Scott & Deb's Excellent RV Adventures: A Month in St. Augustine, FLA

[339A]

It has been a very busy end of the year for Scott and Deb. Seems like we’ve been all over the face of the planet since September. I’ve had several work projects in various states, but the one we want to talk about here happened during October/November.

I wound up with a last-minute assignment in Palatka, FL. Hmmm… Palatka, FL--not exactly the vacation capital of the world; however, it’s real close to St. Augustine which is only about a thirty-minute drive from the job site. So the choice was made that we would stay in St Augustine: I would drive to Palatka and Deb, aka “Riley”, would do whatever it is she does while I’m working all day, every day. ;-)

While I was there on a work project (all my expenses paid), this trip was one of the best by far in terms of location, weather, and abundance of things to do and see. It’s the oldest established city in the US of A (1565) and chock full of history, restaurants, shops, museums, cool architecture, B & Bs, good times, and the list goes on.

Enough with my verbal rant about St Augustine, here are some pictures from our month-long stay. This is going to be a lengthy post with lots of photos, so be patient.

Departure Day from KFTG on the morning of All Hallow's Eve.

Approach to the ever-windy Kansas airport known as Great Bend. Not my windiest landing here, but it was blowing around 20 Kts this day.

Approach/arrival at Russellville Regional in Arkansas.

A select group of RVers should recognize this airport campground in Arkansas. Anyone? Anyone?

This is one of our favorite overnight stops. Just gotta love the people and service here!

Good to see the Navy boys out practicing.

En route to Palatka, Day 2.

The St. Johns River off our right wing. The sandy looking patch to the upper left is Palatka Municipal.

To be continued ...

 

[scard]

Ah! Our great Petit Jean camp site!

 

[339A]

Our home airport at KFTG is 5,500 MSL. Palatka is a bit lower.

This T hangar would be 339A's home for the next month.

Riley is a huge fan of the Harry Potter series. I had built an extra travel day into our schedule (always recommended when flying VFR). As I did not need to be on site until Wednesday, we spent Tuesday at an overly crowded and wet Universal Studios walking around The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Hotel #1 ... Your run-of-the-mill Holiday Inn. Typical Florida mildew suite. While OK, not as nice as what was to come.

About a week into our stay, I gave Riley the assignment of scoping out area B & Bs. She doesn't always complete her assignments, however, she had no problem with this one and made short work of finding a suitable place in the B & B capital of Florida.

A slight upgrade from the Holiday Inn. We actually slept in three different rooms during our three-week stay.

Innkeeper/Owners, Joy & Andrew Warren, did right by us in terms of room rates and hospitality. If you are ever in the St. Augustine area, we highly recommend a stay at The Westcott House Inn.

While Scott, who had to be on the job site by 7:00 a.m., ate cold cereal every morning, Riley managed to enjoy the full experience of a B & B. Her typical breakfast time was about 9:30 on the side porch.

To be continued ...

 

[339A]

The following pics represent the diversity of all there is to see in America's oldest city.

St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum

St. Augustine Beach

Castillo de San Marcos. Twice a day they do a canon firing demonstration. Bring your ear plugs.

The Fountain of Youth. Deb and I both drank the water...Didn't help--we're still old.

During our stay in St. Augustine, I managed to turn 50. My dear wife bought me this shirt. Somehow Riley found it to be humorous.

This character actor from the Fountain of Youth was very entertaining and had an excellent working knowledge of early St. Augustine history.

Not sure of the time period of this interesting Florida home.

The Lightner Museum from inside the courtyard.

To be continued ...

 

[339A]

We were fortunate enough during our stay to catch the Nights of Lights. Millions of twinkle lights illuminate historic downtown St. Augustine during this seasonal celebration.

Here's another way to light up your evening. The balmy temperature, the festive ambiance and the atmosphere were awesome as we sat on the portico of the Tini Martini bar on Thanksgiving eve.

To be continued ...

 

[339A]

St. Augustine certainly does not lack in the area of restaurants. We were there for a solid month and didn't put a dent in the number of local eating establishments. We could dedicate an enormous amount of time to our eating experiences, but we'll just post a few pics.

Harry's, on the patio. Food was average, but the atmosphere was great at night.

The Conch House, on Anastasia Island, is famous (or infamous) for their Goombay Smash. A must-try should you decide to visit St. Augustine.

We had made a reservation at The Raintree for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and couldn't believe our good fortune at being seated on the upper outside deck. Food was good.

And now for the crown jewel. An unassuming little joint called Osteen's (across the bridge on Anastasia) was the high point of our culinary experience. This place was recommended to me by guys on the job site and locals. What it lacks in atmosphere it more than makes up for on the plate. We have dubbed it the Hard 8 of seafood and this is no exaggeration! While Deb and I are not big fans of "fried" shrimp (because the breading is often over cooked), this is what Osteen's is best known for. We ate there three times. Good stuff. Cash only. Be prepared to wait. Be sure to use the datil pepper hot sauce.

To be continued ...

 

[339A]

The great thing about traveling in your own airplane is the ability to up and go at will. Although I was in Florida working, I managed to have my Sundays off; so we took a few side trips ...

Coming in to Cedar Key

Final approach at CDK. We walked into town and ate lunch at the Pickled Pelican. Caught Judy's taxi back to the airport after lunch.

On the flight back to Palatka, we began hearing an annoying crackle in the headsets. After a bit of in-flight trouble shooting, I determined that my alternator was getting ready to die again. Sure enough, it did. Ahhhh...the joys of owning your own airplane. Better it happened during a side trip than on the long trek back home.

Had my alternator not died, I'd have never met Tommy Z., the colorful Florida native who rebuilt it for me. There's a long story behind it. If you're really interested, ask me about it sometime. Suffice to say that two hours and $20 later, Tommy had my alternator rebuilt. You just never know how things are gonna work out and who you're gonna meet in your travels.

St. Augustine flight seeing:

Lighthouse

Mantanzas Bay and St. Augustine Beach

City of St. Augustine

A milestone is reached.

To be continued ...

 

[339A]

While perusing VAF, I saw a post by Turbo about a fly-in down in Everglades City. The weather looked good, so we decided to head on down and expand our circle of friends.

Staying above the building CBs.

Setting up for a landing on 15 at X01.

This outting was arranged by the Florida Aero Club. Group shot of those eating at The Triad Seafood Market & Cafe.

As we flew the western coastline on our return flight to Palatka, we had a great view of Marcos Island.

Preparing for the long journey home. The skies look worse than they really were.

Flying between some layers after departing Palatka. This only continued for about 50 miles. Made for a real pretty view out the window. This same system had kept us in Florida an extra couple of days while we waited for it to pass. It was either spend Thanksgiving in beautiful St. Augustine or spend it eating Snickers bars and potato chips out of a vending machine at some FBO. The choice was a no-brainer.

Once we left the clouds behind, the rest of the flight was CAVU. We made it home non-stop this day, all the way from Palatka back to Denver--about 9.5 hours flying time.

I must say that this trip, even though work related, really was one of our best to date. It’s odd how you can live in a state for 8 years and never visit some of the more interesting places it has to offer. St Augustine is loaded with history, and that aspect alone makes it worth a visit.

I would highly recommend bringing your sweetie. My wife really loved this trip and if she is any indication, I’m certain yours will too. With such a large variety of things to see, do, and eat you/she will not be disappointed.

North Florida is a fairly easy trip for the east coasters and mid westerners. Get out there and use that airplane...isn’t that the whole reason for owning one? Until someone invents the flux capacitor, the RV is the closest thing to a time machine. For those still building, KPR. While that saying has become clichéd, it really IS so worth it!

Some general stats for this trip:
18 takeoffs/landings for a total of 4,793 miles
30 hours flight time (including side trips)

 

[turbo]

scott & debs excellent photo! nice of you to come down to south fl and join in. great write up.

 

[ccsmith51]

Thanks!!

Great story and pics. Palatka is my home base, and I love that little airport. Glad you enjoyed the area, next time you're in the area let me know!

Happy New Year to everyone!!

Chris

 

[zilik]

50

The Fountain of Youth. Deb and I both drank the water...Didn't help--we're still old.

It just so happens that Scott and Deb were walking around the Fountain of Youth when I called to wish Scott a happy 50th birthday. Teased him about getting old and other such dribble. I can vouch that drinking the water did not help Scott.

 

[BSwayze]

Great!!!

Another EXCELLENT write-up, Scott & Deb! It's really inspirational to see palm trees and warm weather pictures this time of year. Thanks for posting it all. We can't wait to join you.

 

[Rick_A]

Great Pics

Brought back a lot of memories from my time in FL. I did a bunch of "cross countries" from KCRG to Kay Larkin for my PPL. I also spent many an afternoon at the Conch house in my "pre-aviation" boating days.

 

[339A]

Great story and pics. Palatka is my home base, and I love that little airport. Glad you enjoyed the area, next time you're in the area let me know!

Happy New Year to everyone!!

Chris

The people of Palatka and those at the airport treated us real well. We managed to rent a car through E-Prise and they delivered it out to the airport. We have no complaints at all. Would definitely hangar the plane there again. I did see one other RV there...might this have been you? I love the old B17 bases scattered around Florida, makes for a lot of nice GA airports. Added some pictures to this post of the Veterans' Memorial park in Palatka. We spent some time there one afternoon after flying. Very Nice!

It just so happens that Scott and Deb were walking around the Fountain of Youth when I called to wish Scott a happy 50th birthday. Teased him about getting old and other such dribble. I can vouch that drinking the water did not help Scott.

Ouch... that hurts. So what you're saying is that it helped Deb, right?

Another EXCELLENT write-up, Scott & Deb! It's really inspirational to see palm trees and warm weather pictures this time of year. Thanks for posting it all. We can't wait to join you.

Good to hear from you Bruce! You're making excellent progress. I was checking up on your website the other day, getting closer all the time. You'll be finished before you know it. Deb and I were discussing a possible trip to Homecoming this year. Will keep you posted.



Some pics of Veterans' Memorial Park in Palatka. Really like the torpedo!

This is a shot of the paper mill in Palatka right across from the airport.

 

[339A]

Ah! Our great Petit Jean camp site!

Hey Scott, you win the prize. Petit Jean State Park. Just as soon as I determine what the prize is, I'll let you know.

nice of you to come down to south fl and join in. great write up.

We love coming to Florida for work and/or play. It was good meeting you Turbo, and we'll be back in late May for the Big RV Bahamas trip!

Brought back a lot of memories from my time in FL. I did a bunch of "cross countries" from KCRG to Kay Larkin for my PPL. I also spent many an afternoon at the Conch house in my "pre-aviation" boating days. (

The Conch House was recommended by my retired Navy friend who spent a lot of time there when he was stationed in Jacksonville. The food was pretty good too.

 

[Bob Axsom]

Ah St. Augustine ...

We made a trip there from Northwest Arkansas in out RV-6A a couple of years ago and we found it to be a special place - really enjoyed our visit there and really enjoyed seeing it again in your photos.

Bob Axsom

 

[islandmonkey]

I visited St Augustine a few times in the nineties when I was building hours for my comercial.

On my first visit St Augustine tower could not understand my British accent. The fact that I was pronouncing St Augustine dfferently did not help matters,

I was pronouncing it "St Awe Guss Tin" not "St August Een".

Lovely place, fond memories.

Thanks Scott

 

[Bryan Wood]

Scott, saw your latest when checking in at VAF

Scott and Deb,

I was just checking in to see what's new in RV land and saw your post. Nice write up and nice photos to boot. We've had about 5 weeks of wind and rain and I'm envious of your trip even if it is work related. Good on you for combining work and play so nicely. Oh, Happy B-Day.

 

[339A]

We made a trip there from Northwest Arkansas in out RV-6A a couple of years ago and we found it to be a special place - really enjoyed our visit there and really enjoyed seeing it again in your photos.

Bob Axsom

We really had a great time in St Augustine. It's such an easy trip in the RV. You don't have to fly to "Infinity and Beyond" to have a great time in your airplane. We couldn't agree with you more that it is a special place. Deb is already scheming for a trip back there!

BTW, Bob, just picked up "Unbroken." Have heard good things about it. We are off on a cruise starting today, (no internet or cell phone!) hope to get it read on the boat. Will let you know...

I visited St Augustine a few times in the nineties when I was building hours for my comercial.

On my first visit St Augustine tower could not understand my British accent. The fact that I was pronouncing St Augustine dfferently did not help matters,

I was pronouncing it "St Awe Guss Tin" not "St August Een".

Lovely place, fond memories.

Thanks Scott

The funny thing is that your pronunciation is probably more in line with the correct Spanish. We Americans tend to change things around.

Scott and Deb,

I was just checking in to see what's new in RV land and saw your post. Nice write up and nice photos to boot. We've had about 5 weeks of wind and rain and I'm envious of your trip even if it is work related. Good on you for combining work and play so nicely. Oh, Happy B-Day.

Good to hear from you, Bryan. I really am very lucky that work lets me do this!! Read your post about life with the Bo. I think you should build another RV... heck I have a tail kit for a 9. Hope to start on it this year. We will see you and Sheri in May/June. You still thinking you might be up for a visit to Disney World before the trip?

 

[RV7Ron]

Awesome writeup Scotty, thanks for taking the time to post it. Looks like a great time!

 

[Wingnut]

Great write up! I saw your reference to Nights of Lights and decided to take the wife and in-laws over tonight after dinner. It was quite impressive and served to extend the holidays a little longer. I'll have to make another trip to try the seafood, however. The B&B looks like a great place to spend a few nights and I think I will treat my wife to a stay there when I order my wing kit!