By Staff
Trend Magazine Online™
Bucket List Worthy!
Trend Magazine Online™
Bucket List Worthy!
This wonderful place has been on my bucket since ever since I heard that it was the oldest city in the United States as a young adult -- decades ago. Ironically, I have whizzed past it on many occasions while traveling to/from Miami from North Carolina since the late 1970's when I left for service in the United States Army. I had unwillingly joined the plethora of human beings that put off tomorrow what could be done today in this regards. In my defense, it is a well-known phenomenon that states that a person that is in proximity of a major tourist attraction is typically the last -- if any-- to actually pay it a visit; why, because they can literally put it off until tomorrow, next week, or next month, without losing any significant travel expenses. In my case, I live a lot closer to St. Augustine than most tourists around the globe and I am elated to have been able to check this attraction off my bucket list.
I decided
to take advantage of the fact that I was once again headed past this national treasure
on my way back to North Carolina recently via Interstate 95
north. I headed on over from the quaint little town of Palatka,
Florida which turned out to be a hidden gem on its own accord. Click on the
previous link to read my review of that historic treasure. I arrived early
Saturday morning before the sites were opened and the tourists began to
scramble about to one of the many local attractions to include Ponce de
Leon's Fountain of Youth.
My time was limited so I decided to skip that
site especially since I felt very young on that particular day. Smile!
The visitor center finally opened but I did not spend too much time there
because they were also trying to sell me some time-share property. I did manage
to swipe some free stuff on my way out to include a city attraction map.I decided to visit the Castillo de San Marcos which is the oldest masonry fort in the Continental United States dating back to 1672. I chose this site over all others because of my military background. It was scheduled to open at 8:45 A.M. and I arrived around 8:30 A.M. and was one of the first five tourists in line. This old fort is situated along the Matanzas Bay which leads to the St. Augustine Inlet that spills out into the Atlantic Ocean. They actually opened closer to 9 A.M. and my adult ticket was $10 and valid for seven consecutive days.
There website mentions a
military pass, however, no one at the gate offered it to me although I was
wearing my Army baseball cap and did have proper identification. The
entrance into the old fort is pretty neat in that you get to cross over a
working bridge that was once situated over a moat. It was not very wide but I
guess people were not as tall and athletic as they are today because it
appeared as though I could have broad jumped right to the other side. 
There was
a Park Ranger present to greet us as we made our way into what could be
considered the lobby area of the old fort. He was very eager to answer any
questions pertaining to the fort by us guests. I did not have any questions in
particular, however, I made out as a fly on the wall while he entertained the
gentleman to my front questions. I typically read the information available in
their brochure as well as the plaques posted at each article of interest. The
first place we were directed to was the old living quarters of the soldiers
that were on guard duty around the fort. 
Surprisingly they closely resembled
the quarters of the World War II barracks at old modern-day bases like Ft.
Jackson (Columbia, SC), and Ft. Bragg (Fayetteville, NC). It brought
back memories of my days as a soldier on guard duty when I could not wait to be
properly relieved to go soak my feet in cool water and rest my lower back from
all that standing. One thing comes to mind while on duty in some remote part of
the world is our first military general order which states that "I will
guard everything within the limits of my post and quit my post only when
properly relieved." Some guy is in a lot of trouble today because he
simply forgot!
From there
we headed out into the common area of the fort which I found rather small and
contained. I pictured the old troops falling into formation to be counted and
to receive the orders and or instructions of the day. Formations are also used
to recognize outstanding service by soldiers, awards, and best of all
promotions. You knew that was about to happen when your commander would lead
off with "Attention to orders." Inspections and physical training are
also accomplished from your typically military formation which requires each
individual soldier to remain dress-right-dress and covered down. 
My favorite
type formation is marching where I excelled as a soldier largely because of my
basic training Drill Sergeant Tennison who was an expert which led our
platoon C-10-2 (the Road Runners) to be selected as the honor platoon in
1978 at Ft. Jackson. His influence inspired me to be selected as
the Drill Sergeant of the Cycle in 1986 at the very same base and
mainly because of my D&C (Drill and Ceremonies) expertise learned
from him. Back to the matter at hand; the organizers of the old fort have
converted most of the old rooms into mini-museums that house nuggets of the
fort's history like the first room that covers my Cousin (just kidding) Juan
Ponce de Leon's life and times.
