Honeymoon in Saint Augustine

Josh and I FINALLY went on our long-awaited honeymoon to Saint Augustine, Florida--the oldest city in our beloved United States of America. For those of you who know me really well or even just a tiny bit, you know that I love, love, love, and love some more HISTORY. It intrigues me to research the past because it affected who we are today! Thank the good Lord above that Josh also takes interest in the things I love. :)


Sunday June 27, 2010

After the 6-hour drive to the beautiful oldest city, we left the hotel to drive around a bit. We stopped at this beautiful location. It is the property of the first Christian mission in Saint Augustine... I believe the first Mass was held here in 1565. Truly a beautiful place!

Monday, June 28, 2010

We went to MANY places in downtown Saint Augustine... mainly to be sure that we didn't get rained out of seeing what we wanted AND because the rest of what we wanted to do were driving distance away, not walking. :)

The first place we went to was the Castillo de San Marcos. It is the original fort built by the Spaniards in the 1600s. It was SO neat, and definitely both Josh's and my favorite place in the oldest city!

The second landmark we walked to was Saint George Street. We saw the Oldest School House in America (we didn't go in).
Then we went into the Spanish Quarter... which was awesome! :) I love going to places where actors reenact how people lived hundreds of years ago. It takes one back in time, and I would recommend doing this upon any vacation in a historic city.



We walked down the remainder of Saint George Street and ran across a Greek Orthodox shrine. I saw this gold box which intrigued me right away. It was bone fragments of certain Apostles--including Paul! HOW cool is that?

Though, in Josh's words, it was gross. HAHA.

Josh and I made it down a good bit of Saint George Street and went into the Government House Museum. It had shipwrecked treasure and the history of the area... very neat! I saw things that were hundreds upon hundreds of years old. Amazing! :)

Also, the Spanish King and Queen wave from this balcony when they visit Saint Augustine.

Flagler College (to the right) had amazing architecture! It was built in the 1800s for the affluent and famous.

Also, the City of Saint Augustine has an AMAZINGLY beautiful City Hall (under Flagler picture). It is the largest and prettiest I have ever seen.



We went inside the Oldest House in the oldest city. Very neat! I got a little nervous walking upstairs because I could see to the bottom--there were some gaps between the wood.
:)

We ate dinner on historic Saint George Street at an awesome grill. Definitely the perfect ending to a perfect day! :)



Tuesday, June 29, 2010
We visited the Saint Augustine Lighthouse, built in the 1800s. Josh and I climbed the 219 stairs (equivalent to a 14-story building) all the way to the top! :) LOVED it!

This is at the very top of the lighthouse. Very high (and a bit scary), but it is truly amazing to look out so far in all directions and take in the beauty of God's creation.





This is the Bridge of Lions... under construction! I wish I could have gotten a better picture!


Pretty Vilano Beach... the waves break very far from the shore. Really pretty. Very different from what we're used to in SC... they allow parking on the beach.




Wednesday, June 30, 2010We went to Fort Matanzas, an actual watchtower built to help the Castillo de San Marcos by warding off any unwanted visitors before they could make it close to the city. :)

After touring the Fort, we went to another beach--Fort Matanzas. I definitely preferred this beach over the other. Softer sand! :) Plus, I also saw a turtle walking into the dunes!

We left that Thursday. We really enjoyed our honeymoon. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect week with my husband! God blessed us with great weather and great experiences. We laughed and had adventures... and I am so happy we were able to take that time before we moved to Atlanta!