St. Augustine

I continue making my way northward along the Florida coast and thus spent the day in St. Augustine, the oldest continuous European settlement in the USA. It was, as the name might already reveal, founded by the Spanish in 1565 and changed hands a couple of times between the British and the Spanish throughout its history, before becoming a US territory (and then part of the state of Florida, when that became a state in 1845).  Suffice to say, people seem to be proud of their history here, and there’s an entire historical district with old buildings and people dressed in period costumes, selling all kinds of touristy gee-gaws (those are generally not historical, but rather of the 0815 tourist trap variety).

Still, wandering around the city was nice, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with gawking at touristy kitsch (I bought none of it). Also took a cruise on the harbor and out to the Atlantic, so that was a good thing to while away the afternoon with. Right now there’s a bit of a thunderstorm going on outside (though not as bad as the one I was caught in in Tampa), so I am glad to be inside – it’s going to be an early night for me, as I plan on an equally early start tomorrow.