Florida! Part IV

The fourth day of our trip was spent in St. Augustine, my favorite Florida city! I love the charming, small-town feel, the architecture, the history, the food, and especially the shopping!

It is on the agenda of every Florida trip...I might even like it more than Williamsburg. Yep, I do. And you know how much I love Williamsburg!

St. Augustine is America's oldest city. Not like I'm saying Jamestown is a sham...Jamestown is the oldest English settlement; St. Augustine is the oldest Spanish settlement. It was discovered in 1565 and many of the original buildings are still standing, although I'm sure they've needed much TLC over the years. A fort that protected the city from the French is probably the biggest tourist trap, and the most haunted. It was on a recent episode of Ghost Adventures, also known (in our house) as the 'hot ghost guy show." AmIRight, Crystal?

But before we got to St. Augustine, we stopped at a junk shop on Route 1...well, it used to be a junk shop, with piles of Adirondack chairs and outdoor planters on the property. It's one of those places I've always wanted to check out, but never did, but since my parents may move soon I asked if we could stop this time. Only the piles of chairs and planters and junk were gone. It's the same store, Tropical Rattan, but I guess they've shifted into furniture and home decor sales than outdoor accessories.

They still had some fun stuff to check out, though:

If I had room in my house, this baby would have been loaded up in the car.  It's so fun!

I was *this* close to buying this beautiful cerulean vase, but it was $29 and I just couldn't do it...

They had some great wicker and rattan furniture that would brighten up any 3-season.sun/Florida room...

I have no idea what I'd do with this bunch of mini-baskets, but they were so cute!

They also had some items that were a little too eclectic for me :):

I'm still on the fence about this guy - he's adorable but borderlines kitsch...

After that little stop, we headed into Old Town St. Augustine, where absolutely nothing had changed since the last time I was there...sure, there were a few new shops, but it still felt like visiting an old friend. Does that make me sound weird? It's like how I feel when I go to downtown Fredericksburg. Feels like home.

We walked down St. George Street, the main thoroughfare for shopping, and I snapped some pics...

City Gates :)

We didn't make any stops because it was lunch time and we had Columbia Restaurant on the brain! We visit this restaurant every time we go to St. Augustine because it is the best!  Their fare is Cuban and their salad is so amazing!  The decor is not too shabby either :)

Love it!

Their gift shop has great pottery:

I bought a very unique bowl and a little container to hold my rings when I take them off to do dishes:

After lunch we walked back down St. George Street, stopping this time at many, many shops :)  My favorites are Flagler's Legacy and Market to Market.   Flagler's Legacy provides tours and sells logo souvenirs for Flagler College.  I've talked about my fascination with campus design and architecture, so I won't bore you again, but this campus is beautiful!

Market to Market sells hand painted and lead free pottery in all shapes and sizes!  We picked up a multi-colored planter and a deviled egg plate:

We barely got out of the pottery shop before it started pouring!  SO we found a covered spot and sat on a bench for 30 minutes or so, waiting for the storm to pass.  It was pretty relaxing listening to the rain...

Once the rain stopped we drove over the Bridge of Lions to Anastasia Island, where we found a real junk shop:  Tom's Fruits and Gifts.

Here are Tom's greatest hits misses:

These guys look so weird because they have to listen to Rush Limbaugh all day over the loud speakers throughout the shop...

Flamingo party lights?

Authinic?

Would anyone hang an alligator head in their home?

Ok, I'll post some hits, too:

Only 1 day left :(