Jacksonville, FL - Animals (Post 7)

For our free day, the group travelled to St. Augustine (45 minutes south), which we learned was the oldest European settlement in North America. We visited Old Town Trolley where we took a city tour. We were able to visit a variety of historical sites and buildings throughout the tour and our conductor, John Wayne, was very informative!



 For example, we passed by the Huguenot Cemetery, which had over 25 bodies in each grave plot after a Yellow Fever epidemic. Another highlight was the Fountain of Youth, which Ponce De Leon of Spain went in search of. Finally, we visited the Castillo de San Marcos where we found cannons, barracks, a wonderful view, and prison beds. Funny enough, we tweeted a picture of these beds and the soldier’s quarters were mistaken for our actual sleeping arrangements! The trolley also took us by Flagler College where we met a kU fan (unfortunately).



After the TROLLey adventures we had dinner at the Santa Maria Restaurant. The seafood there was absolutely amazing!



We then split into two different groups due to irreconcilable differences. Basically, one group wanted to shop and another enjoys nature (theme of the trip anyone?).

Group Shopping (Alex, Hai, Allie, Sijie, Karen, Natasha, Mackenzie, Carlie):

The St. Augustine Spanish shopping district was beautiful! The area was entirely walkable, there must have been close to a hundred boutique stores, and the culture of the city was apparent. It felt like we were in an entirely new country! The locals were extremely friendly and we were even able to obtain gourmet popsicles, shells, and souvenirs. It was a great way to explore the city!

Group Nature (Maria, Matt, Baylee, Taylor):

Nature hated us today. We rented two double kayaks expected sunny skies and 10-knot winds. Instead, we got cloudy skies and 30-knot winds. We ended up getting “lost” at sea and getting help from a semi-attractive Georgia fan and his mother. Aside from the dramatics, we had a lot of fun exploring the beautiful Anastasia Park!



The group met back together to visit Bob’s house for a BBQ we were invited to. We met Bob at the St. Mark’s Episcopal church on our second day in Jacksonville as he is a Mizzou Alum. He invited several other Mizzou alumni as well. At Bob’s we were also able to play with several pets! Throughout our entire adventures in Jacksonville we have met several individuals and family who have been beyond gracious in accepting us into their communities. Bo and his family cooking us dinner, Gale (a Mizzou AXO alumnus) bringing us key lime pie, being invited to a BBQ, and more, we have been overwhelmed by the kindness we have experienced in our short time in Jacksonville. Leaving tomorrow morning will most definitely be bittersweet.