St. Augustine trip coming up

[crazydadguy]

And I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for touring and photo taking. The wife and I sans kids are going to St. Augustine for 2 days and then to WDW for 2 days. We plan on hitting the castle and the lighthouse, anything else we should make plans to see?

[tiggr33]

If you are into nature photography The Alligator Farm (http://www.alligatorfarm.us/) would be a great stop.

[cdfl30]

Here are a few of my recommendations. If you are unsure about dining, don't miss the Conch House!!

Anastasia State Park - We enjoy renting bikes at low tide and biking up and down the peninsula (6-miles round trip). There are no cars on the beach and as you get towards the other end of the beach it gets very secluded. You can get nice dune and wildlife shots from there.

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Washington Oaks State Park - There are two parts to this park. On the east side of A1A is a beach with some unique rock formations. I recommend going at low tide to get the best shots. On the west side of A1A is a small botanical garden. It has some nice trails and borders the intracoastal.

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Marineland River to Sea Preserve - This is a small stretch of beach near a dolphin attraction. You can pay a a small fee to watch the dolphins if you want. Its also a rocky and elevated beach which is unique to the area.

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Other Places - Other places I have not been but are popular are Fort Matanzas National Park and The Alligator Farm.

[Golf4food]

Plenty of great things to see and do in and around St. Augustine. A big part of my would rather live there, but I settle for frequent visits instead. If you are a history buff that loves photography it is hard to find a better location in Florida.

I have tons of photos from around St. Aug and vicinity on Flickr you can browse if you like:

Castillo de San Marcos (http://www.flickr.com/photos/penglynns/sets/72157610134461980/)
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Nights of Lights 2008 Opening Day (http://www.flickr.com/photos/penglynns/sets/72157610056825299/) Starts just after Thanksgiving, but very pretty!
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Washington Oaks State Park - Intracoastal Side (http://www.flickr.com/photos/penglynns/sets/72157608010069931/) Lots of trails, gardens, trees, roses, fish, birds, etc.
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Washington Oaks State Park - Beach Side (http://www.flickr.com/photos/penglynns/sets/72157610056825299/)
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Fort Matanzas (http://www.flickr.com/photos/penglynns/sets/72157609961250257/) Free to visit and includes the boat ride out to the island - Rattlesnake Island - on the state park boat. Also good nature trail/boardwalk here and they frequently have reenactors here and at the Castillo being either Spanish or English soldiers (sometimes US Civil War soldiers at the Castillo).
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Princess Place Preserve (http://www.flickr.com/photos/penglynns/sets/72157608012759165/) Across the Intracoastal from Washington Oaks S.P. and really sort of an extension of it, and also of Faver Dykes State Park. Kind of hard to get to and find but has a neat set of old buildings and we also saw deer (ran into the woods before I could get the camera back out).
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Bulow Plantation Sugar Mill Ruins S.P. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/penglynns/sets/72157608011855781/) a bit further south, but a rare find and next to an absolutely gorgeous road that follows the marshes and Intracoastal.
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St. Augustine Lighthouse (http://www.flickr.com/photos/penglynns/sets/72157604957998069/) None of these shots are from inside the lighthouse or museum, just outside on the grounds, but it is a great place to go and possibly take a picnic lunch.
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More general St. Aug photos (http://www.flickr.com/photos/penglynns/sets/72157604763316173/)

Send me a PM and I'll tell you about food and such. Got to get to bed for now. :)

[Experiment_626]

St. Augustine's historic city hall building is quite photogenic, especially at Magic Hour. Highly recommend checking it out and allocating some time for photos there.

SSB

[Experiment_626]

Be sure to post some of your photos when you return. I'm thinking of taking a photography trip in that direction, and I'm interested to see what you get.

SSB

[budmonster]

Don't forget about the churches, there are alot of very old ones there that are just beautiful, on the inside and out. Also, don't overlook Flagler College, they have the largest collection of Tiffany stained glass windows there. Have fun.:)