Vilano Beach, Atlantic Ocean

After we left the Fountain of Youth, we drove to the ocean. I wanted to go to Porpoise Point and see if we could see any dolphins or porpoises. NOT ONE!!! The trend continues. :-( Vilvano Beach is one that you can drive on. It was a little breezy, but a warm, sunny, beautiful day. As you can tell by the pictures below, I was having fun catching the birds in flight. We also watched a windsurfer and some kayakers bobbing in the choppy waters.

The Atlantic Ocean at Vilvano Beach

Juan Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth

Today we visited the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine. It was so interesting and informative. To think that we were standing where Ponce de Leon arrived in 1513 is amazing. We drank some of the mineral water from the Fountain of Youth Spring, although we don't expect to return to our youth any time soon. Tomorrow morning we head out to Georgia on our trek north to Michigan.

The cross of stones was discovered in this location

next to the Fountain of Youth and it is believed to

have been placed there by Ponce de Leon in 1513.

The cross is 15 rocks across and 13 rocks from top

bottom and they assume that signified the year

they were placed there.

This is the "Fountain of Youth" spring. Once St.

Augustine become a heavily populated city, the

water level dropped and today the spring is

200 ft. below ground level.

A skink lizard... I had never seen one

300-year-old pots on the

grounds

Pots

This globe was 54 ft. in circumference

and 2 stories tall. It was lit from

inside and is the only one of it's

kind

A rare albino peacock

Statue of Juan Ponce de Leon

Reinactors on the grounds

Great heron

Peacock

Old Town St. Augustine, Florida

After going to the lighthouse today, we went to Old Town St. Augustine for the rest of the afternoon. We had lunch at an excellent Mexican restaurant and then took a boat cruise. It was perfect weather and we truly enjoyed the day. St. Augustine is the oldest city in the country and the history here is amazing. We'll be doing more sightseeing tomorrow before heading out on Sunday for Georgia.


A pelican flies by


St. Francis Barracks, home of the Florida National Guard,
the building dates back to the 1500's. It has burnt down
twice, but was rebuilt on the same foundation.


Florida National Guard sign


Sign at the U. S. Cemetery



The Pirate ship "Black Raven"
passes the lighthouse



A bird with yellow shoes on the docks ;-)

The Bridge of Lions. This bridge was

in disrepair and unsafe, so they built a

temporary bridge next to it...14 months

and millions of $$$ later, they were able

to rebuild the Bridge of Lions and make

it safe. They are now in the process of

tearing down the temporary bridge.

The Bridge of Lions drawbridge

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument

Saint Augustine Lighthouse & Museum

We left Brooksville yesterday and arrived in St. Augustine in the early afternoon. We went to dinner last night with Morrie & Dixie at "Salt Water Cowboys" restaurant. It was very rustic and had excellent food. Today Bob & I went to the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum and then to Old Town for the rest of the day. The lighthouse and museum were the best we have seen. It was very interesting to learn about the history. The clerk in the museum store said a lady from the Smithsonian was just there as they are trying to get accredited by the Smithsonian. From what we saw today, I'm sure they will get it with no problem.

Sign at the entrance

Top of the lighthouse

St. Augustine Lighthouse

Bob inside the LH

Looking up the 219 steps

Lighthouse from the river

Tarpon Springs, Florida

Yesterday we went to Tarpon Springs with Joe & Ruth, Leon & Millie and John & Sheila. We had no idea that Tarpon Springs had so much to see & do. We only scratched the surface of the things to do. We have definitely added another visit to our itinerary when we return to Florida. I would like to go on one of the boat cruises to the lighthouse. They also (supposedly) see dolphins, but we know how that goes when I'm on the boat. Tarpon Springs used to be the sponge capitol of the world, but in the 1930's a red tide came in and the bacteria all but wiped out the sponges. They are finally coming back, but obviously not as quickly as they had hoped. Today, 5 of the boats are museums, as well as some of the docks. Most of the sponges in Tarpon Springs today are imported. The weather was beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed our day there. Tomorrow we leave for St. Augustine for 3 days with Morrie & Dixie and then continue on our journey to Michigan. We plan to be back in Michigan on May 4th. It's hard to believe that we've been in Brooksville for FOUR months! This is the longest we have sat in one place since we started full-timing. We are sooooo going to miss our friends here, new and old. They are all trying to convince us to come back to Florida next winter, instead of heading west.

A bird on a ship's pole.


Statue of a sponge diver


Sponge industry plaque

Sponge diving boat that is now

a museum.

Sponge diver taking a break

This guy said he has been trimming

sponges for 60 years. He uses sheep

shears to trim the sponges.

Amazing Rig...

Since the day we arrived at the park in Brooksville, Bob has been anxious to see how the guy next door would load up his rig. He has a 40' 5th wheel, a Volvo semi truck, a Jeep and a small utility trailer. He has an 0n-site RV repair business. Today was the day they moved on down the road and I had to document the process with pictures. It took him most of the day to get it all loaded. Of course, a thunderstorm in the late afternoon didn't help. After watching all he had to do get on the road, our biggest question is why wouldn't he buy a large diesel-pusher motor home and a large enclosed utility trailer that would hold his Jeep and all his tools & supplies??? Just asking...

Loading the Jeep onto the truck.

Jeep loaded.

Installing the bars that will hold the

utility trailer on the back of the truck.

The utility trailer.

The utility trailer loaded,

sideways with tires removed.

Ready to hitch the 5th wheel up.

The 5th wheel hitch actually

slides out from the rear of the truck.

Heading out, fully loaded.

Hard Rock Casino, Tampa, FL

On Saturday morning we went to the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa to pick up a free gift that Bob received a postcard for in the mail. It was a guitar-shaped 2gb flash drive, which is really cool. After that we went to the Big Top Flea Market and then to Camping World. On Saturday night, I went to the movies with Terri and Bob went to the stock car races with Bud. Afterward, Terri & I sat around the "Chit Candle" with the gang and had lots of laughs, as usual.

Doings Around Brooksville

It's hard to believe that we have only one week left in Brooksville...this 4 months has flown by. We have been very active with the gang here. On Saturday we went to the Spring Hill Lake House to see "The Legends of Doo Wop". They were also having a "Taste of Little Italy" and a carnival there. It was packed with people! On Tuesday we went back on the bus to the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa and it was not a profitable excursion! :-( Oh, well...you can't win 'em all! We have plans for most of the remaining days here and then we will be going to St. Augustine for 3 days with Morrie & Dixie before we continue our journey north to Michigan. We should arrive in Michigan on May 4th.



The Legends of Doo Wop


Bob & Joe chair dancing & singing
with the Legends of Doo Wop :-)

The Legends of Doo Wop

A sandhill crane walking through our campsites

Sheila visiting with Anita...our

95-year-young neighbor

Anita, the wonder woman, raking her yard