On the Road (Again): It’s Old; or, a Long Way from Atlanta

[Ed’s note: Since I am teaching Bridget Jones’s Diary in the fall, entries will begin to imitate (somewhat) hers there]

Miles covered: 400

Steps: 8,300

Calorie intake: 2076

So today began slowly after y’day’s long day, today began late and slowly.

In terms of miles covered, it is a long, long way (over 4 hours on the road) from Macon, GA, to St. Augustine, FL. In case you missed it. BTW, I told my mother we were going to a city today older than she is. 😂 She thought that was somewhat funny.

On the way south, we stopped, as in pilgrimage, at Buccee’s, the only one in Georgia. If you don’t know Buccee’s, it’s a Texas business that is a cross between theme park and convenience store. As I waited on kaloches (don’t ask; the sign on the wall said “bread, meat, cheese = kaloche. 3 major food groups” 😂), the woman behind me, with a shopping cart full of stuff (did I say shit?) said “this ain’t like no other convenience store.” Uh huh.

And then south.

We spend the afternoon walking historic St. Augustine. You all know it’s the oldest city on the North American continent — bragging on tee shirts about 1565 (a pirate on one tee said “party like it’s 1565” — little did I know that was such a good partying year 😂) The historic district is pure tourist glitz — tee shirts, ice cream shops, eateries with hand food, coffee shops, boutiques, and more tee shirts. They are big on both the pirate and Spanish iconography…although pirates weren’t really that big here (unlike, say, the outer banks or the islands) and the Spanish have been gone since the mid 18th century. Oh and the one local hotel, and a local street, is the Ponce De Leon. There’s a fountain of youth here, OC.

We found a quality place for dinner, the Forgotten Tonic. Food porn to follow. RR had the shrimp and grits.

They were out of the crab cakes, which I wanted for dinner, so I had apps. But I made up for it with this monstrosity from next door — the “Peace Pie.”