We started this day at the St. Augustine lighthouse. 216 steps. I guess that means it wins the step battle, but it wasn’t nearly as difficult a climb as that 203 stepper. This one had eight rest landings on the way up. And amazingly, they were there on the way down as well. When we reached the top, the guy saw my Whataburger shirt and right away assumed we were from Texas. Way to go, Whataburger. I guess the Florida versions don’t sell the t-shirts. We went out onto the balcony, and Chris almost lost it. There were 26 mile per hour winds out of the north. Aside from it being cold, the guy told us that when it reaches 30 mph, they close it to children. Any higher than that and they close it to humans of all kinds. On the way up we saw a story printed on the wall about one of the previous keepers. I simply must share it.
“Cracker Daniels, son of light
keeper C.D. Daniels, found out cats can float when he attached a parachute to
his sister’s cat, Smokey, and dropped him from the top of the lighthouse. Smokey survived the descent, but the cat was
very frightened and went missing for several weeks.”
Gotta
love trivia like that.
Next
we went over to the Whetstone Chocolate Factory for a tour and tasting
event. The made us wear masks. That was bad enough. But we also had to wear a hairnet. Embarrassing.
But they didn’t stop there. I had
to wear a beard net. Really? Humiliating. I should have followed the example of one of
our compatriots and wrapped the hairnet around my hat. Speaking of compatriots, we met a young couple
who are obviously our cousins. Last name
was Vaughan. Even spelled it right.
To
start the tour we were subjected to mind control. We had to watch that episode of I Love Lucy
over and over and over. You know. The one where she and Ethel are working at
the chocolate factory and end up having to stuff the candies into their clothes
and mouths. Funny episode … the first
seven times. After that … pure torture. The only good thing was, they alternated
between black and white and colorized versions.
Of course the black and white version was not in sync between sound and
visual. Extra annoying.
The
tour itself ended the torture. The tour
guide was about 90 years old and a really funny, deadpan guy. We also got to tase about five different
kinds of chocolate, and we saw the entire manufacturing process. Oh, and we rescued a wayward sheep that was
wandering around the purchase area. They
at least had had pity on him and gave him a tiny t-shirt. I’m not sure how excited he was about
leaving, though. After all, he WAS
living in a chocolate factory.
We
finally left St. Augustine and headed for the next stop in our trek. Timucuan Preserve National Monument. The monument being preserved was Fort
Caroline. It was the site where some
French incursionists were run out of Florida by Spain’s Menendez, the guy from
St. Augustine. I think …
Next
we drove around and through some marshes and forests on a terrible road full of
ruts and holes. Our goal was the
Kingsley plantation. It was indeed in the
middle of a really beautiful swamp. The
buildings were all closed for Covid. Chris
got a stamp, though. Check. We also walked around the grounds. We saw a big ol’ gopher turtle poking his
head out of his hidey hole. Then we saw
a big woodpecker smacking his head against a tree. That was pretty much it, unless you include
the lady who offered to take our picture.
Not like we were trying to do a selfie or anything. She just felt like it would be a really good
idea for us to have a picture together right about then. She tried her best to be
ultra-professional. Hope she wasn’t.
As
the day ended up, we were only about 35 minutes from our hotel. And right across the freeway from there? Cracker Barrel. And WalMart.
And any number of other stores and restaurants. It felt like we were really downtown. We chose Cracker Barrel again. Old Faithful.
Only problem? 30 minute
wait. We were too hungry to go
elsewhere, so we waited. And were rewarded
for our patience when our call came after only 15 minutes. Meatloaf and veggies. Good stuff.
And we were back in the hotel in plenty of time to check on the Astros.
Matthew
5:3 says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.”
Father,
thank you that all of Chris’ boxes have now been checked. Anything else from here on out is gravy. Amen.
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