St. Augustine is a great split between a history trip and a beach trip.

In the historic old downtown area the main attraction is the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. This is the oldest fortification in the US, was built by the Portuguese in the 1600s and held by several countries over the years. Walking around this development it is amazing to see the science and engineering that went into its design - from the shape of the fort for protection to how each cannon was placed. The inside of the fort has been preserved to show how they slept, how they worshiped and lived day to day. It is loaded with historical artifacts and is definitely a must see attraction.

The historic district is filled with small shops, rehabilitated buildings, monuments and restaurants. It’s fun to walk around and take it all in, enjoy some great food and drinks, and buy some souvenirs. There is something for everyone in this area. Sprinkled throughout the old town are many B&B’s which would make getting around very easy. On the edge of the historic district is the San Sebastian Winery which is one of the first wineries in the US. Many of their wines were sweet or dessert wines, but we were able to taste a couple dry reds. We did purchase a Port which we are excited to try. The building itself is quaint and worth a visit for a taste or two.

Just up the road from St Augustine is the World Golf Hall of Fame. It includes a couple very nice courses, (which were out of our price range), the main Hall of Fame. The grounds featured a nice walkway around the lake with all the individual member’s names set in stone.

We just had to drive up the coast towards Jacksonville, to see TPC Sawgrass. As you can see on TV it is a beautiful course (maybe more beautiful in person) and has a great clubhouse to sit and watch the golfers go by on a nice day. We overheard in the pro shop that it cost $500 to play the stadium course!! And that does not include the caddie tip. (think we will keep watching on TV…) There are many nice golf courses in the area and the weather was perfect for playing golf.

St. Augustine Beach is where our condo was located. Ocean Villas was perfectly situated on the “strip” with easy access to the beach. Our unit had 2 floors each with its own balcony giving us great views of the beach, surf, and beautiful sunrises. The beach itself is a perfect combination of soft and hard packed sand making it nice to sit and relax or great to take a long walk - which we did about every day. You can easily bike on the hard packed sand which we decided to do on our last day. The first half of the 12 mile ride was so relaxing, but when we turned to go back, we discovered how hard the wind was actually blowing!!

The St Augustine area is not commercialized, very quaint and quiet and perfect for a getaway. One thing to remember though, it is a little bit farther north so it may not be as warm as southern Florida for February, but the sun was refreshing. Worth a visit...