Daytripper: St. Augustine

If you're like me, sometimes you need to get out of this god forsaken hellhole known as Gainesville in the summer. There's no ocean, no beach, no stroll down the street in flip flops and a bathing suit while drinking alcoholic beverages in the middle of the day kind of place.

Enter St. Augustine.

I mostly head east for the beautiful beach, but with a 3 hour round trip, I figure I may as well make a full half day out of my adventures. This inevitably leads me to historic downtown St. Augustine.

St. Augustine tows the line between tourist trap and charming old town in an all too dangerous way. With the slightest miscalculation, you can find yourself in a Ripley's Believe it or Not, Wax Museum, Ghost Tour, or mildly obscene t shirt shop. Yet at the same time, you might explore wonders as Flagler College (which is housed in the magnificently preserved late 1800's Hotel built by Henry Flagler: pictured above), the Lightner Museum (housed right across the street in the equally historic Hotel Alcazar and featuring amazing relics such as the orchestrion and other giant music boxes)

or the quiet, charming back streets a few blocks off the main tourist drag. This is where the treasures are hidden.

So to boil it all down, here is my advice for a day trip to St. Augustine:

Go to the Beach! My favorite is Anastasia State Park. It's phenomenally beautiful and has a little hut to grab forgotten sunblock, little snacks and drinks, or rent a boogie board. For me, peak beach hours are any time until noon, and then from 4 till sunset. Wear sunblock people! It costs 8 dollars to get into the park, but I think it's worth it. You can also continue down A1A (BEACHFRONT AVENUE!) to other beaches with metered parking lots.

Visit the Alligator Farm! I know it sounds intimidating, but this is a wonderful reptile zoo just across the bridge on the way to the beach. Be sure to go during late spring when all the birds have donned their mating plumage and the babies are just hatching. Bring a camera with a telephoto lens.

Visit the Castillo de San Marcos. It's a National Monument (one of only two in Florida!).

Visit the old Drugstore (31 Orange St). Usually, I'm a big opponent of these touristy crap things, but this one is totally free. It's also connected to one of the few parking lots that usually has open spaces. The reason I like it is because they have an amazing display of old tinctures, liniments, ointments, and other old timey panaceas that were probably sold off the back of a wagon.

And now, the food!
Go eat at Kozmic Bluz Pizza (48 Spanish Street). I know the name is stupid, but the pizza is really good. It's perfect after a long day at the beach. They also have a nice selection of micro-brews.


For dessert, check out the brand new Hyppo Gourmet Popsicles (15 Hypolita Street).
The guy who runs it just graduated from UF and came to St. Augustine with a dream of frozen refreshment. He makes all the popsicles from scratch right on site. They're all phenomenal and a truly original idea. I am all for supporting business visionaries such as the crew at The Hyppo. So far, we've tried Chocolate/Banana, Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Coconut, Blueberry Cinnamon, and Pineapple. They have many more flavors, so be sure to get at least two.


Before the summer is over and all of our beaches are covered in tar, be sure to get over to St. Augustine a few times. It's a trip well worth your time.