Finally, The Fountain of Youth!

St Augustine has the distinction of being the Oldest Continuously Occupied City in the United States. Pensacola, Florida holds the honor of being the first established city, but has not been continuously occupied. The center of this historic settlement is located on Magnolia Street just north of Castillo De San Marcos, arguably the most photographed Fort in the country.

Magnolia Ave looks exactly like it should:

This section of Florida is known as the First Coast, since it was "discovered" by Ponce De Leon in 1513. It wasn't until 1565 that the Spanish established a garrison here as defense against the French.

Entry to the park is gained through a ticket booth, and the first thing a visitor is led to is......

Looking somewhat like a hokey roadside attraction, the "fountain" leaves a bit to the imagination, but we both took a health swig of a somewhat distasteful, sulphur tasting, mineral laden spring.

It's been several hours since the drink....no noticeable change yet....

We did learn that the water once flowed naturally as an artesian well, as was most likely tasted by Ponce De Leon as he refilled the water barrels on his ships. These days, the water must be pumped from 282 feet below ground from the Floridan Aquifer which spreads over most of the southeast US.

The grounds of the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park cover quite a number of acres, most of which has been studied in depth, providing a very good look at the layout of the settlement, and the association withe the native Timucuan peoples. A statue commemorating Ponce De Leon's visit is at front and center of the park.

Ponce De Leon was a 19 year old member of Cristopher Columbus's Second Voyage. Ponce had earned a spot on the voyage bringing 1,000 settlers to the New World by his valorous fighting against the Moors in Spain. Eventually, he earned captaincy of an expeditionary voyage north to keep an eye on the French.

Sidelight: In the days before signature security as we know it now, it was common for the elite to develop ornate signatures in an effort to foil counterfeiters. Two famous examples:

When Ponce (why, I feel like I know him personally!) arrived at St Augustine Inlet, he had to anchor his ships offshore and use smaller boats to get to shore. These workhorse boats were oared or sailed, and were called Chalupas. I thought that was something to eat....

The Park has a great walking tour of the landing area, including a recreated military observation platform.

This is much like what Ponce De Leon and his men may have seen as he approached the shore.

A large cross just across the Intracoastal Waterway also commemorates the landing.

 We realized that we were deep in the middle of a Holiday Weekend when we drove downtown looking for a place to have lunch. Car traffic as well as pedestrian traffic made forward progress almost impossible. Throw in the 1:30 train to Miami, which cuts right through the middle of town. and everything...well, you get the picture.

We chose to find a quiet, out of the way restaurant, and succeeded admirably! Georgie's Diner, complete with chrome exterior and red plastic tables was just what we wanted! To boot, as my Dad used to say, they offered exterior seating in a comfortable, shaded patio. The food was a perfect lunch amount, and tasted great. It, however, wasn't quite what we expected...you see, it's a Greek Diner, where unpronounceable Greek dishes are all over the menu! We elected to get gyros, since we knew how to pronounce it, and they were outstanding! Good job, Georgie's!

So, with our bellies full, and our legs tired, we left the oldest place in the oldest city in the country. An awesome day.