Museums, Pirates, and Goodbyes

We decided to spend 2 days in St. Augustine with the intention of renting a car and sneaking home which was only 15 miles away at this point.  We thought we could run one of our cars up to the Marina in Jacksonville, so we would have a car when we arrived.  Lets just say those plans fell through, so we decided to make a day of it in St. Augustine.  We visited the Lightner Museum. which was one of 3 grand hotels built by Flagler, who brought the railroad to Florida.

 If you have ever spent much time in Florida, you wonder why Florida isn't named Flagler.  He made Florida accessible to the rest of the US by building the railroad which provided transportation all the way to Key West, before the Overseas Highway was built.  The 2nd Hotel is now Flagler College and the 3rd hotel is still in operation, the CASA MONICA.  It is the most luxurious hotel in St. Augustine and brings back the feel of times past.  The Lightner Museum is not only interesting for the exhibits donated by the Lightner Family, it is a step into the past to view this grand hotel.  After some shopping in the old city, we headed back to the boat for some afternoon margaritas on the upper deck of TIKA.  Within minutes, two Pirate ships conducted a pirate battle next to our boat.  We basically had front row seats. 

We capped off the day with dinner with Jim, Kathy, Ed and Lynn who had arrived in St. Augustine at the same time as us.  The next day we would head off to Jacksonville on the ICW and they would take Skydusky and Charm on the outside for a two day sail north.

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Nautical Term of the Day: SALON

 

On a boat, it's not where you get your hair done.......it is where you do most of your living.

 

TIKA's salon has a table and L shaped sofa that converts into a second berth (bonus nautical term....another word for bedroom) when you lower the table and add cushions.  TIKA has a helm (second bonus nautical term....where you drive the boat) in the salon.