After such an action-packed travel day yesterday, our family enjoyed a long and solid night of sleep and another delicious southern style meal for brunch this morning at the Country Cabin in Jacksonville. Next, we drove the scenic route to St. Augustine, which was a little more than an hour’s drive. We leisurely took in the sights along the way, seeing how GREEN and lush the coastal beach towns are, especially compared to Los Angeles.

This afternoon, we spent time at the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum. I learned lots of interesting information about the colony of East Florida during the time of the American Revolution. As it turns out, East Florida was home of many Loyalists (colonists who wanted to stay loyal to the King, and resisted independence from England). Then, as the museum literature stated “East Florida, with St. Augustine as its capital, spent 20 years as the 14th British colony, until the American Revolution forced the British to grant the colony back to Spain.”

The museum also displayed fascinating artifacts from 2 18th century shipwrecks off the coast of St. Augustine, such as weapons, silverware, and coins. The exhibits explain how artifacts can be used to demonstrate social status of the passengers – those who were of higher social class and those who sought social mobility in America, both of whom were present on the ships. In fifth grade, we engage in a fun social studies activity where students act as “archeologists” and “excavate” artifacts from a sunken ship, so this exhibit was exactly in line with our work in class.

The lighthouse and Keeper’s House are maintained beautifully, as are the surrounding grounds. It was a beautiful piece of American history to behold today. Tomorrow, we will visit the Fort itself and the Colonial Quarters across the street.

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Thanks for reading!