A New Beginning for Annie
Today, we leave for St. Augustine to move Annie into her new apartment and her new life. Our friend Janis, who’s handy with fixing and hanging and lifting, etc., is riding down with me and we’ll stay till Saturday. We’re staying at the Holiday Inn, right on the beach on Anastasia Island, a one-time splurge that probably won’t happen again. Can’t afford that very often.
St. Augustine proper is a beautiful and fascinating place and history is at its core, making it a wonderful town to visit if you’re into history, which I am. Anastasia Island, just across the bay, is a delight for the senses and you don’t have to be a beach type to appreciate the experience.
These beaches are, in some areas, unbelievably wide and the sand is that sort of powdery stuff, really soft on the feet (which does not mean it doesn’t get hot as blazes). At certain times of day and season, you can drive your car on the upper side of the beaches. I was a passenger on such a ride on Virginia Beach when I was a teenager and have to say I don’t get the thrill but to each his own. Horseback, now, that would be totally cool.
The St. Augustine Lighthouse is on our list of sites we simply must go to. We’ve driven near it several times but never had the time but the house/museum and grounds are lovely. Janis, in particular, has a special fondness for lighthouses and Annie and I do, too. It’ll be interesting to see how this one compares to the ones on the Outer Banks in North Carolina especially Hatteras, which we had the pleasure of watching as it was moved a ways inland several years ago.
One of these days, we’ll get to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm to see this guy and all his buddies of the reptilian persuasion, not to mention all sorts of birds, fishy things and furry folks. They even have Zoo Camp at this place but we’re a tad old for that, I’m sorry to say. Founded in 1893 (!), this zoo has provided scientists with the ability to study creatures that have lived there for decades. Pretty amazing.
That visit might have to wait, though, for another time. We expect to spend Tuesday and maybe part of Wednesday getting Annie moved in and that will leave just Thursday and Friday for the touristy thing. We already have tickets for the Red Train (again–love it) around the historic district and the Scenic Cruise and, naturally, we have to check out some more restaurants and go back to some gems we already found. The beach is also a must-do so time just might be a problem on this trip. I just hope that, on this trip or another, we’ll get to see this little fellow, theAnastasia Island Beach Mouse, who lives in the dunes and is endangered. Is he not just about the cutest mouse you’ve ever seen?
July 19, 2010
Posted in: Tales of a Bookseller
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