Day 19: Go With The Flow

Today was going to be just a driving day and seeing whatever there was that caught our attention.  We knew, even though it was several miles longer (for you mileage people), we wanted to follow the coast line up Florida.  The highway is A1A.  We did take I-75 north for a little while before cutting over to the coast.  We were just taking whatever road that would get us to the Atlantic Ocean and, lo and behold, when we got to A1A we were at the Daytona Beach Boardwalk.  It wasn't very crowded so we easily found parking and walked around.  We actually had to feed a parking meter--do you remember what those are?  Karen got her feet wet in the Atlantic YAY!  We were not impressed with Daytona Beach Boardwalk area--it didn't seem very clean, shops were questionable and there were so many huge hotels.  There were Ormand Beach and Flager Beach that seemed more like our type of place--not as touristy.

We decided to drive more on A1A and were driving right along the ocean.  

There are differences between the Florida and Oregon coasts.  

In Florida: 

• You drive at almost water level, it is flat and straight 
• There is a little vegetation and then just water
• Houses and businesses right up to the beach sand
• Numerous places to access the beach.  

Oregon coast: 

• The highway is full of curves and hills
• The coastline and ocean are peppered with huge rocks
• Waves crashing against the rocks is spectacular to watch
• There are very few structures of any kind
• Limited beach access--some require descended to the beach via a trail

Off we went to St. Augustine.  Our first stop was at a historic lighthouse.  There was an admission free to visit, but was discounted as the 164 foot tall lighthouse was closed for renovation.  There were several other buildings in the museum complex that offered a glimpse of the area's history. 

We had our anniversary lunch (a day late) at a very nice resort restaurant on a harbor--Conch House.  We ate inside but there was outside seating that was on different levels, like in little wall-less huts.  Our shrimp dishes were very tasty--worth the wait.

We decided to explore a "Mission" but it didn't turn out to be what we thought.  It had very beautiful grounds that we walked through but not the history we were expecting.

St. Augustine is a 'boat city.'  With rivers, bays, and the Atlantic at their doorstep we saw boats everywhere we looked.  Not aluminum skiffs we oft think about, or even fast ski boats, but large cruisers, yachts, and sailboats. 

Then we followed A1A a while longer.  This time we saw vegetation on both sides of the road (grasses mainly) but our GPS showed there was water on either side on the grasses--we just couldn't see it. 

We did drive some of the beltway around Jacksonville.  At 3:30pm the traffic was beginning to get quite thick, and slow.  It was yet a reminder to us of why we avoid larger cities.  We left Florida behind as we entered Georgia. 

All is all a very nice day of just "going with the flow."