Oooop North…

As we keep saying Florida isn’t just about thrill rides and coasters. There is so much more to see and do. So what we’re gonna do over a few blogs is go on a tour of the areas. First off we are off ooop north!

Heading up the I-4 there are so many areas you can reach within a couple of hours drive, and on these roads you just sail along! First of all we are popping into Daytona, situated on the Atlantic coast. Home to beaches and well known for motorsports and the infamous spring breaks that the U.S. colleges celebrate. Think MTV and loud music and you’ll get the drift!

Daytona is famous for the golden beaches and is one of the few beaches you are allowed to drive on in the U.S. Its a hard packed sand beach where you have to stick to pre-designated lane during sunrise to sunset, (and weather permitting).

There’s also Daytona Speedway, home to the Nascar Daytona 500 race in February.

During the summer there are free summer concerts on the bandshell stages, also you have Daytona Lagoon Water Park with go-carts, laser tag and of course water slides. With 23 miles of beaches in the area you won’t be short of somewhere to go for fun!

Jumping onto the I-95 we head along a coast hugging road, passing Ormand beach towards the Tomoka State Aquatic Preserve, then onto Flagler beach. The city of St Augustine, a city on the northeast coast of Florida lays a claim to being the oldest city in the United States.

The City was founded in 1565 by Pedro Menendez de Aviles. He was the first governor of Florida in 1565 and remained in office till his death in 1574. The Spanish settled here because it was easy to defend and had an abundance of fresh water.

It’s one of the oldest continuously occupied City and Port established by the Europeans in the Continental United States.

It’s also home to the oldest masonry fort in North America. The fort has had 3 different names, it was originally named Castillo de San Marcos by the Spanish, the British re-named it Fort St.Mark when they took over. Then when it was ceded to the U.S. it was re named Fort Marion. The fort was made from from a stone called coquina, Spanish for small shells. It’s a great place to visit, you can walk the walls, and there’s lots of information about the area and how the Fort has changed over the years and what it has been used for, and if you’re lucky (or unlucky) you might get to hear them fire the guns off the wall – very very loud.

St Augustine has some of the oldest buildings in Florida. The schoolhouse is claimed to be the oldest wooden school building in the U.S.A. Its said to be built in around 1716 but the date cannot be fixed for definite. It’s definitely worth a visit though. The streets have a very old feel about them due to the look of the buildings and its lovely to wander round narrow streets looking at cute little store fronts. The ice-cream shop is just lovely.

The Cathedral Basilica Parish of St Augustine was built over 5 years between 1793 and 1797, the Parish dates back much further than that. It was rumoured to be the place the Spanish settlers celebrated mass when they first came ashore, the Cathedral was designated a U.S. National Historic landmark in 1970.

Now for the main St Augustine fact!! It is claimed that the Fountain of Youth lies here! What better reason to visit – we need all the help we can get! This is where Juan Ponce de Leon first landed in 1513. Now unfortunately there is no solid evidence to back up this claim. Shame eh!! BUT there is lots of archaeological evidence to prove this was the site of the first Spanish settlers.

St Augustine also has the claim to fame of being home to the oldest Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Opened in 1950, the building was once a hotel and is rumoured to be haunted. As per usual it houses many funny and weird articles including a death mask of former President Abraham Lincoln.

Now St Augustine has had many famous residents including Tom Petty, Ray Charles Richard Boone (actor) and Brandon James (football player) and Johnny Mize (hall of fame baseball player). Why not pop yourselves on the very cheap and fun land train which takes you all around St Augustine and you get to hop on and off at all the places you want to visit – lovely architecture and the Flagler College in particular is an amazing building.

North Florida is a mix of white sand beaches, parks and natural springs. Apart from its beautiful landscapes and historical landmarks there are so many things to do here.

You have the Washington Oaks State Park in Palm Coast, it sits along side the Atlantic Ocean with some spectacular footpaths to amble along. We have Jacksonville zoo and gardens that’s over 117 acres with over 2000 animals. From Jaguars to Giraffes, you can feed Stingrays or cool off in the playpark and splash pool.

For the culture lovers we have the Cummer Museum of Arts and Gardens, this is in Jacksonville and has nearly 5000 objects in its permanent collection. The site has interactive exhibits that the younger museum goer will enjoy and the history buffs will be taken aback with the large range of American and European paintings that date back to 2100BC. The manicured gardens with the reflecting pools and ornate fountains with sooth the soul in the Floridian sunshine.

If you like your history with a more modern twist there is the National Naval Aviation Museum. One of the most visited museums in the state, the museum features over a 150 restored aircraft. The museum highlights the rich history of the Navy, Marine Corps and the Coast Guard Aviation service. If you can’t find it follow the planes! It’s not far from the airbase!

Don’t forget the ‘other’ reason people visit Florida for is the golf courses. The there are so many all over the state, the north has some crackers. There’s The First Tee in Jacksonville, Bent Creek Golf Course, and Windsor Park. Plenty to choose from.

So despite Orlando being an absolutely fantastic area to visit, and you will absolutely love it, if you’ve been before why not venture a little further afield and check out the real Florida and get some history as well. Most folks head down the south of Florida – Miami, the Keys etc, or to the Gulf Coast, Clearwater and Naples, and we can well see why, we love those places too, but for a real change give the north of Florida a little look if you are looking for something a bit different. We can’t wait to visit St Augustine on our next trip and we’ll take some fabulous photos to try and convince you to go and visit somewhere as well as those amazing theme parks and beaches.