Well, our beach-based misadventures notwithstanding, we did finally make it to Washington Oaks State Park, about an hour south of St. Augustine. The state of Florida describes the park as part of "Real Florida", but I have to say, I found some of the things I saw there kind of surreal.
We had our picnic lunch here under the trees. One of the ubiquitous squirrels almost made away with Laura's sandwich while she was in the restroom. Clearly these animals have become way too socialized if they're comfortable climbing up on to the picnic table with me just a couple of feet away....
The park borders the Matazas River, which is also the Intercoastal Waterway in this part of Florida, on one side, and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.
There's hardly a live oak in this area of Florida that isn't improved by the addition of Spanish Moss hanging off it. Spooky stuff.
This guy offered to save us a lot of money on our car insurance. Then he broke into a rousing chorus of "Kung Fu Fighting". Go figure.
There are multiple groups of pictures from this trip:
Really! Want proof?