St. Augustine, FL – Tonight we are camping at another KOA campground (the acronym stands for Kampgrounds of America, where everything that ordinarily would start with a “c” starts with a “k” instead – kabins, kampers, etc.), this one on Anastasia Island near the historic town of St. Augustine. The tourist material says this is the oldest city in America, and Ponce de Leon reportedly landed here in 1513 and discovered the Fountain of Youth! We will certainly be checking that out during our stay.
Fine weather and warm temperatures continued to bless us as we departed from Charleston on US highway 17, headed south toward the Interstate 95. One of the things we became quite used to seeing along Highway 17, especially in Mount Pleasant near our campground, was the series of small wooden roadside huts where artisans sell sweetgrass baskets. The descendants of African slaves continue to weave beautiful baskets and trays in a wide variety of designs. We watched one basket weaver at the tourist information center demonstrating her art. Long strands of dried grass are woven into ropes, held around by strips of palm branches and coiled into the various shapes. The result is very beautiful, but also expensive; a dinner-plate sized tray cost $80.
The terrain along the highway south of Charleston today included many stands of tall pine trees, as well as a lot of wetlands, either in a woodsy setting, or in large expanses of grassy bogs. We spotted a few egrets, with their spindly legs, long beaks and curved white necks, wading in the water. The alligators continued to evade us, but I’m sure they were out there. The thermometer hit a high of 30.5 degrees Celsius just after we crossed into Florida! Incredible!
We stopped at the Florida welcome center, just inside the state border, to pick up some literature and maps for the various destinations we’ll be visiting in the coming weeks. One of the nice things they do at this center is offer free cups of Florida orange juice or grapefruit juice to visitors – delicious and refreshing!
We went over to the desk to ask some questions about Walt Disney World, where we’ve never been before, since it is such a huge complex with so many things to see and do. As I chatted with the lady at the desk, Val looked to his right and discovered he was standing next to Marilyn, our friend from Ottawa, who lives just a few blocks from our home! It was a lovely surprise for both of us, and we chatted for a few minutes, promising to connect again when we got settled in the Tampa area, where we are both headed.
As we settled in to our campsite at the KOA later in the afternoon, a clutch of noisy ducks boldly waddled over to greet us from the small pond next to our site. They were not the least bit shy, and quacked appreciatively when Val offered them some cracker crumbs. I have a feeling they will be back again tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment