lady of Guadalupe

 but what I found most interesting, was the Shrine to Our Lady of La Leche, the first ever to be dedicated to Our Blessed Mother in the United States.

It was founded in 1620 by Spaniards and the statue in the chapel features the Blessed Mother tenderly nursing the baby, Jesus.

Such simplistic beauty to be admired.

By this time, it was well into the afternoon, so we stopped for a quick bite to eat, then headed to the bay to venture out onto the El Galeon.

El Galeon is a replica similar to the ship that Don Pedro Menendez de Avilies sailed when he landed on this area and founded St. Augustine in 1565. 

Historians researched the specifics of the original ship sailed by Menendez, and they went about recreating one that is a close duplicate.

We were able to board the ship and walk through it.

Here you can see Howard and Marty checking out one of the anchors.

 which was pretty large, as you can see.

Everywhere we looked, there were ropes with some sort of purpose.

Peeking through some offered a gorgeous view:

Here you can see where the boat was steered.

And, while were were on the boat, we got a close up view of the drawbridge being raised for a sailboat to pass through.  Now, that was pretty cool!

By now it was early evening, and time to head back into St. Augustine. 

We had a lovely dinner with our friends, and some delightful conversation at our B&B before heading up to bed.

Speaking of which, I can't help but wonder just why we need all of that netting over our bed?

I'm just hoping it isn't there to keep something from falling on our heads as we sleep!