A la Bridget Jones:
Miles driven: 220
Steps taken: 10,895*
Calorie units: 2115
I will begin with this: I’m not really a fan of bed & breakfasts. There is, for one, an expectation (usually) of using some of the 7,000 word per day average with STRANGERS at breakfast! Then there are the peccadillos of such places; last night it was the “Victorian” bed and the claw foot tub. Who can raise their legs that high?!?! Well, first thing this morning RR rolls over and says “you know I think that stool in the corner is to help you get in and out of the bed.” Huh. I point out that I have done so, with a certain pain, five times already. 🤬 But I did use it to get in the shower, as she warned me that she actually had to CLIMB in.
But it was a lovely enough place and the manager was nice and not overly in your business. And I’ll concede breakfast, an individual sausage quiche and biscuit with side of fruit, was good.
But that was last night.
The reason for going to St. Augustine was to see the old town, especially the fort (known, OC, as the Castillo). It is the oldest masonry fort in North America, finished in 1695. The settlement dates from 1565, but there were wooden forts till this one.
It is an amazing structure, all in tact. I’m not sure one picture does it justice, but this one will have to do.
You can OC see a long way across the water from here.
Our next stop was the lighthouse, which you could see from the Castillo.
It only dates back to the late 19th century, but the thing is you can still go up in it. The sign said 219 steps. We consulted. We agreed we didn’t have to go ALL the way up.
But we did. Neither of us died (though, admittedly, I thought RR had in the bathroom [which was air conditioned] afterwards 😂) and it was surprisingly easy. So easy the f***ing Fitbit did not give me credit for stairs!!!! GEEZ. Here’s the “best” shot from up top — you can see the Atlantic from there (obvious Steve here).
From there, it was across the state, through territory…well, I know why not much of anyone was interested in it till the 20th century. There’s a pond or full culvert everywhere. Can you say “swamp?” And then there is the monstrosity of Orlando; you know none of this s**t was there till Disney decided to build there in the 60s and…it’s just amazing the condos and hotels. And not little hotels. 5, 10 story hotels. Massive structures.
There was a +12 and red line on Google Maps (for those of you who use it and know such things) in the center of Orlando, near Disney. Sigh.
We had lunch at Zaxby’s. It was our first time. They did not live up to Chick fil a’s service standards, which are amazingly high. RR is attempting to try every FF place’s chicken sandwich: she is a fan of Chick-fil-A’s. Still thinks it’s #1, though she thinks KFC is close. We have to try Popeyes on this trip to finish her survey.
Dinner was at Tropicana Field. This is ballpark 25 for us. It is the only fixed roof stadium left in MLB, which came in handy with the beginnings of a hurricane coming through (they’ve already postponed tomorrow’s game). The wind was blowing at least 30 mph as we went in to the park early.
We sat the field (two rows up) and at one point RR almost took a foul ball in the head as it bounced off the “ground” in front of us and hopped over us, but other than that, which I see as somewhat positive, I found little to commend the stadium for (though, really, being out of the Florida summer is a very big deal).
First, the seats were small and uncomfortable, including having no cup holders (and you know how Americans love their cup holders). Next, the food choices were minimal and abominable. I guess there was a small stand selling pre-made Cuban sandwiches, but otherwise it was hot dogs, burgers, chicken (RR refused to eat another chicken sandwich 😂) and Papa John’s pizza. And they had (due to Covid, no doubt) NO beer on draft. Black marks all.
OTOH, it was quite a ballgame, with the hometeam coming back from two down and finishing with a winning rally in the bottom of the ninth. Yeah rah Rays.
FYI they color the roof orange when they win. You’ll have to look up why. IDK. Or C.
There were lots of Indians fans there. Strangely. I guess they travel somewhat well.
I will leave out the troubles with the hotel (we had a room, but didn’t have a room) and numerous other peccadilloes (a word I have just “learned” how to spell) of the day and leave this cliff-hanger of sorts: tomorrow it is predicted we have 100% chance of rain all day. Not exactly a beach day. I’ll let you know where we hunker down. First up is a place a few blocks from the hotel that supposedly has great breakfast. It may be the last food porn till Miami…
Manana.
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