Well folks, I was wrong! Earlier I posted that due to my back and hip pain, I figured we wouldn’t be going anywhere, but I’m glad we took this opportunity.

As much pain as I’m in while walking, I gritted my teeth and with Dave’s support, we toured this awesome fortress in St Augustine. It would have been a shame not to see something with the short time we had in this historical city.

Most of the photos I took have written explanations, so I’ll put those in a gallery. However, there are a few Dave and I snapped that may need more explanation. I’m still waiting for his pics to load from Google but I’m not sure if they will go to my camera roll since we are on different operating systems.

I found the composition of the fort so interesting, I took a close up once we walked to the top. It’s called coquina stone. This material absorbed cannon fire instead of shattering!

The history is long but interesting, beginning in the 1500’s to present day. The castillo was constructed between 1672 and 1695. Many wooden structures were built by the Spanish before this fort with its 14ft thick walls.

In 2011, a living sea wall was constructed to protect the historic wall and provides a habitat for marine creatures. The former moat around the castle was filled with dirt and the canons moved to create a battery of canons along the water.

The sally port is the drawbridge connecting visitors to the only entrance and exit into the Castillo. I didn’t get that picture, but there is one on the guide for the park.

From the top of the fort, looking down I to the courtyard area, you can see that this is where one would enter the different rooms, barracks, jail cells, and more.

I’d like to figure out a good way to tell the entire history, including the burning of St Augustine, the city the fort protects, but I’m running out of gas. I have a long ride ahead of me tomorrow as does Dave, but he’s got it worse. Driving is very stressful in Florida due to heavy traffic, and most likely, more rain.

Dave was taking pics while I took a shot of a brass canon and the tops of the college nearby.

Again, despite my difficulties, this was another enjoyable and historic outing. If I can get to all the pics Dave took tomorrow, I may do another post. His pics are really great!

Also, I’ve called ahead and may have saved myself some time, to the VA near Jupiter. I’m going to be seen as soon as possible and I’m so glad we get to check into our site a couple of days early.