Our Trip to the Oldest City

February 10, 2016

I wanted to share a past trip we took. It's one of my favorites.

The was a long weekend, thanks to the Superbowl. We decided to take a day trip down to St. Augustine with some friends. It's one of our favorite get away places. It's the oldest city in the US and, as you can imagine, it's full of history.

There's this AMAZING Popsicle place called The Hyppo.  They have all different kinds of flavors and they're sooooooo good.

Look at all the Hippos on the wall!

Juan, a worker at The Hyppo (he was super cool)

Cody and Juan

Cody in front of the mustache popsicle

We went on our way with our super delicious popsicles. We headed Castillo de San Marcos. It's this beautiful fort located near the water in St. Augustine.

Castillo de San Marcos

This is us and some friends outside the fort. Isn't it pretty?

The firing of the cannon at Castillo de San Marcos

After visiting the fort, we made our way to the St. Augustine Lighthouse.

Isn't it gorgeous?!

And of Course, we climbed the lighthouse. You can't just go to one and not climb.

We even got to see a gorgeous sunset at the top.

Cody at the top, with the sun shining on him. Isn't he handsome?

Laura and Me at the top

Cody and me at the top

Overall, we all had an amazing time exploring St. Augustine. If you ever get the chance, visit the oldest city. You won't regret it.

Amelia Island, Florida

March 12, 2016

We woke up bright and early, hopped in the car and made our way to Amelia Island.

When we arrived, we realized that we just happened to be there at the same time as their annual car show was occurring. So the island was packed with tons of vintage muscle cars.

Our adventure began at the farmers market. Every Saturday, they close down 7th Street, in the historic district, until 1 pm, so that people can set up and sell their goodies.

Upon arriving at the farmer's market, we saw two men who were dressed in an odd fashion. Definitely not what people would normally be seen wearing today.

They were raising money to send a missionary to Jerusalem. 

We continued along the farmer's market.  There were tons of booths set up. 

There was a man set up who was selling imported Olive Oils. There were people selling toffee, cheese straws, cupcakes and various other food items. We also saw multiple people selling their artwork, whether it be paintings or handmade furniture. 

After we were finished at the farmer's market, we decided to explore the historic district. The architecture we came across was stunning. 

We headed down the island to visit Fernandina Beach. Due to the car show, parking was absolutely terrible. There are little parking areas all along the road that's near the beach. But each parking area, only holds 4-5 cars. So it took us a while to find parking. 

The beach itself, was really pretty. The island actually has 13 miles of beach, which is a lot if you really think about it. The tide was going out, so there was a ton of beach to walk along.

The water was ice cold, but it didn't stop Cody from playing in it.

I have no idea how he didn't freeze. 

Before leaving the island, we had to stop by the lighthouse. You can drive right up to it, however, you can't climb it. But that's okay. It's still so beautiful. 

The Amelia Island Lighthouse is the most inland lighthouse on the US east coast. Pretty interesting huh? 

Overall, the trip was really fun. I now have a new favorite lighthouse. If you're ever in the area, take the time to stop by. It's worth it.

Ponce de Leon Inlet

March 4, 2016

We packed up the car with our cooler and my cameras and made the 3 1/2 hour drive down to Ponce de Leon Inlet in Florida. The weather was great for exploring! Sunny most of the day, but the clouds did provide some shade from the sun, as the day went on.

Our first stop was the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse. It's the tallest lighthouse in Florida and the second tallest in the US.

The Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse made history because it was the first lighthouse built like it was. The built a ring platform around the structure and when they finished the row, they would move each individual plank of the platform, up. 

A model depicting how the lighthouse was built

The lighthouse has 203 steps. The original structures are still on the property. There is the keeper's house, the assistant keeper's house and the second assistant keeper's house. Most of the buildings have the original furnishings.

On the property there is also the Ayres Davis Lens Building. It is one of the largest lens museums in the world. Inside, there are all different types of lighthouse lenses from all over the world. 

A First Order Fresnel Lens in the lens building.

Of course, we had to climb to the top of the lighthouse. The view was phenomenal.

The view looking up the center of the lighthouse

Me at the top

The view from the top

The view from the top

Cody at the top

Isn't it a wonderful view? 

While we were at the top, the wind was gusting pretty hard. At times I felt like I would be blown away!

As the day began to draw to an end, we decided to grab a couple more geocaches before heading out. We found a beautiful boardwalk that lead out to the beach, The walk was amazing. It felt like I was walking through a tropical paradise.

Since it was a cool day, we basically had the beach to ourselves. It was lovely. The beach was lovely. Absolutely beautiful. It  was so relaxing hearing the waves crash on the shore and the gulls crying out to one another.  

Something I find really cool about the beach at Ponce de Leon Inlet, is the fact that you are able to drive on the beach. There are actually speed limit signs posted all throughout the beach. 

We decided to head back to the car. We stopped along the boardwalk to empty our shoes of sand. And elderly couple coming from the beach, stopped and asked if we were waiting for the shuttle launch. We had heard nothing of this launch, so we asked about it. Turns out there would be a launch across the inlet at Cape Canaveral that evening.

We moved our car and parked close to a nearby pier. The pier had rocks on both sides and the waves were crashing loudly against them. There were people all along the pier, fishing. We made our way to the. Looking back toward land, the view was breath taking. The sun was starting to set and you could see the lighthouse lit up. 

As the time for the launch approached, Cody pulled out his phone so we could watch the live feed of the launch.

The launch occurred at 6:35 pm. We watched as the SES9 rocket launched high into the sky. We were able to see the various stages of the launch.

The rocket launch is probably the coolest thing I've ever experienced. Overall, our trip the Ponce de Leon Inlet was a success!