At Fort Marion, the oldest fort in the U.S., begun in 1600's.
Sheriff Alex caught that rascally Ona girl!
Defending her territory...
At Daytona Museum of Arts and Sciences,
Fiona was glued to this 'magical' harp in the kids' area.
For some reason, she's always wanted to play the harp, even dreaming about it!
The last two days have been spent in St. Augustine. I love that old city, which seems like a mix between Charleston and some Spanish town. It was actually Spanish longer than it has been American, and it was settled by a different bunch of people (lots of Spanish and Minorcans). Such an exotic history compared to most of the rest of the U.S.!
Not only that, but they present history from a different angle, as they point out that all of the Americas were originally claimed by Ponce de Leon as 'Florida', not just the current state. Did you know that Columbus never made it past the Caribbean? Ponce de Leon travelled with him on his second voyage in 1493 and stayed to conquer, eventually becoming governor of Puerto Rico. If I understand it correctly, legends of the Fountain of Youth (possibly concocted to get him to leave the Caribbean?) sent him over to what is now St. Augustine, FL, in 1513. The town of St. Augustine was begun in 1565 by Menendez, well before the British settlements at Plymouth Rock and such in the 1600's.
We actually paid real money to visit the 'real' Fountain of Youth, which is now pumped up from the Floridian aquifer...so basically tap water! It tasted like tap water, too! Alex actually bought a big wine-bottle full of the tap water, despite the fact that he knew it was tap water. He just loves the show, though, and wants to make a big deal out of it with his friends!
We stayed in a very modest little hotel, but it was clean and nice and right across from a very unpopulated, perfect beach. Sunday night had us out in the ocean at dark. Well, me out in the ocean at dark, with Michael worriedly scanning for signs of me the whole time! Fiona came out with me a little, and Alex mostly stuck to shore with his dad.
The first 30 minutes or so of being in the ocean alone, especially on an empty beach at night, is about as close as I get to that blissful meditative state of 'empty mind'. It is blissful, and one of my most favorite things in the whole world. Michael's never been comfortable with it. I felt a tad guilty that I pushed it past the 'blissful' point and stayed out there even when my mind had resumed preoccupied thoughts...but, of course, I was enjoying it and you have to get to that point before you can know the utterly blissful part is done! Oh, guilty because Michael is worried the whole time, though I'm nearly the opposite of worried. Is that true, though? The waves crash me off my feet repeatedly, and it's a bit thrilling, but not really worrisome, I guess!
During the day before the beach, we ate at a unique little place called the Love Tree Cafe. It's a little house that is a cafe/antique shop. Of course, when the kids were younger, it would have been a nightmare, since it's all so crowded and stuff is everywhere to grab! We loved the little crowded shop, which had lots of veggie items and freshly-made juices and all. The front yard features a huge live oak with a full-grown palm tree growing out of it. Legend has it (according to the t-shirts and ornaments) that if you kiss underneath the 'love tree' that your love will last forever. Michael and I kissed and bought one of the ornaments. Sweet little place :).
While we ate, Fiona said, "They have an inappropriate statue in here!" and pointed. I looked around, prepared to be scandalized and disapproving, to see a cast of Neptune (Poseidon) on a marble base. Totally nude, of course. I don't actually recognize him, it's just the Trident and dolphin at his foot that gave him away. I was so tickled, after all our Percy Jackson stories, that we bought the little statue, and I promised to fashion a little loincloth for him, so the kids were quite happy, too! So, of course I was even more happy to go visit the ocean that night!
On our way out of town, we stopped at a vegetarian restaurant called Present Moment Cafe (224 King St.) that Alex had looked up on-line, and we got more than we bargained for! Wow! It was a very posh little place with a nice ambience and all, but it was all based on raw foods. Completely vegan, no temps higher than 115 degrees or so, gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free. Lots of work and thought went into the dishes, and I found them palatable, though I would have definitely preferred some cooking. Avocado, coconut, and nuts seem to form the heartier base of most of the dishes, but some were really interesting--like the sea glass noodles (a seaweed) that replaced the rice noodles in pad thai. We bought the dinner sampler, in which we chose three dinner entrees and a salad. Alex liked some of it, but Michael and Fiona didn't care for much. Michael liked a vichyssoise soup that was my least-favorite item (you didn't really cook the potatoes???). What a great experience! I was really impressed and I think I could learn to really love those foods, but my palate still craved the cooking, which I would never leave behind, as I adore (cooked!) soups and felt steaming some of the veggies would have made them tastier. I believe raw foods are a bit hard on the digestion, but we could probably all use a bit more of those 'living' foods in our diet. Check it out for the novelty of it if you're ever in St. Augustine, though, unless your palate is strictly SAD (standard American diet) or you're on a strict budget. The desserts were quite yummy, though I don't really know how they did that brownie with ice cream (cocoa, agave syrup, coconut had something to do with it)! We all approved!
Not only that, but they present history from a different angle, as they point out that all of the Americas were originally claimed by Ponce de Leon as 'Florida', not just the current state. Did you know that Columbus never made it past the Caribbean? Ponce de Leon travelled with him on his second voyage in 1493 and stayed to conquer, eventually becoming governor of Puerto Rico. If I understand it correctly, legends of the Fountain of Youth (possibly concocted to get him to leave the Caribbean?) sent him over to what is now St. Augustine, FL, in 1513. The town of St. Augustine was begun in 1565 by Menendez, well before the British settlements at Plymouth Rock and such in the 1600's.
We actually paid real money to visit the 'real' Fountain of Youth, which is now pumped up from the Floridian aquifer...so basically tap water! It tasted like tap water, too! Alex actually bought a big wine-bottle full of the tap water, despite the fact that he knew it was tap water. He just loves the show, though, and wants to make a big deal out of it with his friends!
We stayed in a very modest little hotel, but it was clean and nice and right across from a very unpopulated, perfect beach. Sunday night had us out in the ocean at dark. Well, me out in the ocean at dark, with Michael worriedly scanning for signs of me the whole time! Fiona came out with me a little, and Alex mostly stuck to shore with his dad.
The first 30 minutes or so of being in the ocean alone, especially on an empty beach at night, is about as close as I get to that blissful meditative state of 'empty mind'. It is blissful, and one of my most favorite things in the whole world. Michael's never been comfortable with it. I felt a tad guilty that I pushed it past the 'blissful' point and stayed out there even when my mind had resumed preoccupied thoughts...but, of course, I was enjoying it and you have to get to that point before you can know the utterly blissful part is done! Oh, guilty because Michael is worried the whole time, though I'm nearly the opposite of worried. Is that true, though? The waves crash me off my feet repeatedly, and it's a bit thrilling, but not really worrisome, I guess!
During the day before the beach, we ate at a unique little place called the Love Tree Cafe. It's a little house that is a cafe/antique shop. Of course, when the kids were younger, it would have been a nightmare, since it's all so crowded and stuff is everywhere to grab! We loved the little crowded shop, which had lots of veggie items and freshly-made juices and all. The front yard features a huge live oak with a full-grown palm tree growing out of it. Legend has it (according to the t-shirts and ornaments) that if you kiss underneath the 'love tree' that your love will last forever. Michael and I kissed and bought one of the ornaments. Sweet little place :).
While we ate, Fiona said, "They have an inappropriate statue in here!" and pointed. I looked around, prepared to be scandalized and disapproving, to see a cast of Neptune (Poseidon) on a marble base. Totally nude, of course. I don't actually recognize him, it's just the Trident and dolphin at his foot that gave him away. I was so tickled, after all our Percy Jackson stories, that we bought the little statue, and I promised to fashion a little loincloth for him, so the kids were quite happy, too! So, of course I was even more happy to go visit the ocean that night!
On our way out of town, we stopped at a vegetarian restaurant called Present Moment Cafe (224 King St.) that Alex had looked up on-line, and we got more than we bargained for! Wow! It was a very posh little place with a nice ambience and all, but it was all based on raw foods. Completely vegan, no temps higher than 115 degrees or so, gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free. Lots of work and thought went into the dishes, and I found them palatable, though I would have definitely preferred some cooking. Avocado, coconut, and nuts seem to form the heartier base of most of the dishes, but some were really interesting--like the sea glass noodles (a seaweed) that replaced the rice noodles in pad thai. We bought the dinner sampler, in which we chose three dinner entrees and a salad. Alex liked some of it, but Michael and Fiona didn't care for much. Michael liked a vichyssoise soup that was my least-favorite item (you didn't really cook the potatoes???). What a great experience! I was really impressed and I think I could learn to really love those foods, but my palate still craved the cooking, which I would never leave behind, as I adore (cooked!) soups and felt steaming some of the veggies would have made them tastier. I believe raw foods are a bit hard on the digestion, but we could probably all use a bit more of those 'living' foods in our diet. Check it out for the novelty of it if you're ever in St. Augustine, though, unless your palate is strictly SAD (standard American diet) or you're on a strict budget. The desserts were quite yummy, though I don't really know how they did that brownie with ice cream (cocoa, agave syrup, coconut had something to do with it)! We all approved!
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By the way, I am much less worried that I used to be, when you head out to play in the storm tossed waters all alone on a moonlit night. It is still crazy, but I have learned to respect the fact that you are crazy enough to pull it off! ;)
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