The Empty Nesters Magical Mystery Tour *1/28* Link to New Girl's TR p141

[cstorm65]

PLL - I knew there had to be a condition out there like this. I get that everyday after lunch before I have to go teach my last class of the day right after lunch. Post Lunch Lethargy...at least I now know what to call it.

Great updates on the St. Augustine area.

 

[MEK]

I hear ya about Dising. That is why I take breaks every so often.

It's just getting harder and harder to get back into it after every trip. I think that's a sign. Now that I'm back into it I'm good again!

Your SE pics came out good.

Thanks.

LOL. The SM pic.

You like that, eh?

That is a ncie view they will have when completed.

The lot is going to be beautiful. And I'm sure the house will be lovely. This friend does everything top notch. No expense spared.

Ooh I would have shopped at the outlet.

I am sort of curious as to what they offered. I guess that's a great spot for a Disney outlet because its fairly close to the border.

Looks like a fun day in St. Augustine. Thanks for the memories. I am remembering when I used to go there with my parents.

You're welcome. It really was a fun day and I'm so glad we went up there to look around. I loved it.

All caught up again.

Yay!

What a fun and beautiful day!!! I am loving all the pictures. It think some are frame worthy, but if you are like me, you might be running out of wall space.

Aww thanks Jen! Always means a lot coming from you since you are the queen of pictures. It is fun to get some nice pictures from every destination I visit.

St Augustine is a great town...I haven't been for years though. Your friend's home is going to be awesome...love the view!

Jill in CO

I really loved St Augustine. I just knew I would, so I'm glad we got a chance to visit and I definitely hope to go back.

You're right - my friend's house is going to be beautiful. He does everything top notch so I'm sure it will be lovely.

Looks like you guys had a fun day! I haven't been to St. Augustine in 10+ years, your pictures make me want to go back again. I love historical sightseeing.

I love historical sightseeing, too! I don't have the greatest attention span or memory, but I love to just soak in the vibes and taking pictures helps me remember the whole thing. It's so fun! We had a great couple days in St. Augustine and I can't wait to go back.

The flamingos with the clothes were too funny! I also love those lights, how gorgeous!

The mangos seem to be a great hit and at the time I took the picture I had no idea the were dress up mingos.

Those light fixtures were really lovely.

 

[MEK]

I love all the pictures. What a neat place to go! I am going to look at how long it would take to get there from where we are staying in October. Probably longer than I have to do it.

It's about a 2 - 2.5 hour drive depending on traffic. Our drive was broken up by our stops in Daytona on the way there and the way back. Here's an article I found written by someone who did a day trip there from Disney.

http://www.suitcasescholar.com/2011/09/23/st-augustine-a-reasonable-day-trip-from-disney-world/

I know my dh loves the beaches but I am just not a fan. I would far prefer to do a little touristy thing like you did. It is so hard to imagine the age of this town. Living on the west coast NOTHING is that old. In fact even Seattle has not yet hit its bicentennial. Some towns near me are barely 100 years old.

I love the touristy thing. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind sitting on the beach for an hour or so, but I am NOT an all day sun worshipper. I just get too restless and I get OCD with the sun screen.

It is cool to see and visit so many old towns and cities on the East coast. It is one of the enjoyable things about living here.

How fun to do a little off sight exploring. You don't see that much in TR's. While I get the whole pull of the Disney bubble (believe me), I also think it is perfectly fine to take a break too.

I am fortunate that I've been to WDW well over 20 times (I've lost count), so I am sort of on a mission to see other areas in Florida. I really want to be a snowbird when I retire. It's really quite common for people in the midatlantic region of the East Coast to head to Florida a few months every winter. I am trying to explore so I know where I want to stay.

It may be good that you bypassed the Disney outlet. I've read some are pretty sketchy.

It probably is a total tourist trap, especially since its so close to the Florida border. But that didn't stop me from being curious!

Haha, I imagine Pink Flamingos are mandatory if you live in Florida.

One would think! I'll need to pack one in my suitcase for when I become a snowbird!

Wow, the area in and around there is so quaint. Like stepping back in time.

Exactly. I just love that. It was such an adorable old town. I really enjoyed my visit there.

OSCEOLA!!! How fascinating, especially since I drive on his parkway every Disney visit.

Me too! That's why I knew I had to send a "shout out" to old Osceola!

Curious Mary Ellen. I noticed the flag at half mast in one of your photos. Any idea why?

I was wondering that exact same thing. I don't think anything was going on nationally at the time so I wonder if it was to honor someone local. I'm sure we must have asked but I really can't recall.

 

[JanaJohn]

One of the places in Florida I have always wanted to visit was Saint Augustine.

Thanks for all the great pictures of St. Augustine! We're planning to visit WDW next spring for the F&G Show at Epcot. Since we'll be driving down we plan to stop at St. Augustine on the drive home. I appreciate the 'sneak preview.'

 

[MEK]

PLL - I knew there had to be a condition out there like this. I get that everyday after lunch before I have to go teach my last class of the day right after lunch. Post Lunch Lethargy...at least I now know what to call it.

Ugh. Some days I get it SO bad, especially if I over-eat or have too many carbs. AT least teaching should keep you awake. Imagine if you had to sit there and listen. Literally!

Great updates on the St. Augustine area.

Thanks. It was a beautiful area. Can't wait to return!

 

[MEK]

Thanks for all the great pictures of St. Augustine! We're planning to visit WDW next spring for the F&G Show at Epcot. Since we'll be driving down we plan to stop at St. Augustine on the drive home. I appreciate the 'sneak preview.'

JanaJohn! thanks for joining in!

And you're welcome! Saint Augustine is beautiful and I have a lot more pics. They will be in my next update. I took a ton of the inside (and outside) of Flagler College. If you get a chance to take the tour definitely do so. I believe they are usually around 10am in the morning. It's really incredible and well worth the admission price.

 

[cstorm65]

AT least teaching should keep you awake. Imagine if you had to sit there and listen. Literally!

It definitely is interesting. And yes...listening would be worse!

 

[MEK]

It definitely is interesting. And yes...listening would be worse!

Yup - you should see what happens to me whenever I attend a conference. The post lunch session is never good. I need toothpicks to keep my eyes open.

 

[englishrose47]

Wow quite an update !!! As or Pink Flamingos they were a status thing in the front yard in the 50"s , from what I hear !! The History of the town is fascinating !!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Back from our trip to Disney and I'm trying to get caught up with my Dis friends. Your pictures of St. Augustine are gorgeous! My sister and her husband visited the town and loved it.

Oh and by the way, I'm glad that you didn't give up Dising. You'd be missed!

 

[natebenma]

I'm so glad you made it to St. Augustine on this trip with your friends. Beautiful pictures!

The picture of you and Denny in front of the Bridge of Lions is really nice.

 

[Pinkocto]

What an interesting update. The Osceola info made me sad I can't imagine how horrible that time was with all the fighting.


You didn't go in the school house?

Low all the palm pics. Mom has gotten me quite partial to palms.

Sorry lunch was not memorable.

The Denster was so fascinated he needed to read everything twice?

 

[amazingact21]

Very cool tour of St. Augustine. That fort looks pretty interesting.
I'm pretty sure you've seen more FL cities than I have, and I've lived in 2 different parts of the state for a grand total of 10 years.


Love the picture of you in Denny in front of the bridge. Looks like you both are having a relaxing time touring the area!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Well, on this trip there was no excuse not to take a drive up there and finally visit the elusive Saint Augustine. We were on vacation for 11 days and it seemed only right that we could devote a couple days to Saint Augustine.

Oh goody - A Disney outlet (no, I didn’t stop, but I sort of wanted to)

But please tell me you got fireworks!

This was part of the parking garage. It was a nice facility and not overly expensive.

I like how they made everything in the old part of town maintain that architecture.

There was your standard gift shop and I couldn’t resist a picture of the pink flamingos because everyone needs one of these. Don’t you agree.

We all know Glenn collects them.

The Oldest Wood School House in the USA. Who knew?

I don’t recall if this was inside or outside of the fort

Inside, if I remember--I think we have a picture of the same door! The fort is pretty cool.

When we went back to the main level there was a gentleman getting ready to tell us a story pertaining to the history of the Castillo. I seriously don’t remember what he was saying because (1) there was a lot of sun glare and he was hard to focus on (2) I’m certain I was suffering from PLL - post lunch lethargy.

Blah blah blah guns blah blah blah fort blah blah blah Spanish. There you go.

 

[annmarieda]

It's about a 2 - 2.5 hour drive depending on traffic. Our drive was broken up by our stops in Daytona on the way there and the way back. Here's an article I found written by someone who did a day trip there from Disney.

http://www.suitcasescholar.com/2011/09/23/st-augustine-a-reasonable-day-trip-from-disney-world/

Thanks for the link. I may be a tad directionally challenged (which really is unlike me) but I thought it was in the other direction and could maybe be a day trip for us from the island. Sadly that won't be the case.

I love the touristy thing. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind sitting on the beach for an hour or so, but I am NOT an all day sun worshipper. I just get too restless and I get OCD with the sun screen.

Yeah... me neither. I am just to restless in the sun.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

What beautiful pictures! St. Augustine is very picturesque. Looks like you guys had a really nice time.
I am starting to think I need a dress-up mingo for my yard.

 

[afwdwfan]

We were on vacation for 11 days and it seemed only right that we could devote a couple days to Saint Augustine.

I think it is great that you always seem to have enough time to do something else while in Florida. I wish we could take a vacation for that long to have time to do everything we want at Disney and hit a few other diversions as

There was your standard gift shop and I couldn’t resist a picture of the pink flamingos because everyone needs one of these. Don’t you agree.

The Oldest Wood School House in the USA. Who knew?

Because all the rest of them burned. Talk about a fire hazard...

There were plenty of restaurants with outdoor seating and we had no idea which to visit.

The one with the best drink special!

and another Canon

Why aren't there any pictures of someone with their head in a cannon in this TR? I've come to expect that on the DIS. Or maybe I've just seen too many of Mark's.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Why aren't there any pictures of someone with their head in a cannon in this TR? I've come to expect that on the DIS. Or maybe I've just seen too many of Mark's.

Obviously Denny needs to step up his game.

 

[Leshaface]

You know, if you ever try to leave the DIS again, we well pester you on FB until you have to come back to scold us!

Oh my gosh! I about DIED laughing seeing you all covered up in your sweatshirt

Great pictures of St. Augustine. I love that you always seem to venture outside of the World to see what else is out there. I have my blinders on when it comes to WDW. I may eventually venture to the Dark Side at some point, but that's probably as far as i'll get.

 

[Pluto0809]

Hi Mary Ellen! I'm finally caught up again on your TR. Things were crazy for a while at work so I was 30 pages behind. I think I should be able to keep up now!