Golf

The rest of our time in Florida will be spent watching Millie and her team from University of West Florida.  The tournament, hosted by Flagler College, is being held at the King and Bear GC (another very famous course with 9 holes having been designed by Arnold Palmer (The King) and the other 9 by Jack Niklaus (Golden Bear) and so on the Saturday we did a dummy run to see how long it would take us to do the drive and it was an easy 1/2 hour drive north west of where we were staying.  

The team had a practice round on Sunday and for the first few holes the weather was perfect, but around the 5th it started to rain quite heavily and although we had umbrellas with us (bought in Walmart especially due to the forecast) we decided we'd head for the clubhouse and wait for the girls to come round, by which time it might have eased off a bit.  It had almost stopped raining by the time the team headed for the 10th and so we set off to follow them.  As we walked across the buggy park the chap in charge (Buggy Man?) offered us a cart for the afternoon free of charge.  He said the rain had driven all his customers away and so we may as well make use of it - we were incredibly grateful for such a kind gesture, especially as we had more torrential rain during the afternoon and despite holding the brolly sideways we still got a little wet.

Fortunately the weather for the next two days was good, if a little chilly in the early mornings.  Two rounds were played on Monday which was quite tough going for us (16.3 kms) but it was great to see that Millie had retained her good form despite the long winter break between matches.  

Setting off for the last round on Tuesday we found ourselves very leg weary and footsore but Millie was playing awesome golf and so we quickly forgot about our aches and pains and were just thrilled to be witnessing -4 under after 5 holes - just unbelievable!!  She finished the round 1 under and came 5th overall in the competition which was superb.

The team had a long 6+ hour drive back to Pensacola and were heading straight off as soon as their round finished but Millie was able spend about 10 mins before she left and we could bung her some $$$ in lieu of taking her to dinner and give her the Apple Airtag we'd bought for her golf clubs.

We were heading back home the next day too and so after lunch we went back to the little house to pack.  I forgot to mention the railway line; after accepting the changed accommodation I read on various reviews that it was near a railway line and the train noise could be bothersome.  At Lake Beresford we'd been near the same line (much further south of course) and had heard trains hooting in the distance from time to time.  But here we were only two roads away from the line and the noise was unreal, we didn't hear them during the day but at night very long freight trains - 150 carriages/2 miles in length rumbled their way along, sounding their warning hoots at every crossing (they're all unmanned and without barriers).

Early Wednesday morning it started to rain and the forecast was for it to continue all day.  The driveway in front of the house was built rather curiously with a dipped bit in the middle and quite quickly this started to fill up with rainwater.  I decided to go and turn the car around and park it nearer the house on the grass otherwise I feared we'd be barefoot and rolling up our trouser legs by the time we came to load the suitcases.  The weather did improve slightly and the journey back to the airport was uneventful and rather boring.  When we got back to Avis we dropped the car off and were quickly told everything was fine (which it was, we'd had no incidences).  Just as we past the Despatch Desk Ian casually produced the keys to no.2 car and announced to the young lady he'd just found them on the floor.  She was very grateful and thanked him profusely.

Although the wildlife wasn't what we'd hoped for, maybe we were too early in the season or a little too far north, we had a good trip and it was lovely to see Millie playing such good golf and clearly being in a good place.  Hopefully we can go again next year for what will be Millie's last semester.

Anastasia State Park

We drove back down along the same route and then decided to visit Anastasia State Park, a spit of land bordering the Atlantic, for the hour or two before sunset.  The park ranger at the gate told us where we could park and which trails were walkable.  

We walked for about an hour in a loop and saw very little, just these mussels growing in the mud.

And this heron which I’d presumed at the time was another Great Blue but it would now seem to be a Tricoloured Heron which I don't think we've seen before.

I stalked it along the shoreline for a while, taking care not to get stuck in the mud.

From a distance I thought it had actually caught some food but it's just grass.

Caused some ruffled feathers though!

American Robin which looks considerably bigger than ours.

A bit dejected at the lack of wildlife we drove on further to Anastasia Beach and as you can see there was a heavy sea mist, but it was rather atmospheric.

No doubt these blobs of foam are caused by some pollutant but they look like mini icebergs to me.

This apparently is a Royal Tern, again a lifer for us.

Sanderlings

I rather like photographing dunes but appreciate they are probably an acquired taste so I've done a little collage.

TPC Sawgrass

As we were only about 30 mins drive away from the famous TPC Sawgrass Golf Club we decided to take a drive north along the coastal road which we'd originally thought was a toll road but we checked with Tourist Info and it wasn't.

I don't know if you can see well enough from this map, but the road runs north on the thinnest strip of land.

Unfortunately though it was almost impossible to see either the beach or the sea as we were driving along as the road was lined with houses practically the whole way.  But when we did get a chance to stop and see the beach it was very much wilder than Crescent Beach.

TPC (Tournament Players Club) Sawgrass is one of a chain of clubs owned and run by the PGA and hosts an annual tournament which Ian follows with great interest. 

We fully expected to be politely told we couldn't go in the clubhouse, but no, it seemed anyone was welcome.  We found the pro shop and Ian treated himself to a very expensive baseball cap with a logo on it and the lady serving told us about the storytellers.  These are older members who take guests on a tour of the course and the clubhouse at various times of the day and the next one was at 1400.  So we wandered back into the main lobby area where there was a chap in a smart blazer and tie but he didn't engage with us so we just sat down and waited.  A few minutes past 1400 a rather loud middle-aged lady came in with another couple and went straight over to the old guy who immediately offered to take them out.  We then piped up that we'd been patiently waiting but luckily his golf cart could carry 6 pax and so we all went off together.  He drove us to several of the most popular spots on the course and gave us a very detailed overview of its history.  The tournament was about 6 weeks away and there were all sorts of grandstands and hospitality marquees being erected but we still saw a lot including Ian's favourite 17th Hole which is an island green.

The daunting view from the tee box.  Apparently about 100,000 balls are recovered from the lake each year.

I found the white pelicans more interesting.

The sign on the golf cart made me chuckle; Ian and I were sitting at the back, facing backwards, and the chap drove so fast we had to cling on for dear life and should we have fallen off it certainly wouldn't have been from choice. 

Back in the clubhouse the tour continued and we went just about everywhere apart from the changing rooms and our guide continued to regale us with anecdotes about players over the years.

The famous trophy.

The tour was completely free but embarrassingly for us the storytellers accept donations which they all give to charity (US$40,000 last year) and we didn't have a single dollar on us.

St Augustine

St Augustine or "St August-een" as it's pronounced here was founded in 1565 and claims to be the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European and African-American origin in the United States (although apparently Pensacola also lays similar claim).  Forty-two years before the English colonised Jamestown and fifty-five years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, the Spanish established at St Augustine.

There are numerous beaches around town and firstly we visited Crescent Beach to the south which was a vast expanse of beautiful white sand and practically deserted.

Back in town as we'd read that parking was difficult we drove across the Bridge of Lions, found somewhere to park and walked back across the bridge.

The 17th century Spanish stone fortress Castillo de San Marcos.

I'd assumed this was something left by the Spaniards but apparently it was erected in 1928 marking St Augustine as a stop on the Old Spanish Trail which runs across America.

The old city entrance built by the Spaniards in 1808 - see poster below

As the plaque says The Oldest Wooden School House in the USA.

Views across the water as we made our way back to the car.

The following morning we drove back into town and found free parking quite easily in a side street about 15 mins walk from the centre.  We'd been told by several people that Flagler College (who are hosting Millie's tournament) was well worth a visit as it's housed in the fabulous former Hotel Ponce de Leon which was built by Henry Flagler in 1888.  

The tour was conducted by two students who were both very knowledgeable and excellent, entertaining speakers.  They gave us a great deal of info, particularly about Flagler and his family but unfortunately I've forgotten most of it by now.

The ceiling of the rotunda was magnificent

This is the dining room which is just beautiful; the windows were designed by Tiffany

Governor's House built in 1706

Walking in this morning we passed the Memorial Presbyterian Church also built by Henry Flagler.  It was open as we headed back to the car and so we popped in.  There were several people around giving information and so we learned that it was dedicated to the memory of Flagler's daughter Jennie Louise Benedict, who died following complications from childbirth at sea in March 1889.

Whereas this was taken inside the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Martin but for some obscure reason I didn't take a photo of the outside.

Pope Paul VI who in 1976 elevated the status of the church to Minor Basilica (a church that has been granted special recognition and privileges by the Pope, based on factors like the church's architectural beauty, historical significance, liturgical importance, or a combination of these).

It's not every day you see some riding a unicycle topless!