St. Augustine, Florida, November 20-27, 2004

I think the lighthouse museum may have been open early the day after Thanksgiving, as there were other people on the grounds (and I think I read something in the local newspaper about something special going on there), but we didn't realize it at the time. Once I had gotten my photographs, we decided to return later in the day to tour the lighthouse and the museum. The light was still interesting, though, so we headed back toward downtown.

The light looked nice on the Bridge of Lions that morning.

The Bridge of Lions, early in the morning, seen from Anastasia Island looking toward downtown

A closer look at the bridge.

Closer look at the Bridge of Lions

I liked how the marina downtown looked, too.

St. Augustine Marina

Laura had been eying this place all week, so I made sure we stopped on our way back to my parents' place. I'm not sure the theme is really in keeping with what St. Augustine is about. This place looks more like it belongs in Wildwood.

Retro Espresso

This photo is not a particularly good one, to be honest, but I include it here mainly because it includes something very special that was a source of constant amusement throughout the trip. You can just barely see it here....

Retro Espresso, Laura, and billboard

So here it is blown up. This billboard for a local scratch and dent appliance shop was freaking everywhere, at least along the highway (I don't think we saw one downtown). One one stretch of U.S. 1 we counted three of these within a half mile. In some of the billboards, the excitable young lady is wearing a leg brace, although not in this shot. Alas, this is the only photo I have of this particular scenic attraction.

Scratch and Dent billboard

At this point, I had an answer for the question my Dad had asked when he saw my camera at the begining of our vacation. I can shoot about 500 photos before I have to recharge the battery. The actual tally was 497, although there were six other photos I had taken in New Jersey before the trip that made me think I had actually taken 503 during the week. A few of them even turned out pretty good.

I forgot to put the battery back in the camera before we went back to the lighthouse to tour the museum later that morning, but I think part of me was glad. I'd taken enough photographs. I just wanted to look at the town without thinking about capturing it for the rest of the day. So I put my camera away for the rest of the trip, and the next day we flew back home. I was sorry to leave. We had a great time. I look forward to many more trips to St. Augustine.

St. Augustine, Florida, November 20-27, 2004 -- St. Augustine Lighthouse, Thanksgiving Day, November 25 and Friday, November 26