txtourista2022

So: manatees. Among other places, they like to hang out at Blue Springs State Park, where the artesian spring guarantees year-around warm water (73 degrees). But there were only 10 in residence yesterday. The river water had warmed, and the manatees had moved out into the river. The river (the St. John—the US’s only north-flowing river, by the way) has food, and the spring has that nice warm water, but no food, so they go back and forth. But a couple of the ones who stayed back were obligingly close to the shore, so we got some good looks. Besides the manatees, the park offers boat tours on the river. Ours was extraordinary. We saw enough alligators to satisfy. There were birds aplenty, including pretty much every heron (tricolor, green, great blue, and little blue) and egret (great and snowy). I didn't get a lot of photos of them, but I did get a one of my favorites, the yellow-crowned night heron, as well as a lovely cormorant, trees full of ibises and bla...

Perhaps St. Augustine's biggest draw, at least for me, is its Spanish heritage. So unlike New England! Much of the architecture may be re-creations, but who cares? It's wonderful! Even the cannon on display at the Castillo are beautiful. This week the city is celebrating the birthday of Pedro Menendez, the city's founder. The Encyclopedia Britannica sums up our Pedro as "a classic example of the conquistador--intrepid, energetic, loyal, and brutal." His job was to stop the French from securing a foothold in this part of the world, and to provide a secure refueling stop for the Spanish treasure ships on their way home from pillaging Central and South America. He did the job well. (And yes, I have to wonder why we're celebrating a man who included the slaughter of Huguenots on his resume.) This week's festivities are mostly high-end banquets and such which we aren't attending, but we certainly took in the "History saunter,...

When I was about 14, one of my favorite books was The Thirteen Clocks . It was by James Thurber and was, predictably, sort of a spoof of fairy tales. But I loved it for its language play. Ever since, I’ve remembered the phrase describing a slimy, not-so-ferocious monster as “a blob of glup.” We found lots of non-monstrous blobs on the beach this week. Jellyfish. We saw one badly dried out Portugese Man o’ War and a few cannonball jellies. Since a violent wind storm the other night, the beach has been littered with the poor cannonballs. They’re quite beautiful, especially when they’re glistening wet and the sun is on them. The same storm put some sea nettles on the beach. We’ve read that they can give you a nasty sting, but they’re handsome critters. Then there are these things. They seem to glom onto anything hard: we found them attached to hunks of broken horseshoe crab shells, sticks, whatever. They soft, and remind us of sea anemones minus the tentacles, but who kno...

It's Black History Month. We went to Fort Mose, the first free African-American town in what became the United States, for their "Flight to Freedom" experience. I wrote about this last year, but it was impressive all over again. The first Underground Railroad went south, not north. Slaves in the Carolinas knew there were routes to Spanish Florida, where slaves were welcome, with help along the way. The Spanish didn't exactly put out open arms and a Welcome Wagon, but they needed to flesh out the meager population of farmers, artisans--and cannon fodder. So yesterday's Fort Mose experience was a simulation intended to give us a sense of what the trek would have been like, complete with padres, friendly indigenous people (which is a whole other story), and others. We first met escaped slaves, who told about their difficult journey and begged us not to betray them to bounty hunters. The Yamasee chief (who really is the current Yamasee chief). Then the...

Lucky us! We—my sister Marian (who flew out from Oregon) and I—got to St. Augustine in time to enjoy the very last night of the city's annual holiday lighting display. They say there are a million light bulbs throughout the Old City (historic district), and I believe it. I especially like the ones along the river and on the bridge. If you click on the first photo, you’ll see larger versions of all of them.

I know I’m in Florida when . . . . . . I’m invariably addressed by younger retail workers as “My dear,” except when I’m “Sweetheart.” Today I even got “Babe,” but I’m pretty sure that was a slip of the tongue. . . . The hills (well, the flatlands) are alive with the sound of bulldozers. I wouldn’t swear this acreage down the road from Steve used to be an orange grove, but odds are good. Incidentally, the name of said road is Moccasin Hollow. . . . There’s always something new to learn, especially in the natural world. This week’s surprise: the bay beaches hereabouts are littered with sea hares, a delightful sort of sea slug. When alarmed, they shoot out purple or garish pink ink. (I know; I accidentally stepped on one. I think it was already dead.) There’s a cool short video on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFAdts1xUMc&feature=share . . . There are birds! Big enough for me to identify and photograph! Sandhill cranes and turkey vultures, r...