Journey to the Oldest City

Jacksonville, Florida (Aka JAX) was our home for five days. The first two days, Monday and Tuesday (April 24,25) were spent camping in Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park. Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park is a 1.5-mile public beach and city park in Jacksonville, Florida. It is located at Mayport in the Jacksonville Beaches area. It consists of 447 acres of mature coastal hammock, which is increasingly rare along Florida's heavily developed Atlantic coast. Hammock is a term used in the southeastern United States for stands of trees, usually hardwood, that form an ecological island in a contrasting ecosystem. Love this campground and park! The roads are narrow but wide enough for our rig to maneuver to our RV site 157, which was a 45’ pull thru site. The site was level, dirt, heavily wooded/shaded, and vegetation on both sides that provided privacy with enough room for all three slide outs.

Tuesday morning we made our way without the fifth-wheel to the Visitor ID/Pass office at Mayport Naval Station and got our credentials so we could move to Pelican Roost RV Park on Wednesday afternoon. From there we drove south to spend the rest of the day visiting St.Augustine.

St. Augustine is a city on the northeast coast of Florida located north of Daytona Beach and south of Jacksonville. It is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in what is now the contiguous United States. It's colorful history makes it a definite place to not miss when on the east coast of Florida.

St. Augustine was founded on September 8, 1565, by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Florida's first governor. He named the settlement "San Agustín" as his ships bearing settlers, troops, and supplies from Spain had first sighted land in Florida eleven days earlier on August 28, the feast day of St. Augustine. The city served as the capital of Spanish Florida for over 200 years. It was designated as the capital of British East Florida when the colony was established in 1763; Great Britain returned Florida to Spain in 1783.

To cover as much ground efficiently with our limited time we chose to pay for the "Off and On" trolley train to see the sights. It was worth the money to get this personalized tour with all the stories associated with the significant people and their influence to the city's history. The trolley tour route covered about 8 miles. After the trolley we walked to see sights of interest and eat dinner. It was a full day but a good overview for a future longer stay later during the winter when we return in November.