Saint Augustine
I am very much done with hot, as are all of you, no doubt. It’s been hot and sunny, hot and rainy, and just plain hot since we arrived in Florida (really since we arrived in June, and not just in Florida.) I’m staying denned up in the rig other than for brief forays to do the laundry. I finally got the wii fit going again this week and am starting back into what I hope will be regular exercise. J and I are also taking short bike rides around the campground in an attempt to raise the general movement level, but those have been curtailed by the.. say it with me.. HEAT!
J’s been getting up early to walk the tabby and head in to work; I gradually wake up as I listen to him moving around, and then wake up all the way when he takes Mister Guy out, because that’s when Lilibelle goes bonkers. Mad squeaks and dashing from window to window; she really worries when he leaves the trailer (Mister Guy, that is; she doesn’t give a fig when J leaves the trailer.) He’s her big brother, after all! Mister Guy is having a great time on his walks; he stalked two armadillos for a while before getting close enough to see how big they are. After that it was all “Cat can’t be bothered here -- you have my back, right? Maybe we should go in now.”
On Saturday we drove down to St Augustine to do a bit of sightseeing. We’ve wanted to stop by there for years but something always came up to interfere. We went to the Castillo de San Marco in the morning, and we got to see one of the cannon firing demonstrations. Much fun! It was all very formal and regimented and in archaic Spanish, as was apropos for the original Spanish fort. At one point the crowd was cheering the volunteers and J shouted “Huzzah!” And one of the volunteers said, “We’re Spanish, that should be ‘Viva!’” To which J said “But I’m English,” and the volunteer riposted, “Then we shoot you!”
After strolling around looking for a place to have lunch we turned to Google (I am getting very spoiled by J’s smartphone) and found a Spanish/Caribbean restaurant. We opted for the prixe fix lunch with wine pairings, which was good and also interesting. Except for that last wine with dessert (late harvest Muscat with mango cheesecake - perfection!) I wouldn’t have chosen those wines with that food. Not that they were bad, by no means. But with the dry Spanish aperitif I really wanted some Serrano ham and olives rather than a pretty ordinary tomato and cheese salad. There was a single waiter dealing with the whole dining room, but he did a good job even when the place started to fill up.
After lunch we bailed on more touring and went back to fall over in the air-conditioning. Whew!
J’s been getting up early to walk the tabby and head in to work; I gradually wake up as I listen to him moving around, and then wake up all the way when he takes Mister Guy out, because that’s when Lilibelle goes bonkers. Mad squeaks and dashing from window to window; she really worries when he leaves the trailer (Mister Guy, that is; she doesn’t give a fig when J leaves the trailer.) He’s her big brother, after all! Mister Guy is having a great time on his walks; he stalked two armadillos for a while before getting close enough to see how big they are. After that it was all “Cat can’t be bothered here -- you have my back, right? Maybe we should go in now.”
On Saturday we drove down to St Augustine to do a bit of sightseeing. We’ve wanted to stop by there for years but something always came up to interfere. We went to the Castillo de San Marco in the morning, and we got to see one of the cannon firing demonstrations. Much fun! It was all very formal and regimented and in archaic Spanish, as was apropos for the original Spanish fort. At one point the crowd was cheering the volunteers and J shouted “Huzzah!” And one of the volunteers said, “We’re Spanish, that should be ‘Viva!’” To which J said “But I’m English,” and the volunteer riposted, “Then we shoot you!”
After strolling around looking for a place to have lunch we turned to Google (I am getting very spoiled by J’s smartphone) and found a Spanish/Caribbean restaurant. We opted for the prixe fix lunch with wine pairings, which was good and also interesting. Except for that last wine with dessert (late harvest Muscat with mango cheesecake - perfection!) I wouldn’t have chosen those wines with that food. Not that they were bad, by no means. But with the dry Spanish aperitif I really wanted some Serrano ham and olives rather than a pretty ordinary tomato and cheese salad. There was a single waiter dealing with the whole dining room, but he did a good job even when the place started to fill up.
After lunch we bailed on more touring and went back to fall over in the air-conditioning. Whew!