St. Augustine, Florida - Part 1

Come with us on our recent trip to St. Augustine in Florida!
I thought I'd better divide the photos into two posts or you'll be on overload... We found St. Augustine to be a beautiful little old town with interesting and friendly people. It was a little more commercial than we had expected, but the number of good restaurants truly surprised us!

It was also the weekend of the annual Biketoberfest in Daytona Beach and we saw beautiful, gleaming motorcycles and their proud owners everywhere! Many of them were escaping the cold and even snow in their home states for one more trip into summer!
And summer it was - our first two days in St. Augustine were so humid that I felt like I was melting every time I stepped outside. If I were one of those southern women who simply glows beautifully in hot and humid weather, I wouldn't mind. No, I sweat! And not particularly ladylike!
We arrived toward evening and took a stroll through the main streets of the historic town to find the Alehouse where we were going to have dinner. On the way, we saw some gorgeous houses and gardens, among them this community garden with an old well.
Look at this beautiful old wooden house.



At the Alehouse, a microbrewery, we had to sample all of their beers, which were quite good. I guess that's where I am a German at heart. Most women seem to prefer a glass of wine, whereas I'd always go for a good beer...
The birthday boy!
Daniel's oldest sister had given him this very cool tripod for his birthday. You can set it on flat surfaces, but also wrap it around things, which makes it perfect for traveling. We have a series of self-portraits going, where we hold out the camera at arms length and take a picture of ourselves, and this tripod will certainly help with that! Of course, Daniel couldn't resist goofing around with it...
Here one of our "traditional" self-portraits.
The next morning, we had delicious breakfast and went to the beach afterward. What a beach it was - the sand was white and fine like powdered sugar and it looked like we could walk on forever. The fun part was that you drive right onto the beach to park your car. I think it's the first time our little car has seen the ocean...
Big storms approaching from the west.
We then paid a visit to the lighthouse. The surrounding area was filled with the most gorgeous live oaks.















Now just a little comment on my last post about the Joy Diet. Several of you commented on how serious it is. It really isn't, especially for me. I think it would be much more serious and maybe distressing if I weren't already living my dream life. Anything else wonderful that happens for me is simply icing on the cake...

Plus, the book offers much more than I cover and is really quite fun. Most of what she talks about isn't new to me, so I focus in on the parts that give me something to think about. If you read the book, you'd probably focus on something completely different... I'm already having fun with this week's topic of taking risks!

OK, check back in tomorrow for the rest of the St. Augustine photos and then on Wednesday for more art and an award!!