Feb 25, 2010 - St. Augustine



Hat shop, St.Augustine



The Fort

Dennis and Carol had to head home today. Carol is an avid gardener, and tonight’s low in their home area of FL is forecast to be 22 degrees, so they need to get home and cover their plants. After they packed up and headed out, we gave the beach a shot, but it was just too cotton-pickin’ cold. So instead we went back into town. Unlike when we were there several days ago, there’s no rain in the forecast, so we’ll be able to take our time and see part of what we missed last time.

There were several school field trips in process today in town. At one point, we saw a couple of dozen elementary school kids lined up waiting for sugary ice cream cones. They were already squirming, squealing, twirling and hopping while standing there in line, so by the time they get done they’ll be really wired. Remember the comic strip Bloom County? Think Bill the Cat.

I’ll bet the adult that came up with the ice cream cone idea was not the bus driver.

 The forecast here for tonight’s low is the upper 20’s. For the next couple of days, the low temperatures forecast for w-a-a-a-y down here in FL differ by those forecast for w-a-a-a-y back up in MI by less than 10 degrees. Tomorrow AM we’re starting back for home, planning to spend tomorrow night at a KOA near Charlotte, NC. Nuts to that. We winterized the water system on the pod this evening. We’ll get by tonight, but for the next two nights on our way home it’s going to be motel rooms.


Me at the fort



Beth at the fort

Partway through the afternoon we decided to stop at a coffee/ice cream shop and take a break at one of their nice, sunny outdoor tables. The machine the woman in the shop was using to make the coffee looked like it could be dangerous if operated by an untrained individual. Sort of like a thrashing machine, or maybe a small nuclear reactor. It had chutes and spouts and nozzles and levers sticking out every which way. It was flashing its lights and making all sorts of noises: grinding and hissing and whistling and whirring and beeping. I myself just ordered plain coffees. I know nothing about fancy coffee; in fact, I would have a hard time just pronouncing, let alone consuming, many of the beverages available in there. But other customers in the shop who were more coffee savvy than me had ordered some pretty complicated stuff. No problem, though. With the help of this amazing contraption, this solitary woman was able to brew my coffees on the spot while whipping up a half dozen cups of fairly complex looking beverages for the other customers. At the same time she was making waffle cones with yet another machine, and in her spare time, dancing to the latest song by Lady Gaga. I was mesmerized.