Go Seminoles!

Today we left St. Augustine, Florida, after spending three days with our friends, Bob and Shirley Carpenter. Bob and Bill have been friends since high school and after retiring, Bob moved to Florida.

Friday night we had dinner at an authentic Spanish restaurant, The Columbia Restaurant ,  but Shirley is an excellent cook, so we enjoyed her meals the other nights. It was fun catching up with each other, and I even got Shirley interested in quilting as she took me to a couple of local quilt shops.

After leaving St. Augustine, we headed south, driving along Highway A1A, which hugs the coast. Our first stop was lunch at Captain’s Barbecue where we had delicious brisket and ribs. I highly recommend this restaurant, but don’t get there too late, as they only make so much each day, and when they run out, that’s it!

I had read in USA Today that Florida state parks are temporarily slashing admission fees to celebrate two college sports triumphs. For January only, fans wearing FSU and UCF hats or shirts will get into state parks for half price. My mistake was telling Bill. He was determined to get this deal throughout our trip, but, of course, he would never spend the money to buy a t-shirt with a logo! Sooooo, he bought a bumper sticker for the Florida State University Seminoles ($1.06). OK, I am going to try to tell this story, but I am having a hard time because I keep laughing.

We wanted to tour Washington Oaks Gardens State Park , and Bill wanted to get the half price deal. So he taped the bumper sticker onto his ubiquitous white t-shirt. ( I will try to get a picture the next time…I’m sure there’ll be a next time…) And, yes, the lady gave us the deal…$2.50 instead of $5.00. Well, at least the bumper sticker has been paid for!

The park was lovely, and if you’re ever in the Palm Coast area, be sure to visit. It was the winter home of  Owen D. Young, who was the Chairman of the Board of General Electric in the 30’s and founder and Chairman of RCA. His wife, who was a self-made millionaire at the age of 19, designed beautiful gardens on their Florida estate. It’s like a mini Longwood Gardens. We walked the hiking trails, where we spotted a Great Horned Owl and a pileated woodpecker. Try to see the owl in this picture:

 

Then we walked on the Atlantic Ocean end of the park, where there are rock formations made by shells, which are called coquina rocks.

We ended up at a deluxe camping spot at Ormond Beach, where we will sleep by the relaxing sounds of the waves and the smell of the Atlantic ocean air. We have the comforts of home, including TV and wireless Internet. There are ocean views from every window of our Winnebago; here’s the view from the front.

 

 And there’s a quilt shop two miles away…that will be our hike tomorrow:)