(Note: this is dated 01/16/10; actually it was started on that date, but finished and posted this morning on 01/18/10 at 8:45 a.m. EDT)We had to do a drive-by at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach. Larger than I recall from before; more NASCAR related attractions in the immediate area around the Speedway. But yes, it is a large venue for sure. And another interesting tidbit that I noticed, is that the Daytona Beach International Airport is right next to the Speedway (...well, not 'right next', but quite close, in any event), which means for those flying in to see a NASCAR event or the like at the Speedway, do not have far to travel. And I would guess that for those NASCAR drivers who fly their own planes into venues, this has to be one of the better locations for them.
We are here at the St. Augustine Elks RV Park, and we have always loved St. Augustine, with the rich history from the European founding in the New World by Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513; the Spanish rule; the British rule; and the American rule.
The Castillo de San Marcos (the old, large Spanish fort) is interesting and a closer study of its construction (coquina, a crushed seashell like material that has been compressed naturally over the eons, and was quarried, cut and shaped as very large blocks (there is no natural rock as we know it, are available around here); the damage done in the 1950's/'60's as a 'preservative' (concrete, plaster, and synthetic grout) that was to prolong the life of the fort, but covered the "original-ness" of the original building materials and also caused unnatural deterioration of the coquina over the years. I spoke with one of the NPS structural engineers that was on-site doing restoration and preservative work on the fort, and found him to be very interesting.
The majority of the streets in the old historic district are very narrow, but quaint and scenic. It is always interesting to see the "oldness" of the area with its mix of old Spanish/Moorish - English - American architectural design and building influences throughout the downtown area of St. Augustine.
Since St. Augustine is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the U.S. (although there is some argument to that claim by New Mexico, but then I guess that it another story for another time), we saw the "oldest house" in the U.S. as well as the "oldest school-house" in the U.S.
The City/State is in a six-year ongoing process of a complete refurbishment of the old "Bridge of the Lions". In order to do the refurb, they built a new concrete bridge with a large temporary lift-bridge center segment (for large vessels going through). The old bridge refurb is scheduled to be completed late 2010, at which time they will dismantle and tear down the substitute bridge that has run along side of the old Bridge of the Lions over the past five-plus years.
The County/State Amphitheatre (next to the Elks property here) is on the site of the old Spanish quarry site where the coquina was quarried for the construction of the old fort. A very neat use of a property that would generally have a rather limited future life. It sits in a beautiful park setting close by the water.
And one of the items that we always enjoy seeing, are the various lighthouses in North America, and here in St. Augustine is the St. Augustine Lighthouse, located just to the north of the Amphitheatre (we are just to the south of it). It was originally a lookout post for the Spanish; later the British and in the 1800's the Americans built three lighthouses on the spot (one was lost to a hurricane, one to rot, age and fire, and the third one now stands in retirement).
One last mention is of a super, super seafood that we had in Titusville a few of nights ago. It was local 'rock shrimp', and those guys are superb. They are only found in the area around Cape Canaveral; about the size of a man's large thumb; and they taste like lobster (really!). Get them boiled (in a butter/garlic sauce) and remove them from their shell (they even look like a real small lobster!), and dip in hot drawn butter and together with some conch fritters you have the making of an excellent meal. The story of the rock shrimp is quite interesting, but I will not bore you with the details just now. Maybe I will bore you later (hee-hee).
We will be moving on up to Jacksonville this morning. We are just kind of waiting out the rain and thunderstorm forecast for today. Our weather has been good here in St. Augustine. At least it has remained rather warm (74F), albeit humid due to the increasing rain coming in I would say.
All four of us, Marilyn and myself along with the two "kids" (Kalua and Bailey) are doing well and in good health (...knock on wood). More later....
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