St. Augustine, Florida

Sea Turtle, Crescent Beach, St. Augustine

We spent almost a month in St. Augustine, Florida (except for the short cruise we took to the Bahamas).  We really liked the area, the town itself, the bridges, the water, and the beaches; in general, a great place to spend time in the winter!   

"The 5th" at St. Augustine

Pat takes every opportunity to eat seafood!

 In addition to the cruise, we also took a trip north to Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina.  We enjoyed both places.  They are filled with history and beautiful places to see and visit as well as great places to eat.   

Beautiful tree in historic Charleston

The main purpose of the trip was to attend a concert by The Mavericks, a group that we have loved for many years.  This was the first concert on their reunion tour and we both agree it was one of the very best concerts we’ve ever been to.  The musicians were obviously really into it and enjoyed themselves.  In fact, they kept playing for about an hour longer than scheduled.  We had a blast!

While we were on the northeast coast of Florida, we took the opportunity to connect with our son-in-law’s parents.  Drew’s parents live about 50 miles south of St. Augustine in Ormand Beach, Florida.  Between their schedule and ours, we felt lucky to manage to get together for dinner in Ormand Beach the week before we left.  It was very nice to see them again and chat about “the kids”.

The Cruise

Heading out from Port Canaveral

Since we were there, Pat and I decided to take a cruise.  We went back and forth around where to go and how long of a cruise to take; and ultimately decided to go with a short (three day) cruise to two islands in the Bahamas.  We got a really good deal price-wise; however, we then got the opportunity to upgrade (for a cost, of course) and decided to treat ourselves.  Was it ever worth it!  We had a junior suite on the highest cabin deck of the ship with a great balcony.  In addition, we got priority boarding and disembarkation which was totally worth it.  Just show up, skip all the lines, and we were in our suite in about 15 minutes.  Same with leaving the ship.  If you go on a cruise, this alone is worth the upgrade!  We spent one day on Grand Bahama Island.  We took a historical tour of the island that also highlighted natural features such as sea caves and a nature hike.  The day ended with lunch, snorkeling, and relaxation on a private beach.  Weather was great, the water was perfect, and we had a wonderful time.  The next day was spent on Nassau, the capital and most populated island.  We took a day trip to a small private island for a day of beach time, snorkeling, swimming, and of course, eating and drinking.  A great, relaxing day.

Entrance to sea cave.

Pat can only wear tie-dye on the beach.

Does it get any more beautiful than thsi?