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| View from our veranda |
The Welcome Center at the Florida border was under construction on Monday, a good sign of the economic recovery we've noticed on our trip south. We had the free glass of juice (orange for Bob, grapefruit for me) delivered by Rosetta, a cheerful representative of the state of Florida. An older couple welcomed us to Florida as we returned to our vehicle.
We stopped for tourist information in St. Augustine -- not too helpful, since this was mainly a parking lot for for the Red Train tours. We were pointed in the right direction to get to the Old City and followed traffic along Matanzas Bay. We passed some of the hotels I'd seen in Fodor's guidebook and, almost accidentally, pulled into the parking lot of the Bayfront Inn overlooking the bay. We were tired so booked a room on the spot.
By chance, we ended up in Room 210, one of the original rooms in the historic Rodriguez House, a First Spanish Period building built by royal decree of the King of Spain. The view from the veranda outside our room is magnificent. We watched sailboats go under the lift bridge during the afternoon as we sat outside, feeling a little weary from our journey.
Late in the afternoon, we walked away from the water for a block or two, right into old city streets. We turned back to the bay and stopped at O.C. White's for drinks (JW Black for Bob, Pinot Noir for me) and appetizers (coconut shrimp, crab and spinach dip with crackers). We sat on the terrace and were grateful for our light jackets. A young musician played the guitar and sang. The service was good and we weren't pressured to order dinner.
We had a great night's sleep. We're staying another night, but have to move to a room in the newer part of the hotel, still with a view of the bay. I hope we don't have to schlep our stuff down the stairs and back up to the second floor - definitely a first world problem. Ditto for the slow internet. I think most photos will have to wait until we get to Cocoa Beach.
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