CamerandPen Photography

On Saturday, January 20th, we took a road trip up to St. Augustine, Florida to explore and see some of the sights.

I've never been one for downtown areas - they're usually touristy, full of over-priced stores, packed with people and cars, the roads are too tiny, and the traffic is obnoxious. But I digress... So, here we are, walking around and exploring this wonderful area - there are all sorts of museums, historic information is everywhere! Horse drawn carriages, an amazing college campus, people everywhere getting tours with tour guides either on train or trolley. There are smells wafting towards you from all the different restaurants and vendor stalls throughout the entire area.

Exploring all of the stores was fun, though we did not purchase anything this time. Perhaps next time we are in the area we will try on some outfits and take pictures and buy things to take with us. For now, the memories are good reminders of why it pays off to take a day outside of the day-to-day mundane norm and relax. It's certainly a good way to just reboot after a difficult work week.

After visiting Castillo de San Marcos, we decided it was time to get a bite to eat. Flipping through the brochure we'd picked up at the Welcome Center after parking, we settled on eating at The Chatsworth. This cute little diner/bar was full of nostalgia - the layout, seating arrangements and decor were perfect! They had high-backed chairs at dining tables; bar stools surrounding the bar; fancy cushioned chairs and sofas around coffee tables; a few whiskey/beer barrels cut in half and turned into either coffee tables or chairs. There were board games for guests to play and an amazing menu.

One of the things I always like to try, when it's available, is the Reuben sandwich - every place makes it slightly different and if you can make a Reuben taste great, you've got a lifetime customer and I'll be more likely to try everything else on your menu. Surprisingly enough, I have a dislike of sauerkraut which is one of the main ingredients in a Reuben. I ordered the Buckingham Reuben for myself and the Mac & Cheese for my son - both dishes were phenomenal! The Reuben was perfectly proportioned so that the sauerkraut really accented the meats and the Mac & Cheese was creamy and extra cheesy - delicious! My friend that accompanied us ordered the Guinness Beef Stew - I took a few bites from his and it was also a super delicious dish. The meat was tender; the vegetables were cooked perfectly (not too tough from being added too late and not too soggy from being cooked for too long, but just right); the broth was delicious and the flat bread and crackers that came with it were also amazing!

We also took a moment to enjoy a good drink as well. My son got an orange juice while my friend and I enjoyed some alcoholic beverages. I ordered an English Tea infused Rum Daiquiri and we both ordered an Irish Coffee topped with whipped cream. Both of these drinks were delicious, however the Rum in the Daiquiri was a tad bit too strong and overpowered the flavors of the aromatic English Tea.

English Tea infused Rum Daiquiri (v)

Irish Coffee (^)

We left The Chatsworth and walked around the downtown area, stopping by in the various art galleries, oohing and aaahing at all of the lovely and inspiring work that was being shown. One gallery, the Galeria del Mar, had amazing art made of hand-carved wood and, in the traditional steampunk style that I love, it moved! The man and the heart were spectacular, but the desk stole my heart. Another artist had created amazing imagery on aircraft-grade aluminum!

A little ways down we happened upon the James Coleman Gallery - we were so intrigued by the statues that we could see in the window before we went inside and even stopped to read some of the little stories that came along with them. A lot of the art featured here were from various Disney artists showing their work outside of the many Disney movies and films that they had taken part in.

We kept exploring and heard some loud music - we followed it and it led us to the front of the Flagler College auditorium and gymnasium where a group of people were blasting music from speakers and dancing. It became apparent that it was a regular thing in the area and it was a zumba class - there were people of all ages, from the young to the elderly dancing with the music and it was inspiring to watch.

Continuing on our journey, we stopped at Cafe del Hidalgo and ate some gelato and warmed up with a delicious Belgian Hot Chocolate. The gelato was delicious, though a tad bit too sweet for my friend and I. My son, on the other hand, just gobbled his banana gelato down in no time and then wanted to eat my tiramisu gelato.

It was getting quite late and we had a 3-4 hour drive back home ahead of us so we left the cafe and headed back to the parking lot to locate our vehicle. Our last stop before we departed was the bathrooms by the Welcome Center. On the trip home I looked through the photos we had taken and was surprised at how well my son's photos came out. I had let him use the Sony DSC F707 because it has a neck strap which would prevent it from falling to the ground if he let go of it, but perhaps I will give him a lighter camera next time and he can do his own blog - I'd love to see how well that turns out!

Here is a link to the photo gallery - and I've also included my son's photos here on his newly created account.