We left Jacksonville, FL, on Saturday morning, having driven to Titusville, FL on Friday, to drop off Sasha for a sleepover at her friend Max's house. Max allows Larry and Debbie to perform housekeeping duties for him and allowed as how Sasha would be a good temporary addition to his family.
Friday evening and Saturday morning early were spent packing and preparing the motorhome for an extended stay in Stagecoach RV Park.
We left Nessie hooked up to power, since the a/c and the refrigerator would be left operating. The staff at Stagecoach was completely on board with the situation, and kept a casual eye on the coach. The maintenance person, Craig, promised to check for problems from time to time, so we felt as comfortable as we could under the circumstances. We've never left the coach for any length of time, since it is now our home, and as for Sasha, well....We couldn't have had a better answer to prayer than Max, Larry, and Debbie!
Our weeklong trip was to return to California for a busy schedule of Dr. and dentist visits, haircuts and "honey-do's". We also had a wonderful time seeing good friends and family. Our friends Steve and Suzi asked us to share a homemade lasagna dinner with them, and it was delicious!
Friends Jo and Larry are working through some health issues so it was great to see them and get an update. Our daughter Teresa and her family went out of their way to make us comfortable for the week, and our son Jeff and his family joined us at the end of the week. Very nice! Thanks, guys!
Our flight left Sacramento just after noon on Saturday, with a plane change in Las Vegas prior to arriving in Jacksonville. With the time changes, we arrived just before midnight, and by the time we retrieved our car and drove back to St Augustine, it was about 1:30 am. Of course, then we had to unbutton the motorhome so we could fall into bed, so we fell asleep about 2:30 am!
We had planned on catching a few hours sleep, then driving the 90-odd miles to Titusville to get Sasha. Did I mention how thankful we are that we met Larry and Debbie when we were staying in Willow Lake RV Park? If not, I should, because they volunteered to drive to St Augustine in their motorhome and bring Sasha "home"! They arrived about noon, and we were able to spend an enjoyable evening with them. Some conversation and a good dinner at Harry's completed the evening!
LnD had an errand to run, so we watched Max for a short while. What a cutie! He loves his Mom, and took up residence in one of the two front chairs of the motorhome so he could watch outside. Unfortunately, he could hardly keep his eyes open!
And Sasha took the opportunity to catch 40 winks!
This morning the games were on again with Max and Sasha! It was almost as if they knew that their playmate was going to be leaving for awhile, and they had to pack in as much fun as they could!
Back and forth, forth and back, they went. Running in circles and ignoring their "parents" instructions!
Eventually they ran out of gas and settled down for a quick rest.
Best Buds Forever!
Larry, Debbie and Max are some of the nicest people we've met on our '16 Summer Trip, and we're happy to count them our friends!
After LnDnM checked out, we decided to take another short trip into St Augustine. Sasha had crashed in her bed on the couch, and showed no sign of wanting to move, so Donna and I took off for the Lightner Museum.
Completed in 1888 as the Alcazar Hotel, and built by multimillionaire Standard Oil co-founder Henry Flagler, the Lightner Museum occupies the south side of the square. The City of St Augustine now occupies about half of the three story structure, one of the first to be built using poured in place concrete. The hotel was built for well-to-do Easterners to vacation in Florida for the winter.
Across the square, the Flagler built Ponce De Leon Hotel is now the campus of Flagler University.
To the east of the square, what is now the Casa Monica Hotel, was also a Flagler property.
The museum is located in the rear of a roughly square three story building that was originally the casino, featuring salons, steam rooms, a bowling alley and the largest indoor pool of its time. The entry reflects the opulent building that guests enjoyed. That's handled Italian tile on the floor!
The Lightner Museum is a museum of museums. Mr. Lightner had a penchant for acquiring other peoples collections, and amassed a huge inventory of....well....everything. He would probably have been accused of being a hoarder these days!
We were advised to go to the third floor and work our way down, so the elevator deposited us in the massive ballroom, which houses a variety of furniture and exquisite statuary.
One of the more interesting pieces is this desk made of Birch Root wood. The wood grain is astounding!
The swimming pool has long since been filled in and turned into a cafe, but when it was in use it was the largest indoor pool of it's time.
The cast plaster decorations are tremendous examples of a time when splendor was normal among the rich.
This Chickering and Sons 1873 grand piano was owned by opera star Amelia Galli-Curci until acquired by Lightner in the '30s. What a beautiful instrument!
A room near the entry of the museum is devoted to mechanical musical instruments, including Edison phonographs, Nickelodeons, and this amazing disk operated machine, where 27 inch diameter copper disks rise from their storage area and play automatically. A wind up handle primes the machine, and the rest is music! It's astounding to consider the mathematical calculations necessary to place the holes and slots precisely in the disk so as to create music. Ok, it's hard enough to do it on a strip of paper, but when the diameter of the disk constantly changes? Not to shabby for the 19th century! Incidentally, 50 disks can be stored in the lower section and selected by the user.
A German machine uses a book-like strip to create music. Looking like a medium sized book, the "pattern" is drawn through the reader and refolded as it exits, ready for the next play!
Toy soldiers by the hundreds:
Dolls and doll houses from the 19th century:
Ladies hats:
And shaving mugs:
The museum just goes on and on....
Quilts and cameras:
Mens hats and Ladies purses:
A 19th century Plains Indian fringed shirt with Porcupine Quills and hair decorations.
And even a collection of "Presentation" pipe bowls. At one time, pipe bowls were considered to be a desirable trophy!
The largest, and best maintained collection of Tiffany items is said to be held by the Tiffany family in Winter Garden, FL. Something for us to see next time!
Talk about obscure....an entire wall is covered with unique examples of Japanese safety match box covers.
Samplers were once a required rite of passage for every young lady. While there were some ornate pieces on display, this simple exercise caught our eye.
O.C. Lightner had a Get 'r Done attitude. He developed cancer at an early age, and was sent to Florida for the warm weather "cure". He died just two years after completing his museum, and so didn't get to enjoy it to the fullest extent possible.
It's been a good day today, if a bit sad, knowing we'll not soon see the great friends we've made on Florida's Space Coast. Sasha keeps looking out the window, hoping to see Max jump out of a motorhome somewhere, so she misses her friend, and we've enjoyed the bit of time we've spent with Larry and Debbie.
Great friends, and great family!
It's good to be alive!
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