One of our Christmas 2018 special events (of course, besides the day with the family) included a visit to St Augustine to see the entire city in lights. The 'Night of Lights' shows off the best of St Augustine. St Augustine is always a favorite place to visit and so we were looking forward to seeing the city at night - under lights and catching more memories we missed in times gone by. So, after check-in at The Ponce (by the way a great value inn), we decided to 'rest up' in our room and attack the city in one swoop - dinner, touring, sight-seeing and photos.
Upon arriving in Old Town ... early evening, we noticed that the crowds and traffic were less than we expected, possibly due to the low 39 degree weather. (Ginger owes me one by my insisting we bring our leather jackets). Dinner at the Scarlett O'Hara (a dining recommendation from the true St Augustine traveling natives Trevor and Gail Swan) was excellent, especially the crab cake. it was off to the Old Town sites - Constitution Park, Lion's Bridge, side streets, Flagler College and more ... the scenes were wonderful, the lighting was great, and after 3-4 hours and 6 miles of walking ... it was time to head back to the Ponce.
Waking early the next morning, I grabbed my photo gear and took the opportunity for sunrise photos. As planned, the sun came up, but the clouds were not participating and the desired cloud reflections were not available in the clear morning sky. Hotel checkout and breakfast and we are on our way back to Redington Beach. In order to travel 'backroads of Florida and avoid the Interstates, we 'aimed' the car southwest and selected backroads. It turned out the travel was very pleasant with winding roads, scenery, horse country and an opportunity to visit a National Historical Site - the Evinston General Store and Post Office aka the Wood and Swink.
Upon arriving in Old Town ... early evening, we noticed that the crowds and traffic were less than we expected, possibly due to the low 39 degree weather. (Ginger owes me one by my insisting we bring our leather jackets). Dinner at the Scarlett O'Hara (a dining recommendation from the true St Augustine traveling natives Trevor and Gail Swan) was excellent, especially the crab cake. it was off to the Old Town sites - Constitution Park, Lion's Bridge, side streets, Flagler College and more ... the scenes were wonderful, the lighting was great, and after 3-4 hours and 6 miles of walking ... it was time to head back to the Ponce.
Waking early the next morning, I grabbed my photo gear and took the opportunity for sunrise photos. As planned, the sun came up, but the clouds were not participating and the desired cloud reflections were not available in the clear morning sky. Hotel checkout and breakfast and we are on our way back to Redington Beach. In order to travel 'backroads of Florida and avoid the Interstates, we 'aimed' the car southwest and selected backroads. It turned out the travel was very pleasant with winding roads, scenery, horse country and an opportunity to visit a National Historical Site - the Evinston General Store and Post Office aka the Wood and Swink.
