ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA, Oldest City in the USA

08 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by jeannieadams in Uncategorized Tags: ,

NOVEMBER , 2012

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Oldest School House in the USA

During a recent trip to Florida, my friend Gayle and I made a brief stop in St. Augustine.  With only a couple of hours before moving on to our next destination, we choose to walk through the  Old City Historic District ( generally referred to as  St. George Street).  Some of the orginal buidings still stand (such as the drugstore, school and old mill)  and others have been turned into shops and eateries.  The original city gates,  the Castillo De San Marcos Fort ( at the waters edge)  and a wonderful  parking garage were all in close walking distance. We enjoyed our all too brief visit.   Next time we will have to plan for more time!

Drugstore

Drugstore

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Beautiful Ceiling at Cathedral of St. Augustine ( 1565)

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Old Mill Top Taven ( 130 years old)

Shops

Historic District  with a touch of fresh paint.

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Beautiful Spanish Architecture in St. Augustine

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Original City Gates

SOLOMON’S CASTLE, ONA, FLORIDA

01 Nov 2012 2 Comments

by jeannieadams in Uncategorized Tags: , ,

November, 2012

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Solomon’s Castle

If you find yourself in or near Ona, Florida , an entertaining way to spend a half day is to tour the home and galleries of Howard Solomon.  Ona is approximately one hour  outside of Bradenton, a suburb of Sarasota.  An artist and sculptor who creates his works of art from discarded material, Howard’s galleries display over  300  interesting and sometimes humorous  pieces.  After touring the castle, stay a bit, enjoy lunch at the Boat in the Moat restaurant  and take a  stroll on the grounds.

For directions and hours, here is the link to the  web sight:

http://www.solomonscastle.org/default.htm

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Art from Discarded Material

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Howard’s Self Protrait

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Howard’s Rendition of Norman Rockwell

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Boat in the Moat Restaurant