St. Augustine, Florida - Part One

During our last week in Florida, we stayed just south of St. Augustine.  As a homeschooling Mom, I was so excited to visit here! St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement and port in the continental U.S.  So much history..so little time! Although it was a bit rainy on and off throughout the day, we still had the chance to see and explore the city.  Our first stop was the Castillo de San Marcos. 

The first room to the right when you cross into the fort is the bunkhouse. Nathanael just had to try out the beds! I know these are not original, but it gave us an idea of how crowded it was in there many years ago.

 Inside another room where displays that described the many carvings on the walls.  I was amazed to think that these pictures still survived hundreds of years later.  The picture above is of a sailboat.

In some areas, the men had burned messages into the walls.  The fort had changed possession 6 times (all peacefully) during its more than 250 years of military occupation.  We could see letters of the English alphabet, as well as some messages in Spanish.  Most were too worn or deteriorated to understand though.

 This was the door to the prison...creepy!!!

This short, narrow doorway led to the former powder magazine room, built in 1675.  It was supposed to store gunpowder, but it ended up being too damp. During a siege in 1702, the room turned into a trash pit and then sealed closed.  It was reopened 100 years later and they did find some animal bones in there.  Since then all kinds of myths and stories have been made up about that area of the fort.

 

After touring the ground floor of the fort, we ventured up the stairs to the top. What a view!

The boys were excited to see all of the cannons of course! There were several displays from various time periods and countries that had occupied the fort.

Construction of the fort took over 20 years to complete.   Labor for the fort included 100 Indians & Spaniards, as well as some convicts and slaves.  During that time, it was discovered that this bastion had been built 3 feet too low!  The mistakes were corrected and then the rooms were rebuilt many years later.

Can you see the boys in this picture above???

All four boys worked hard to receive their Junior Ranger Badges! YAY! Our whole family learned a lot of history that day!!! AND-  we received free admission with our National Park Pass! YAY again!!

 

Blessings to you and yours,

Jill and the boys:)