04/05JAN09 - St Augustine & Daytona, FL

Heading south from the Mayport Naval Station we took Highway A1A along the Atlantic Ocean. This is a very scenic drive, and much of it in northern Florida has escaped the wall-to-wall development of southern Florida or what you see along any portion of US 1. We had planned on sightseeing at the coastal town of St Augustine before camping in Daytona. As you may remember from your USA history classes, St Augustine is the oldest, continuously inhabited town settled by European colonists in what eventually became the USA.

As we entered the city limits we saw signs for the Fountain of Youth, the Old Jail, and other attractions that led us to believe that this was the historic center of St Augustine – NOT! These so called attractions were at least one mile north of the old town and are what we would call “tourist traps”, but not knowing this we parked and got out for a walk about. We immediately realized our mistake and headed back to the RV. But we did find a beautiful park (or what we thought was a park), it was really the grounds of the first Spanish mission in the new world “Mission of Nombre de Dios”.

http://www.missionandshrine.org/

Finally we found the true old St Augustine. Parking an RV, or even a car, anywhere near the center of town was impossible, so we parked about fifteen blocks out, and jumped on our bikes. St Augustine definitely has an European look and feel, even though overrun by tourists. The town is laid out in a classic grid pattern centered on the Plaza de la Constitucion, the oldest public space in the USA.

Since we had only a few hours to sightsee, Dan left Corrie in town and rode his bike over to Castillo de San Marcos for a quick tour (aka Fort Marion at one time). Fort San Marcos is the only surviving European fort in USA, and it never fell to an attack or siege. One reason it never fell to attack was because it was made with local Florida limestone called “coquina” which remarkably absorbed the impact of cannon fire, rather than shatter like brick or other native stone. In 1875 a Capt Pratt, US Army, was charged with bringing several Kiowa Indians as prisoners to the fort and supervising their imprisonment. One of the prisoners documented this imprisonment in a very detailed and beautiful sketchbook called “Kiowa Odyssey”. Amazingly, Dan has seen portions of this sketchbook in MAY08 when touring a Texas museum in Canyon, TX (see below BLOG internet link).

http://www.nps.gov/casa/

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2008/06/28-30may08-palo-duro-canyon-state-park.html

Also while touring the Fort San Marco Dan learned the history of the first free Black settlement in the USA, Fort Mose. In 1738, the Spanish governor of Florida chartered Fort Mose as a settlement for freed Africans who had fled slavery in the British Carolinas. When Spain ceded Florida to Britain in 1763, the inhabitants of Fort Mose migrated to Cuba. Unfortunately nothing remains of the their settlement or fort.

Our time in St Augustine was too short and we plan on returning for any extended stay. But we needed to get to Daytona Beach and set up camp. The next day, Monday 05JAN, we drove the Toad to Cassadaga spiritualist center. As a young man from New York, George Colby was told during a séance that he would someday be instrumental in founding a Spiritualist community in the South. That prophecy was fulfilled in 1875, when Colby was led through the wilderness of Central Florida by his spirit guide "Seneca" to an area surrounded by uncommon hills. Colby homesteaded the land and in 1895 deeded over 35 acres to the newly incorporated Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Meeting Association. The business side of spiritualism must not be to good because the only café in town no longer opens on weekdays, and it appears that over half the homes are for sale.

http://www.cassadaga.org/

From Cassadaga we went back to the RV and picked up Gumbo and headed to the famous beaches of Daytona. Part of the reason the beaches are famous is that early car racers, raced their vehicles side by side on the beach. Supposedly this led to the creation of that billion dollar enterprise called NASCAR. Because of this history you can still drive your vehicle on the beach, but no faster than 10 MPH! Dan immediately noticed that there was not another dog in sight. Turns out in over thirty miles of beach, there is not one inch where dogs are allowed. We learned that at the very end of the island (ie 15 miles away) there was a county park, Lighthouse Point Park, that allowed dogs on the beach. After paying the $3 entrance fee (all the other beaches are free) we discovered that we still could not take Gumbo on the Atlantic beach side, but could only take him on crappy section of sand that was part of entrance jetty. And the beautiful lighthouse that the park is named after is not even on park property and is not accessible to the public!