And Now, the End Is Near…

This is our last full week down in Florida! Hubby and I were going back and forth about when to return home, and decided on sometime next week. We will need to check the weather before we depart – since we don’t need to be home any specific day, we can be flexible. The last thing we want to do is drive through a storm.

I still would like to go into Old Town once more this week and stroll around. For Max, that is literally strolling. St. Augustine is extremely dog-friendly, so we will be able to have lunch outside with Max sitting beside us. There is a great Spanish bakery in Old Town where I need to buy one more turnover before we leave too! And I may poke my head into a shop or two along the way. I seem to develop a hat fetish every year down in Florida. Heck, the last time I was buying, someone asked me if I attend the Kentucky Derby! Yeah, those kind of hats.

While we didn’t do very many touristy things this year (my parents were supposed to come down so we held off on some things as we knew my father would enjoy them. When they bailed on us, it was disappointing), and we didn’t do a whole heck of a lot to the condo either, somehow our time on the beach was pretty darned full the last three months.

I’d like to take one last stroll on the beach too. It is pretty amazing how much it changes from January to April, either that, or I am more willing to get wet in March and April than I am in January!

There was only one restaurant we really enjoy that we didn’t get to this year. We tried last Friday, but it was a mob-scene and we couldn’t get a parking spot (1 o’clock for lunch!).

It was wonderful in January and February weather wise, and the place wasn’t very crowded either. The weather in March heated up, and with it came the crowds. The congestion in St. Augustine is bad – not due to a large population (it is a small town) or heavy influx of tourists at this time of year – but because there is really only 3 main roads to get around. One goes through Old Town (forget it when it is crowded), the other goes by all the retail and is how you get to Anastasia Island from the northern end, and the other road is only locals so far less crowded (hope I didn’t curse myself). I wouldn’t want to be here in the summer when people flock to the beaches to avoid the southern heat!

All-in-all though, we really enjoyed our time in St. Augustine this year.