Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

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St. Augustine’s Anastasia State Park

Thursday – Saturday                                                                           Most Recent Comments:
November 3 –5  2016                                                                         
On the Water at Faver Dykes
Anastasia State Park                                                                           Back in Virginia – Celia Comes to Visit
St. Augustine, Florida

 

 6 mos November 19

As you can see, I’m getting MUCH closer to being caught up and hope to do so within the next week.  BUT since I’m not, I do have to wish a happy 6 month birthday to my sweet little Celia who was 6 months old yesterday November 19th.  What a joy!!

 

 

THURSDAY

The distance from Faver Dykes to Anastasia is a whopping 21 miles so we manage to arrive early enough in the afternoon to do a minimal set up, eat dinner at the picnic table and head to the wide sandy beach where the wind is really blowing.

 

 

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Seeing Pelicans fly is like watching pterodactyls.

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The winds of course don’t bother them

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We only saw this stage on the beach the day we arrived.  By the next day it was gone.
I wish I’d asked what it was used for and by whom.

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FRIDAY

There are two campgrounds at Anastasia.  The smaller is older and one circle with a central bathhouse and 33 sites.  The larger is newer and the 105 sites are divided up between 6 loops with beachy names like Sea Urchin, Sand Dollar, Shark Eye and Queen Conch.  We are in a site at the back of the older loop called Coquina.  Our loop is closer to the beach so this morning we walk the half mile over to see  the sunrise.  Time hasn’t “fallen back” yet so sunrise time is reasonable even for David.

The predawn sky is ablaze as we approach the dunes.

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Someone must have been having serious creative fun in the sand yesterday.  So glad they left it for me to enjoy this morning as I wait for the sunrise.

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Love the shell hat.

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David looks very solitary at the edge of the vast ocean as the sun’s early color recedes toward the sunrise.

 

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Here’s what he’s been waiting for

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Later in the day everybody is out enjoying the water and the beautiful wide beach here.  Some with thick skins are even wading or swimming.  What an amazing beach.

 

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SATURDAY

We love the fact that the St. Augustine Farmer’s Market is every Saturday morning just outside the St. Augustine amphitheater and right next to the park.  We can bike or walk to it.

Calling it a farmer’s market is a bit of a stretch though in my opinion.  The market is pretty good size but there are only 3 vendors of vegetables and fruits.   The remaining vendors are quite varied.  They include African carvings for your tiki bar, digeriedoos, PVC flamingos,  handmade brooms and gourd birdhouses,  of course pottery, as well as massage tables and chairs and oil and watercolor artists just to name a few.

 

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We stop on our walk from one end to the other of the market to listen to the musicians.  The music here seems to be a jam session with whoever shows up and in whatever numbers with whatever instruments. 

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We walk to the end and have looked at all the booths when we start back to make our purchases.  But I spot a path off to the left that looks like a trail.  I can’t help myself, I want to see where it goes.  So we do. 

 

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.We find this lovely pond with a female anhinga and lots of turtles.

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Eventually we stumble upon a gazebo with this map and we discover that we have been walking through the St. Augustine Arboretum and Nature Trail.  We look at the map and find that we were seeing the turtles from the fishing pier, Letter A.  But the map does not show the paths we walked on from the Farmer’s Market which runs all along the side of one entrance to the amphitheater.  Rather than continue trying to figure out where to go next, we just retrace our steps back to the market.

We bike home with our purchases and hit the beach

 

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Happy to be back beside the Atlantic again and nearer to Bruster’s Ice Cream!

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13 comments:

  1. We have been to St Augustine a number of times, but never able to get in the state park, probably because of our aversion to making reservations:) Great beach pictures. We also had high winds here in the panhandle yesterday.

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  2. I love riding our bikes on the beach there.

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  3. Beautiful sunrise photos! While I see gorgeous sunsets I rarely see the sunrise. Now and then I get a "WOW" view from my bedroom window.

    I'm sorry but when I go to a farmers market I go for the produce - not the arts and crafts, and certainly not for the music. No one asks me what I like though.

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  4. Those sunrise photos are AMAZING!!! When we were there a couple years ago, they had just finished the beach renourishment. Hope Hurricane Matthew did not take it all back...looks like the beach is still very wide!! We too are in search of a REAL farmers market with REAL farmers;o)))

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  5. Ahhh, the calming pictures of the ocean, and the sunrise :) So happy you're in Florida to share! I need to get over to the Pacific again!

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  6. Love your pictures today - especially Celia, who is already out-doing me in pushups! Also appreciate your great sunrise pictures - what a spectacle that was! I'm with you on the decline of actual farmers in the Farmer's Markets. It seems the same trend is happening everywhere we go to more craft vendors, food trucks, craft brewers, wineries and coffee roasters. I expect that trend will continue. I already miss the farmers. Produce trucks likely have the same produce we see in the grocery and often at the same prices.

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  7. We must have been here practically the week after you left? Lovely pics of the area.
    Nina

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  8. Nina and you covered the area quite nicely, still on our to visit list. Are you on your way to the Keys?

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  9. Still no keyboard but I'm now caught up with your wonderful posts. The pics of Celia are just adorable! Thanks for the beautiful sunrise - what a treat :-)

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  10. Six months already. It's not easy to stay current on the blog, unless your name is Al. ;) Your gorgeous sunrise shots almost make me want to get up earlier. Naw, I'm with David and will just enjoy your pics. Nice market, but except for the fruits and vegies I'd be happy to just look. Sometimes it's really nice to live in a "tiny house" with no extra space for chachkies. Especially that adorable turtle casserole dish which looks exactly like that turtle. You both look very happy to be back on the beach.

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  11. Oh, how beautiful! Anastasia is one of our favorite parks. We like the Coquina loop best, too. You both look so happy to be back on the beach. Wish we were there with you. Can't believe Celia is already six months old. She's adorable doing her little yoga pose. :-)

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  12. You have the best life!! Back at the beach...yay! Great selfie and last picture...you look great! Gorgeous sunrise!! Dad as a lone figure is a really nice shot. I always love the beach posts :)

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