Spoil Islands/St. Augustine/Pensacola

Days 6, 7 & 8

Day 6:
If you'll be so kind to utilize the map below, it will greatly aid in what I'm about to TRY to explain to you. Florida has these causeways (a new term for a gal like me - we call them bridges where I come from ... I'm not even sure that's how it's spelled) that go over these rivers (not so much rivers as they are the Atlantic Ocean separated from Florida by a teeny tiny road called A1A). Well in these "rivers" are these little islands with sandbars that have been around for several decades. They're great little places you take a picnic on a nice, sunny day.

Here are pictures from such a picnic on such a day.

Thanks to Travis and his dad for taking us out on their boat. We all had a blast.

Day 7:
St. Augustine is the oldest European city in the nation. It was quite a scene. We were all very excited to be amidst some of the oldest structures in our country. One of the coolest sights there is the Castillo de San Marcos; an enormous fort that actually took 23 years to build (from 1672 to 1695). Fabricated of coquina (limestone made up of broken sea shells and coral), the walls of the fortress remained impenetrable through 300 years of enemy fire and Mother Nature's many violent storms. It exchanged ownership 16 times yet never lost a battle. They still fire their canons daily. Here are the kids preparing themselves for the blast.

Bradley climbing its walls. Pretty sure it's not allowed.

The fam with Travis and Katie.

Day 8:
The morning of Day 8 we were on our way home. We had stayed the night in Pensacola. I wanted to see me some clear, turquoise water. And I gots me some.

I just forgot to adjust the camera settings. Gah!

On the way home we stopped in Louisiana. I HAD to get some beignets and Steven was dying for some gumbo. We found an awesome little place off the side of the road that had delicious food. This place had a couple of antique shops, and a little place out back where you could go see two alligators hanging out. Which reminds me ...

Meet the chef.

So we made it home safely and happily and all I can say is a HUGE THANK YOU to Travis. We would have never come out to Florida if it weren't for you. You not only gave us an excuse to come out there but you saved us a couple hundred dollars - like 6 or 7 to be exact. The kids are already expecting us to go there every year. Since you've done so much for us, we figured it wouldn't be a big deal if you gave them the bad news.

Thanks, again.