More of Jacksonville and St. Augustine!
We had more to see in the area!
We went and visited the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. St Augustine is the nation's oldest city and this fort was built by the Spanish to protect the town. After more than 300 years, the fort is still standing! Impressive. It is the oldest masonry fort in the continental U.S.
After 9 wooden forts, which were designed to protect St. Augustine, were burned by invaders, the Spanish militia took on the huge task of constructing a stone fort that would offer the protection they sought.
Sierra on the drawbridge--
The living quarters--
View of the inside, from the top--
View from the top, out over the water--
Colton and Daxton enjoying the view, and the breeze!
Protecting the fort--
The Castillo was already over 150 years old in 1821, when the United States acquired Florida from Spain. It was then renamed Fort Marion, as it became part of the US system for coastal and frontier defense. Sadly, in the 1800s, with the Indian wars, the government locked up American Indian prisoners here.
The design/shape of the fort--
This is a "tidal toilet"--
This colonial restroom had a twice-daily, natural flushing system. The incoming tides filled the pit with seawater, and outgoing tides flushed waste out into the bay. Clever!
Exiting the fort, with Sierra standing guard!
We learned a lot and actually wished we had even more time...it was amazing.
We headed over to the St Augustine Lighthouse, and had even more awesome things to see and learn about!
First off, we climbed to the top of the Lighthouse!
There were 219 steps to climb. We were told that before we started, but Sierra counted EVERY step! So, we officially confirmed that it does, in fact, have 219 steps!
What an amazing view from the top!
Panoramic--
The tippy top--
Me and Janson--
Down to the ground, with the shadow of the lighthouse--
The view was really amazing!
Then we began the descent back down--
View out the window, part way down--
With a Christmas tree at the bottom!
We LOVED the Christmas decorations throughout the lighthouse, and the lighthouse keeper's house!
The kids caught Santa in the act! (ha ha!)
I love their surprised faces!
Janson's presenting...."The St. Augustine Maritime Crew!" :)
Switching it up...
Lightkeeper's house--beautifully decorated for Christmas--
Celebrating with the nutcrackers!
The Christmas decorations were truly incredible--so quaint and cozy!
Daxton contemplating his first move...
Out on the porch--
(Janson in Santa's chair!) Fitting...we do call him "Mr. Christmas" sometimes. (he's a BIG fan!)
Trying their hand at knot-tying:
And pulleys:
We learned about the lighthouse's part in World War II, as well:
Sierra's ready to go--she just needs some water! :)
St Augustine Lighthouse--
Ryah and I--
This is a painting of when Germans sank SS Gulfamerica on April 10, 1942. Many ships were attacked along the coast--some referred to it as the second Pearl Harbor, but not many know about it.
Daxton was intrigued by the old edition of Monopoly, from that time period.
A model of the original lighthouse--
We saw this room where they clean up and study things found in shipwrecks. Daxton said he would love to do that, for a job!
Sierra liked to pretend she was steering a ship at sea--
More Christmas tree happiness!
We have been to a number of lighthouses on the west and east coast of the country. And, like I've said before, we always share thoughts and comments about the spiritual symbolism of lighthouses, and we love it! So, we got a Christmas ornament here, to remind us of how we can look for the Light, and try to carry His Light with us, and help light the way for others!
Such a great visit!
Apparently, the locals say that with the rich mix of cultures, St. Augustine became a 'small Ellis Island'.
As we started back, we got a bit of "St. Augustine Night of Lights", from the car--
Daxton helped me take some pictures, as I was driving.
There was NO where to park, but I pulled over by the Castillo, and Dax and Colton jumped out and took some pictures for us. Look at the ship with Christmas lights!
And we caught a few other fun sights of 'night of lights'. Beautiful! So fun!
The next morning, I got a cute glimpse of some conked out kids!
That day we went to St George Island and visited the Kingsley Plantation. It's named after an early owner, Zephaniah Kinglsey, who spent 25 years there.
It is said to be one of the last remaining plantations in Florida. It has a very unique story, as Kingsley married a woman who was a former slave. She helped run the plantation and even managed affairs with the slaves!...and when he died, she ran the plantation and owned land! White women didn't have that opportunity at that time, but Anna Kingsley did! SO interesting--we want to research and find out more about it.
Slavery is always a hard, sad history to learn about. It is heart-wrenching. There are many different situations, but apparently, some of the enslaved people later became free landowners, struggling to keep things going in a difficult and shifting time. And that is part of the Kingsley Plantation, as well.
The plantation grew a lot of sea island cotton. That, along with indigo and sugar cane, were the main cash crops. In addition, they grew crops that they all lived on--potatoes, okra, yams, etc.
The kitchen--
View from where the fields were--
A scythe from the 1800's.
The barn-
We saw peacocks on the property!
The slaves' quarters--
The remains of the slaves' homes--
It was a good visit. More interesting history. It is complex, with so much behind it. There are imperfections and messiness throughout history. People are human, am I right? Making mistakes, hopefully learning a lot along the way. And hopefully, WE learn a lot from history! We have learned a lot of history throughout this journey this year, and it's interesting when we can piece things together and gain new insight. Hopefully, we are all the better for it!
We picked up the RV, with a good report and some things to replace....and we are on the road! We are heading to the Orlando area, for a niece's wedding and for some more history and fun and adventure!
We stopped for gas at a Buc-ee's! We have heard of these "amusement park gas stations" through the south, and now, we have experienced one! Wow! I've never seen so many gas pumps! And the station is like a huge store!! It was quite the experience.
