When I was growing up in California, I remember reading about St. Augustine, the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United States and thinking how great it would be to see it. Now that I live in Florida, it has become one of my favorite places. Founded by the Spanish in 1565, the city has a long and rich history and definitely is a wonderful place to visit, which is what I did again recently.
St. Augustine is located on the East coast of Florida and has a beautiful waterfront, that never fails to up-lift even the most tired traveler’s spirits, even if you have been there many times before.
Near the historic city center, is the Castillo de San Marcos, which is a fortification that was build by the Spanish, beginning in 1672, to help defend against attacks by pirates. It is the nations oldest Fort and is a must see place when visiting the city.
The downtown area is filled with shops, boutiques, and great places to eat that is always fun to explore!
This structure was built over 200 years ago and is said to be the oldest surviving wooden school house in the country.
Not too far from downtown, is the 100 plus year old Alligator Farm Zoological Park that has every species of extant gator, and other animals, alive today!
Including this albino gator that looks fake but is very real and quite alive!
Nearby, are neighborhoods that have examples of grand homes built during the Flagler era of the later part of the nineteenth century.
Down the road lies the Mission of Nombre de Dios where the first church services were held in the new world.
The grounds include an early cemetery that makes a nice place to walk around and take a break.
This tree is also located there, which almost looks like it could talk though fortunately it did not, at least while we passed by!
There is much more to see and do in St. Augustine, but I will leave that for you to discover during your visit to this amazing and timeless place!
dranthonysblog 
I am not a traveler… AT ALL… but it’s places like this that make me want to pack my bags! Thanks for the pictures!
Comment by Patrick — March 31, 2012 @ 8:56 pm |
Great Place to vacation
Comment by LBC llc — March 31, 2012 @ 8:59 pm |
Wow, thanks for sharing. What a beautiful place and I love the talking tree.
Comment by Boise Real Estate Insider — March 31, 2012 @ 9:12 pm |
Lovely place. I’ve been there.
Comment by hoping4astory — March 31, 2012 @ 10:03 pm |
Great photos! They really capture the beauty and essence that is St. Augustine. I’ve been wanting to take a photo trip down to St. Augustine, and this post reminds me I need to stop putting that off!
Were you able to visit Flagler College at all? It is such a gorgeous campus!
Comment by charles — March 31, 2012 @ 11:03 pm |
I love your blog. No matter what you are writing about, it comes across warmly and with love. St. Augustine looks and sounds like a really inviting place.
Comment by madjamison — April 1, 2012 @ 12:49 am |
What beautiful shots of a lovely place.
Comment by ladyfi — April 1, 2012 @ 2:03 am |
When I was stationed at Patrick AFB FL back in 2000 we visited St Augustine with my parents – loved the place. In the evening we did a ghost tour! Great pictures – thanks for taking us with you!
Comment by saymber — April 1, 2012 @ 8:56 am |
Great post Doc! It brought back fond memories of one of the first trips my family took, way back when I was 8 years old. It looks as beautiful as I remember it. 🙂
Comment by Donna L. Sadd — April 1, 2012 @ 8:57 am |
Beautiful! 🙂
Comment by Brigitt´s Lounge — April 1, 2012 @ 9:09 am |
St. Augustine looks wonderful. The mission looks like the ones we have in San Antonio.
Comment by donationcan — April 1, 2012 @ 10:20 am |
You have described it in such a way that I want to go there, when we return to Florida next year. Thanks for your great tourism plug!
Carole
Comment by itsawonderfilledlife — April 1, 2012 @ 11:04 am |
lovely virtual trip, thanks 🙂
Comment by cyberbonn — April 1, 2012 @ 11:13 am |
Looks like a very interesting place to visit.
Comment by J. G. Burdette — April 1, 2012 @ 11:14 am |
Hi, thanks for following my blog. I love your post about St. Augustine. My husband and I were only there once for a few hours but I loved it. I’ve wanted to go back and since reading your post, I want to go back now! We also love Cocoa Beach and Key West. Florida is so beautiful.
Comment by patriciakirsch — April 1, 2012 @ 11:30 am |
I lived in Jacksonville, Florida for 3 years and beside the outlet mall and the World Golf Hall of Fame, I never spent much time in St. Augustine. I am a little ashamed of that fact. haha. Love your pictures. If I return to Florida, I think I should look further into St. Augustine.
Comment by sydneyaaliyah — April 1, 2012 @ 9:10 pm |
Hello friend
Thanks so much for becoming a follower of our little blog, “i got a story like that.”
Terrific piece here on St Augustine, my wife and I used to visit there every year for a bit. We promised ourselves we would do that trip again soon.
Be well and keep up the great writing.
-Peace
Comment by sobnyc — April 1, 2012 @ 9:47 pm |
I have never been to Florida, but a city like St. Augustine would be a great place to visit. I love to visit places where history is visible and also speaks to you. I am sure that St. Augustine and its history would do just that. Thank you for sharing some amazing pictures and a wonderful story. I love the Mission of Nombre de Dios and the vines running up its face.
Comment by ivonprefontaine — April 1, 2012 @ 10:09 pm |
A charming place, similar to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay. The Spanish quarter is lovely. You can also find the oldest drugstore in the USA.
I´ve been there more than once and would love to return. A place worth visiting.
Interesting blog!
Comment by Rosina Peixoto — April 1, 2012 @ 10:30 pm |
Thanks for such an informative post! Saint Augustines sounds like a great place to visit. Thanks for visiting my blog, so I could find you!
Comment by allthingsboys — April 2, 2012 @ 12:15 am |
Thanks for the tour, Doc. Fantastic photos, especially like the old mission. I have a classmate that lives there and I hope someday to visit.
Comment by Sheila T Illustrated — April 2, 2012 @ 6:05 am |
So much history! I especially like the picture picture of the old school house.
Comment by Bassas Blog — April 2, 2012 @ 6:11 am |
This reminds me my trip there when I was a kid. It is definitely a beautiful place!
Thanks for following my blog. Looking forward to reading more of your posts
Comment by mzsura — April 2, 2012 @ 8:53 am |
I love the old school house photo! A place to visit I reckon. Thank you for sharing.
Comment by Lisa M. — April 2, 2012 @ 9:30 am |
I’ve walked those streets many times myself. I LOVE St. Augustine!!! My Mom lives in Florida (now) we go everytime we visit her, but been going since we were kids! A positively wonderful place. If it could talk, it would be most interesting!
Comment by 5kidsmom — April 2, 2012 @ 9:32 am |
St. Augustine is one of my favorite places and so is that gator zoo!
Comment by deepfriedyankee — April 2, 2012 @ 11:43 am |
Absolutely gorgeous!!
Comment by Smartie Knows — April 2, 2012 @ 12:18 pm |
Great city with lots of history. I love visiting St. Augustine! This reminds me of some photos I could use in one of my Friday Flashbacks…thanks!
Comment by ucfmat — April 3, 2012 @ 1:11 pm |
I really, really enjoyed this piece. I especially like the albino alligator…ewww!! Thank you for sharing!
Comment by Bird — April 4, 2012 @ 3:01 pm |
Seeing your photos bring back such beautiful memories…St Augustine is a beautiful place!
Comment by La'DonnaRDavis — April 4, 2012 @ 9:02 pm |
Will want to visit – it looks absolutely fascinating.
Comment by Amos van der Merwe — April 5, 2012 @ 1:35 am |
This is a wonderful post. I visited St. Augustine a couple of times and explored the downtown area, as well as one of the areas in which homes from the Flagler era are still standing. St. Augustine is one of those historical yet beautiful places that beckon you to visit again and again.
Comment by vwg — April 5, 2012 @ 8:46 am |
Thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures! My oldest son went to St. Augustine on a mandatory field trip with his history class a couple of years ago. I never thought about venturing down there, but I am planning a trip for sure now!
Comment by Bohemian Hijabi — April 6, 2012 @ 8:33 pm |
Interesting! I’ve actually been interested in visiting St. Augustine before, but haven’t made it…yet. Looks like it’s worthy of a visit.
Comment by Michelle C. Torres-Grant — April 7, 2012 @ 2:35 pm |
St. Augustine is one of my families favorite places. We are lucky to live only an hour away so it’s a frequent visit for us and we never tire of exploring it’s streets. It’s a great place for a day or a weekend visit.
Comment by pouringcandles — April 8, 2012 @ 1:04 pm |
It’s a beautiful city. I’ve traveled across the south, but, amazingly, have never made my way to Florida. That said, I can’t wait to check it out.
Comment by Ben Leib — April 8, 2012 @ 8:49 pm |
I was just in Saint Augustine~ such a beautiful city!
Comment by L. — April 9, 2012 @ 8:56 am |
St. Augustine is one of the few places in Florida that I have not been. I was actually on my way there, from College Station TX, when Hurricane Andrew cut my trip short. I was in Panama City while Andrew was destroying South Florida so I turned around and just barely beat Andrew to New Orleans.
Comment by Russel Ray Photos — April 10, 2012 @ 6:57 pm |
I have a fondness for historic structures. No to get to Saint Augustine. Who knew there were so many?
Comment by Jan Rörschåch — April 29, 2012 @ 11:59 am |
Thanks for the ‘follow’ dr anthony. . . this post has rekindled my intention to visit St. Augustine. I live in S. Florida and still I’ve never managed to visit there. But I just moved a visit way up on my list! Thanks.
Comment by Moe — May 6, 2012 @ 5:08 pm |
this is a great post….we are planning on going up there sometimes…now I can’t wait.
Comment by ntebogeng archer — May 6, 2012 @ 9:07 pm |
Man I miss Florida, i haven’t been there since 2003.
Comment by The Wandering Mind — May 14, 2012 @ 11:16 am |
[…] Another visit to St. Augustine, Florida (dranthonysblog.com) […]
Pingback by Saint Augustine in St. Augustine | Resting in His Grace — May 18, 2012 @ 6:02 am |
Great photos!
Comment by dorothyadele — October 23, 2012 @ 10:05 pm |
One of my favorite places and yes, it is amazing and timeless! Thanks for sharing wonderful photos and history about St. Augustine. A special thanks for visiting catnipoflife which brought me to your site!
Comment by catnipoflife — October 28, 2012 @ 5:37 pm |
Thanks for following my blog. http://blueribbonfair.wordpress.com/ I live on the panhandle of Florida myself for 4 years. I adore pictures like the old schoolhouse you included.
Comment by blueribbonfair — February 20, 2013 @ 12:13 pm |