A Slice of Life
Bill Lites
Day 12 Tuesday 10/30/2018
My plan this morning was to drive to outlying areas around St. Augustine to visit several additional points of interest. As I was driving back into town, I passed a sign on a store-front, that advertised “Big Bill’s Die Cast” and I just had to stop to see what it was all about. This is an amazing store! This guy, Bill, really does have a die cast model of just about everything that has ever been made. Cars, Trucks, Airplanes, Motorcycles, Boats, Tanks, and you name it, Bill has the item in several sizes. His moto is, “If I don’t have it, they don’t make it”and I believe him.
After that interesting stop, I headed across the “Bridge of Lions” and Matanzas Bay onto Anastasia Island to visit the St. Augustine Lighthouse Museum. Some historical records tell us that this area has been the location of a coastal warning light (watch towers) as early as 1565. The current lighthouse was built in 1871 to replace the original 1824 lighthouse (the first official lighthouse in Florida built by the new, territorial, American Government) that collapsed in 1880, as a result of erosion and a changing coastline.
Now it was south on SR-A1A just a few miles to visit the Fort Matanzas National Monument (fort) located on the eastern side of the Matanzas Inlet. This small fort was built by the Spanish in 1742 to guard the southern mouth of the Matanzas River, which opens up the southern access to St. Augustine. The fort itself is only accessible by ferry across the river from the Park Service Visitor Center.
This fort was built and manned by the Spanish to protect the rear entrance to the city of St. Augustine from attack. The only way to get to the remains of this small fort is by a short ferry-boat ride. I asked the Ranger how long it would take, from the time one left the landing, until the ferry-boat brought them back. He said the ferry made the trip once each hour. From the pictures I saw of this small fort, I didn’t want to take that much time to see it today. Maybe another time.
South on A1A another few miles, and across the Matanzas Inlet, I checked out the Dolphin Adventure at Marineland. This attraction was first opened by a group of dedicated sea mammal enthusiasts headed up by W. Douglas Burden and Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney as the Marine Studios. This original facility was situated on a 125 acre plot located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intercostal Waterway (Matanzas River). As the world’s first Oceanarium, the Marine Studios was designed to rescue, study, and film the underwater life and habits of sea creatures.
On my way south on A1A to visit Marineland, I had noticed several large homes, perched on stilts, located right on the beach. Now as I headed back north towards St. Augustine, I stopped on the side of the road to get a closer look and take a photo or two. It looked like the houses were located along the beach road known as Old A1A. I had no idea people were allowed to build that close to the ocean. I doubt they would have too many visitors during hurricane season, but of course, they would have an excellent view of any 20 or 30-foot tidal surge or tsunami coming in at them from the ocean.
I had to do a little back-tracking on A1A to get to SR-312, where I turned west to avoid having to go through down town St. Augustine again. Then I turned north on N. Holmes Blvd. until I came across 4 Mile Road, and north again to where I turned west on SR-16. All of this (with Greta’s help) got me to the St. Augustine Aquarium. This turned out to be a very interesting family-participation type attraction, feathering all kinds of salt water creatures including sharks and rays. I was there long enough to witness the afternoon shark feeding, but wasn’t interested in the snorkeling or the zip line ride.
So, before heading back to the motel for the night, I started looking for a place to eat supper. And wouldn’t you know it, there was a Cracker Barrel Restaurant just down the road. I stopped in for a delicious Meat Loaf dinner with garlic mash potatoes and green beans, and one of their fresh baked biscuits with butter and honey for desert.
—–To Be Continued—–
Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 61 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing. He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville. Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.
One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is: John 10:10
Old Things R New 
Driving A1A is beautiful, especially north of Daytona. I might just have to do this next winter. Thanks for the reminder.
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