Nomadic Noah and Co

The Oldest City in our Nation…St. Augustine

December 5, 2020

We arrived in the gorgeous city of St. Augustine on Monday, November 30th. While Alex was unhooking the rig, Noah and I took the pups for a walk. The KOA here has a great layout. There is a duck pond in the middle of the campground and each campsite comes with a barbecue grill. While we were exploring the RV park, I noticed a fresh seafood market, Fisherman’s Dock, located just over the fence. We purchased an assortment of fresh fish from them throughout the week that we cooked up on the grill. Alex and Noah made a gingerbread tree on the picnic table while I made dinner one of the nights.

Once everything was set up, we headed to downtown St. Augustine to explore. The city is full of buildings dating back to the 1700’s and are painted in an array of vibrant colors. The city was decorated in lights from head to toe. It was an amazing sight to see, especially at night. National Geographic has recognized St. Augustine as having one of the best Christmas light displays in the world!

We ventured out towards Gainesville on our first full day in St. Augustine, checking out the little towns surrounding it. The town of Micanopy was on our radar so we headed there first. The movie, Doc Hollywood, starring Michael J. Fox was filmed there. Out of all the towns in our country, it’s interesting to see the places that bigtime movie production teams find worthy to use as their movie’s backdrop. Micanopy is a cute little town which consisted of a bed and breakfast, a couple quaint cafes and several antique shops. When we arrive in a new place we always ask each other, “can you picture living here?” As cute as this place was, we couldn’t picture raising Noah there. There didn’t appear to be a lot for kids to do.

From Micanopy, we drove another ten miles to Gainesville. This is a city that defines, “college town.” We were there just long enough to grab lunch and then we made our way towards Fernandina Beach. We did check out the outlying towns that have homes with acreage, such as Callahan and Yulee, but it was definitely Amelia Island that we absolutely fell in love with. The little downtown and picture perfect neighborhoods truly defined quintessential southern living.

A cold spell came through a couple of the days that we were in St. Augustine but that didn’t keep us from exploring the great outdoors. We took our bikes to Anastasia State Park and road along the Atlantic Ocean. Despite having cold hands, it was a great ride! We played tag for quite some time on the playground adjacent to the parking lot. After Noah’s trip up the lighthouse in Carrabelle, he was really excited about exploring the St. Augustine Lighthouse. The entrance fee is $12.95 for adults and $10.95 for kids under 12. The cost was totally worth it. There was so much to see and do. We learned so much about the life of a lighthouse keeper! The Christmas decorations were endless! There had to have been at east two dozen Christmas trees throughout the entire property!

We met some really cool folks at this campground. I love hearing the different stories of how people transitioned into living the RV life. One couple in particular sold their restaurants in New Jersey when the Covid lockdowns began and headed south to Florida. They gave us a couple bottles of their hot sauce that they made and used to sell.

The highlight of our time in St. Augustine was meeting up with my cousin, Brian and his beautiful family. I have not seen Brian in over 25 years! My Uncle Henry, Brian’s Dad, moved down to Florida several years ago as well so it was really nice catching up with him too. Meeting Brian’s wife, Callie and his daughter, Avery was so very special. With everything going on in this world, having the chance to spend an evening with family is always a blessing. And the fact that they introduced us to America’s #2 best pizza was definitely a bonus!

This is a beautiful area of, not just Florida, but also our country. You will never run out of things to do, especially when it comes to outdoor adventures.