Monday, 7 September, we headed out to Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach, and eventually to Saint Augustine. We drove along the Intercostal Waterway/Halifax River and paused at The Casements, home of John D. Rockefeller, and the picturesque surrounding neighborhood. We ate lunch at Flagler Beach before continuing on to Saint Augustine where they are celebrating 450 years. It is the earliest settlement in the United States, being founded in 1565. There, we visited Castillo San Marco, a fortress built to protect Spanish treasure in the New World from the French and British. It and all the stone buildings in Saint Augustine are constructed of coquina, a local sedimentary rock made primarily of shells with a little sand. We visited Ponce de Leon Hall at Flagler College, originally the Ponce de Leon Hotel. It is a splendid Victorian-era building with fantastic decorative detail. We walked the historic area of Saint Augustine along Saint George Street, and then drove to the nearby Gonzales-Alvarez House, reputed to be the oldest house in the USA.
Clubhouse at the Boynton's complex
The Intercostal Waterway at Ormond Beach,
looking toward Daytona Beach
The Casements, the Rockefeller home
A lovely home in the same neighborhood
Wonderful tree-lined streets in the neighborhood
Ormond Beach
Picnic lunch at Flagler Beach
Happy picnickers
Wildflowers along the A1A costal highway
Entrance to Castillo San Marco
Dormitory in the fortress
Great Spanish classical design elements
Spanish cannon detail
Vic, Rod, and Kris at the Castillo
Same group, same place
View south down the river
View from the fortress toward the town
Lovely ladies
View north up the river from Castillo San Marco
The shells are most apparent in the weathered coquina
The Basilica
Ponce de Leon Hall at Flagler College
Rich Victorian design
The interior
The rotunda
A fine plaster arabesque in a decorative niche
The troops headed up Saint George Street
Saint George Street, Saint Augustine
Vic and Kris enjoying the heat and humidity
The Oldest House
Rod in the gardens of the same
The kitchen was a separate building
Supper back in Deland at the Brickhouse
This was a great day. Thanks to Rod and Vic for the excellent management. Today we are off to Disney World, so there will be more. That's all for now.
OXO
D.
