You are here: Home > Family Stuff, Family Trip > FLORIDA TRIP (Part 2)

FLORIDA TRIP (Part 2)

Posted in Family Stuff, Family Trip | February 21st, 2009

So, after doing Disney World and The Kennedy Space Center we could’ve gone home happy, but we had a little bit more time to enjoy and so here is what we did:

****************************

Cocoa Beach, Florida

Above: This is the view (with PJ) from our hotel room on Cocoa Beach. This is in the morning, looking out over the Atlantic ocean. Cocoa Beach is just south of the Kennedy Space Center in the NorthEast part of Florida. Scott and Veronica (who live near there) say that the beaches are way better down by Fort Lauderdale and south of there (white sand beaches, clear water)…and we are going to have to go try that some time soon….but we had a great time on this beach too.

Above: PJ, Mikayla and Ashley out on the beach. We went out on the beach in the morning…thinking it would be cold and the kids would run around for a minute and then we would go back to the hotel, pack up and head up north (especially since a storm was moving in and we could see if off in the distance…the same one that caused tornados in GA). But the kids got in the water, had a great time and didn’t want to leave (it wasn’t as cold as we thought)..so we ended up staying for a couple of hours. We were gone by 11:00, but some of us still got sunburned…I didn’t think to lather everyone up because I didn’t think we would be out there very long.

Above: Donovan running on the beach. You can see all the little bumps on the sand…those are all seashells…there are TONS…unlike most places I have been on the West Coast. We collected some cool ones.

Above: Looking North up the Beach….you can see the storm moving in on the left.

Above: Looking for seashells.

Above: Donovan playing in the sand. I was surprised when he actually got out in the waves too.

Above: Megan’s magnificent castle.

Above: Megan and Liz…they didn’t get in the water…but they had a lot of fun on the sand.

Above: A turtle that Liz and Megan created.

Above: Aaaawwwwww!!!

Above: Ashley spending some time in the sand before getting wet again.

Above: PJ actually went out and had fun in the water??? Amazing!!


Above: The extent of my beach enjoyment (it was cold to me!)…oh, actually, I did gather seashells. What’s up with my hair?? I got very sunburned.

Above: Mikayla was our fish…she didn’t come out of the water often.

Above: Mikayla back in the water. The kids said that you could go a long ways out and not be very deep in the water.

Above: Liz was very excited to “catch some rays.”

Above: Looking south along the beachline.

Above: Frank loves the beach.

Above: Video Alert! PJ and the birds.

*************************************

St. Augustine, Florida

Frank has always wanted to go to St. Augustine…the oldest city in America.

Here is a little bit about it from http://www.oldcity.com/:

“St. Augustine, the nation’s oldest city, also holds the distinction of being one of the nation’s most charming. Known as the “Ancient City,” Saint Augustine is located between North East and Central East Florida and is convenient to Jacksonville, Orlando, and Daytona airports.”

Wikipedia says:
“St. Augustine, or San Agustín, is the county seat of St. Johns County [1], Florida, in the United States. It is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city, and the oldest port, in the continental United States.”

A history of the city can be found by clicking here.

Above: The main place we visited here was Castillo de san Marcos. This photo was taken from within the walls of the fortress.

Here is a snippet about it from http://www.oldcity.com/:

“Throughout its history, the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument has been closely intertwined with the city and the neighboring structures which served as the city’s outer defenses – Fort Mose to the north and Fort Matanzas to the south. The Castillo and the town serve as outstanding reminders of the might of the early Spanish empire in the New World. Given the architectural details, it’s hardly surprising that Castillo de San Marcos actually took 23 years to build (from 1672 to 1695). Fabricated of coquina, a virtually indestructible limestone comprised of broken sea shells and coral, the walls of the fortress remained impenetrable through 300 years of enemy shelling and pounding by violent storms.”

…and the National Park Service says (http://www.nps.gov/):

“Our story begins on the edge of the known world. A bastion of the largest empire ever created, the Castillo was built to protect and defend Spain’s claims in the New World. Though caught in the whirlwinds of colonial warfare and intrigue, it was never defeated in battle. Its scarred walls still stand witness to over 330 years of history and culture.”

Above: This is a room in the fort that had at one time been sealed shut. Many many years later it was opened and there were human bones found inside. There was speculation as to what happened, but they never really found out. You had to get down on your hands and knees to get in the room.

Above: The family going up the stairs to the top of the fort (in a Brady Bunch sort of way).

Above: Video Alert!! This is a 360 view from the top of the fort.


Above: Do you love the socks??

Above: Donovan – ever curious!

Above: Ashley is a ham.
Above: Frank is a true History Buff! He was LOVING this.


Above: Liz and Megan

Above: Liz “helping” Ashley check out the cannon.

Above: Looking down into the courtyard. When there was trouble in town, the townspeople would all come live at the fort for extended periods of time…so they had food and supplies stockpiled there.

Above: Frank wanted to go watch a movie about the the Castillo de san Marcos. The rest of us were “historied out” at this point…so we all waited outside for him. A lady walking by offered to take a picture of us.

Above: We made a quick visit to Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth while we were in St. Augustine. You can see a history of it by clicking here. It is a 15 acre attraction, but we didn’t have time (or desire ;-) to go through it.


Above: This is an historical street that is not open to traffic anymore. You can walk down it and there are a bunch of quaint little shops…and attractions like the oldest log cabin school house in America. I think it was called “St. George Street.”

Above: Liz is always on the lookout for hot guys while we are traveling ;-) .

Above: After St. Augustine we headed North toward Jacksonville, where we stayed at the Embassy Suites. The kids had fun swimming in the hotel pool that night.


********************************

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa Nolden
in Brunswick, GA

Above: We all had fun trying on a sombrero that they had. Megan channeling her inner Mexican.

Above: Frank…the sombrero…and his cheesy smile.

Above: PJ and his ever present cough drop…he had a nasty cough on the trip. You can see Grandma and Grandpa in the background.

Above: Grandma and Grandpa with the kids. We missed Cody being there!!!

Above: Frank with his mom and dad. His brother Marc came over for lunch while we were there, but we forgot to get a photo of him…

Above: …but we did stop by and see Aunt Lynn at work (at a pharmacy) on our way out of town. This is her (far left) with her working buddies.

Above: The kids with Aunt Lynn.
****************************************

After that we had an almost 4.75 hour trip home. We went via Savannah, Georgia, this time but the freeway is too far out of town when it turns and goes West to see anything. One day we will have to check out that town too.

We had a blast but it is always great to get home too!!

One Response to “FLORIDA TRIP (Part 2)”

  1. i says:
    February 28, 2009 at 11:58 am

    wowzers. what a wonderful, busy trip you had!!!! i’m so glad i found your blog! we miss your family!!!

Leave a Reply