I’m not even going to bother telling you about the place I stayed at St. Augustine Beach. It was a tired, run-down beachfront hotel that was pretty heavily damaged on the oceanfront side during the last hurricane. It WAS fairly inexpensive for beachfront. And I COULD see the ocean from the balcony. It was quiet and clean. They did have to come put a new AC/Heater unit in because mine didn’t work. It had a mini fridge and microwave, which was nice. It was $77/night. Not bad, but I wouldn’t stay there again.

This is probably my favorite town on this trip. St. Augustine is our nations oldest city. Home of Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth, the St. Augustine Lighthouse, Castillo de San Marcos, Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, and the Colonial Quarter. The Cathedral was magnificent. I lit a candle for Mr. Virgo since he was a Catholic. The Castillo, or Fort Matanzas National Monument (which I entered free with my Senior National Parks Card), was very interesting. I was intrigued by the coquina, a kind of limestone formed from shells and sand, from which the structure is made. I climbed the 219 steps to the top of the lighthouse. The views were magnificent from up there. I even got brave enough to look over the edge! I spent the majority of the day wandering through the little shops in the Colonial Quarter. I ate lunch in a Cuban restaurant. The temperature got up to 78 and it rained briefly at around 6:00 as I was walking back to my car. It was an absolutely gorgeous day.

I last stood on this beach in January 2001. It’s funny how sights, sounds, and smells can take you right back to a pivotal moment in your life, isn’t it? That January marked one year since I overdosed on two bottles of pills that very easily could have killed me. We’ve visited this before here in my blog. It was a very dark time for me. The new millennium dawned with the implosion of a twenty-year marriage and was the zenith of a seven-year bout of severe clinical depression. Now it doesn’t even feel like it was my life, really.

I hate leaving. What a beautiful week it’s been. Beauty and fun at every turn. I was hoping for a gorgeous sunset for the last night and, while it wasn’t colorful, Florida did not disappoint. If money was no object and I could have anything I wished, I would live on the farm in West Virginia in the spring and fall, Colorado in summer and at Christmas, and Florida the rest of the time. But, until I WIN the Powerball, I’ll settle for getting here for even a little bit of a break in January or February. I am so grateful for this opportunity.

The wind was pretty cool yesterday so I only stayed at the beach 30 minutes before I chucked that idea and headed back to the hotel pool. This is a little slice of heaven right here. The buildings blocked the wind and it was really nice.

No meals out yesterday except for an iced coffee at McDonald’s. Didn’t drive the car anywhere either. I needed a lay low day since today I’m heading to Tampa to see a friend I’ve known for 40 years. I love the place I’m staying and it’s three weeks till the season starts here so it’s pretty reasonable, comparatively. It’s the size of a one bedroom apartment and really quite livable. I cooked dinner last night…pork chop, baked potato, and steamed broccoli.

I was walking on the beach the other evening and stumbled upon these words in the sand. “Time is Short”. Tears instantly stung the backs of my eyes when I thought of who wrote such wisdom where surely the tide would soon erase all evidence of their presence here. I found a chair nearby and watched as the sun slowly settled into the sea and thought of Mr. Virgo and how short our time together was. In the grand scheme of things, he was gone in a heart beat at 62.

I remember Color Day like it was yesterday. Our senior class had a designated day a few weeks before graduation where we had activities, built floats for a parade, and got to skip school to celebrate. Gail was literally the cutest kid in our class. Tiny, little petite spitfire comes to mind when I think of her. We knew each other pretty well although we didn’t hang out at each other’s house. But, as is often the case, Facebook has allowed us to rewrite history and develop close friendships with classmates we hardly knew. At least, that’s the way it’s been for me.

What an incredible day yesterday was! The temperature got up to 72. I walked nearly four miles on the beach, went back to my hotel and played in the pool and played in the sun. Then went for a long drive all the way down the peninsula to Pass-A-Grille Beach. Turned around and stopped at the shops at John’s Pass near Madeira Beach. Watched yet another beautiful Florida sunset and ended the night by taking myself out for dinner at The Conch Republic. Yummy seafood there and a fun ambiance! Got back to my hotel and was whupped so I’m sharing a post I wrote a couple years ago that someone else shared yesterday. It’s fairly timely.

I love Greek food. Spanakopita, dolmas, gyros, baklava…oooooh, I love it all! There’s a baked ziti that has a thick savory custard-like layer over it that’s SO good. I’m sure none of it is good for me, but if I get the opportunity to have Greek food, I don’t miss out. So, yesterday I headed for Tarpon Springs…the “sponge capital of the world”. And home to tons of Greek restaurants. Sixteen years ago, I ate at Pappas Restaurant but it closed a few years ago. I opted for Hellas Restaurant and Bakery. OMGosh! While the food was really quite good, the bakery was amazing! I stood in there and looked at every single item offered. I didn’t buy a single sweet…but they looked marvelous! Instead, I walked my three miles along the piers and walkways of town.

Day 3: Splitting the drive into three days made the day of arrival an easy three hours or so. My total drive time was exactly 17 hours and just over 1,000 miles. I didn’t break any speed records and stopped as I needed to stretch my legs and have a snack. And…I spent a whopping $61 in gas to get down here! Hotels were $137 including tax. Food was around $20 because I brought most of it from home. Since I love to drive, I don’t count my time because the drive is half the fun and all the entertainment. My room is budget but certainly not cut rate. It has a pool and kitchen and is very close to the beach. There is a grocery about a mile and half away so I bought what I will need for the week for $85. I’m thrilled to have pulled this off without spending a mint! I don’t think I will ever go a whole winter without seeing the sun again.