Otto Lightner's Museum

There are probably more museums in St. Augustine than churches. There's a Pirate and Treasure Museum, the original, kitschy Ripley's Believe or Not Museum, Potter's Wax Museum, the Spanish Quarter Museum, the Spanish Military Hospital Museum, the Lighthouse Museum, the Old Jail Museum … the list goes on and on. But the gem of St. Augustine is the Lightner Museum and if you're being choosy about which museum to visit, this is the one that should top your list. It's outstanding.  

Otto Lightner (1887-1950) known as “America's King of Hobbies” was a self-made, wealthy newspaper editor and publisher. He was the owner and publisher of Hobbies, an antiques and collectibles magazine during the Great Depression and advocated collecting. "Even with no money … everyone should have a hobby. Everyone should collect something". Whether it be matchbox covers, cigar bands or buttons, he endorsed collecting. He took his own advice, starting his own collections and buying other people's collections. He bought large homes in Chicago to house his collections. In the 1940s, he moved to St. Augustine for health reasons. Henry Flagler's flagship hotel, The Alcazar, had long since been abandoned and was in shambles. He bought it for $150,000 … pennies on the dollar … restored it and moved his sizable collections into it. Dubbed the “Smithsonian of the South”, the Lightner Museum opened in 1948. He donated the complex to the city of St. Augustine with the proviso that it would forever house his collection of collectibles. Since the early 1970s, St. Augustine's city offices reside in the old Alcazar next to the Lightner Museum.

The appeal of this museum is not just the collections, which are substantial, but the rooms and surroundings in which they're displayed. From the moment we walked in the door, we were mesmerized and nearly overwhelmed by the grandness of all we saw.

The collection, valued in the millions, is as diverse and eclectic as people's imaginations. On the first floor, there's a collection of shaving mugs, cigar bands, an Egyptian mummy, a dinosaur egg, a shrunken head, a whole room dedicated to musical instruments, steins and mugs, dolls and toys, ladies' hats and gloves and purses, Valentines, human hair decorations, a stuffed African lion once presented to Winston Churchill, a stuffed American crocodile hanging from the ceiling, steam engines, a huge, life-size carved bear, seashells, artwork, sculptures … I could go on and on and on. It's bizarre.

We took the elevator to the top floor ballroom and starting working our way methodically from one exhibit to the next, one gallery to another. I can imagine orchestras playing and people gliding to waltz music on the polished wooden floors. It's exquisite. Beautifully crafted furniture was on display along with huge ceramic vases and sculptures and artwork. From the gallery rails, we looked down on the restaurant far below which once was the largest indoor swimming pool in the country.

In another gallery on the top floor, we viewed textiles, a vast button collection, lace, quilts, cigar box labels, and cross-stitched samplers, Burmese carved furniture and everywhere more artwork and ceramics.

We looked down on the exhibits of cut glass and art glass and fine china in a gallery on the floor below. Gleaming chandeliers caught the light and added even more dazzle to the scene.

One darkened room held a stained glass collection with full sized windows and gorgeous signed Tiffany lamps.

I was intrigued by a ceramic ape (?) which sat alone atop a grand piano. The docent said it fell into the “grotesque” category, but there was no description of the piece nor information about its origins available.

I'm leaving so much out because the extent and diversity of the collections just boggle the mind. Tiffany to typewriters to toasters, blown glass, suits of armor, lanterns, paper dolls, the hotel's old sauna and even a room dedicated to the grandeur of Downton Abbey … there are obviously very few things that aren't collectible by at least someone.

Needless to say, we left with sensory overload. This is a place you could easily visit over and over again and see new and fascinating things each time.

Churches, Cathedrals & Concerts

We're spending more time in St. Augustine than we'd planned. How unusual? It's not just us, however. The weather including the never-ending Tropical Storm Bonnie, has contributed to keeping us here … along with no desire whatsoever on the part of the crew to depart. We find more excuses to stay than to leave, so here we are … Week 2 of our one week stay in St. Augustine. The city of St. Augustine is rich in churches and we love just wandering through them. The Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine stands regally across from the Plaza de la Constitución. Constructed of coquina and limestone in the late 18th century (1793-1797), it replaced three previous churches built on the same site that had all been demolished by fire (with the help of the British). It is considered the oldest church in Florida. Because of the tree cover and time of day, I found it hard to get a good photo, so I nicked one from the Internet to show you how grand it is with its Spanish style architecture.

The interior was cool and inviting with its Spanish tile floors and timbered, vaulted ceiling. The difference between a cathedral and a basilica, we learned, is simply that a cathedral is the primary church of the diocese and residence of the bishop, while a basilica has been deemed by the Pope to be a church building that has religious and/or historical significance to the Catholic Church.

Stained glass windows depicting the life of St. Augustine were beautiful with the afternoon sun gleaming through them.

There are several alcoves along the outer aisles dedicated to specific saints and religious persona. Shaped like a cross, the side altars held statuary and small altars. We were surprised to find unmistakable St. Patrick, golden shamrock in hand, standing in an alcove of green behind flickering candles.

The main altar, as is traditional in Catholic churches, is rich and ornate with gold-leaf décor.

Though the cathedral is impressive, it does not outshine the Flagler Memorial Presbyterian church a few blocks away, tucked behind Flagler College. Built by oil tycoon and business magnate, Henry Flagler, as a memorial to his daughter, Jenny, and her infant daughter, this absolutely beautiful church was built in less than year's time. In accordance with Flagler's directives, over a thousand men worked 24x7 in shifts to complete this amazing structure, so that it could be dedicated on the first anniversary of Jenny's death.

The architecture and interior detail are magnificent. A very knowledgeable docent and current member of the church provided lots of interesting information about the church and Henry Flagler, its benefactor.

Of particular notice was the beautiful domed ceiling, reminiscent of heaven itself.

Flagler later built a mausoleum attached to the church which now entombs Flagler and his first wife, as well as Jenny and her infant daughter, Marjorie.

The afternoon waned and in early evening we headed to the old city plaza for a free concert on the green. We'd brought a blanket with us and found a strategic spot to spread it in front of the plaza gazebo, then waited patiently and most pleasantly for the entertainment to begin.

This is the city's 26th year of presenting local entertainment on the plaza on Thursday nights during the summer. The Driftwoods, a 4-piece bluegrass group, began right on time at 7 pm. The playlist included a little bit of everything ... Gospel, bluegrass, C&W, traditional and original songs. Guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass and dobro notes rang out harmoniously in the warm evening air. Hands were clapping, toes were tapping and bodies swayed to the rhythm. It was delightful.

Two hours of sitting on the ground had us stove-up and lame when we finally folded our blanket, unfolded ourselves and walked back to the marina. The evening was beautiful as we passed under gas lamps lighting the plaza, walked past Ponce de Leon and checked out the Bridge of Lions nighttime view before heading back to Nine of Cups.

We need to leave soon, we know … but not just yet.

Free Wheels, Fort Matanzas & Freshies

We wanted to make the most of Stephan's generous offer to let us use his Jeep. We had about four hours, so we planned our time carefully. We certainly rent cars from time to time, but having the use of a vehicle when it's totally unexpected is like manna from heaven. We'd been lugging supplies and groceries in our backpacks and shopping bags, using the local buses and foot power. No complaints, but this method limits the volume of the purchases, as well as the weight and is quite time-consuming. With Stephan's Jeep, we could buy to our heart's (and budget's) content in no time. Dangerous stuff! I made a list (checked it twice) and we headed into shore to meet up with Stephan … the list remained on the salon table. Duh! We found an Aldi's which is an interesting grocery store that we've seen around the world. (It's German-owned by the same company that owns Trader Joe's.) Their prices and quality are good; the variety of products offered is different than the run-of-the-mill grocery store and we like poking around there. Bring your own bags and you have to pop a quarter in the shopping cart which is returned to you when you return the cart. We bought all sorts of good stuff for the larder. We were hungry and didn't have our list … what would you expect?

We stopped at WalMart for some basics and mostly because we could. We found ABC Liquors … a great liquor store with more varieties of rum than possibly imagined. We found some rum for Neptune and some beer and wine for us and loaded it into the Jeep. We'd seen a wonderful roadside fruit/veg stand on one of our walks and stopped there. We loaded up on freshies … a huge, aromatic melon, blueberries, broccoli, cabbage, red grapes, Honeycrisp apples … enough for an army. A few more stops and we were out of time. We headed back to the marina where we needed a dock cart to get all the stuff back to the dinghy. Stephan met us and asked if we'd like the Jeep for another day. Really? Absolutely!

We were up early in order to get our morning chores as well as a round of sanding and varnishing done. We met Stephan at 0900 and headed to Fort Matanzas National Monument, located about 12 miles away on Anastasia Island … just over the Bridge of Lions and down “scenic coastal route A1A”. It's not very scenic actually. It's lined with commercial properties … hotels, motels, souvenir shops, strip malls, etc. It provides access, however, to the state park and all the local beaches … and the historic fort.

Originally built by the Spanish in 1740-42, Fort Matanzas is small, coquina and limestone fort, which served as an outpost and first line of defense of the Matanzas Inlet to protect St. Augustine from a southern attack. Matanzas, by the way, is Spanish for “slaughters” and refers to several massacres of French troops by the Spanish that occurred here in 1565. When the US took possession of Florida in 1821, the fort had deteriorated and was unusable.

The national monument area is lovely … quite different from retail-ridden A1A. A grove of live oaks shades a large picnic area. There's a small Visitor's Center with a parks ranger to answer questions and an 8-minute orientation movie to provide insight and information about the fort. A ½ mile boardwalk loops through diverse coastal flora and, best of all, a short ferry ride across the Matanzas River deposits visitors on Rattlesnake Island for an escorted tour of the old fort. Both admission to the monument and the ferry ride are free!

We picked up our ferry tickets, watched the movie and, since we had a 40-minute wait, decided to walk the short boardwalk trail through the coastal scrub and check out the “barrier island ecosystem”. A trail guide with numbered locations provided information about the local fauna and flora. Birds chirped, cicadas hummed and anoles scampered across the boardwalk, alarmed by our footfalls. The sun filtered through the trees above and the morning air smelled fresh and wonderful.

Though ospreys, eagles and pelicans ply these skies and gopher tortoise call these shores home, we saw very few critters. We could see tortoise tracks in the sand, but alas no tortoises. Except for the anoles, the only fauna to be seen were spiders ... which were in great numbers. Their intricate webs glistened in the sunlight. Spiders are not my favorite, but with a name like hairy-kneed golden silk spider, I couldn't resist the urge to photograph it. Thank goodness for the zoom.

According to the Fort Matanzas website, “On October 15, 1924, using the power granted in the Antiquities Act, President Calvin Coolidge named … Fort Matanzas as a national monument. During the late 1920s, extensive repair was done on Fort Matanzas. The garita (sentry box), which had fallen off, was rebuilt. Iron rods were placed within the tower, and the gun deck parapet and lower walls were rebuilt. The land on Rattlesnake Island surrounding the fort was set aside as a bird sanctuary.” The fort was visible just upriver from the ferry dock.

We were amazed that about 50 people were waiting in line for the ferry. We had no idea this national monument would be so popular. They herded about 25 of us aboard for the first trip out to Rattlesnake Island. We saw no rattlesnakes, by the way. Manatees and turtles could be seen at a distance during our 5 minute trip upriver. A hungry, savvy, snowy egret, apparently unimpressed by the ferry's arrival, stood on rocks near the dock just above an eddy where small fish were easily snatched up for breakfast.

A ranger accompanied us ashore, provided information about the fort and its history, gave us a few admonitions, then she set us free to explore. The fort is tiny and the exploration didn't take long. We climbed steps to the first level where several weathered canons stood in place, at one time ready to defend the inlet. The re-attached garita (sentry box), an iconic feature of Spanish colonial forts, provided a good photo opp for many visitors.

On the same level, we checked out the soldier's quarters. Pretty spartan digs and probably quite a boring post. Upstairs, a smaller solitary room housed the officer in charge. He shared his room with the powder magazine and the ladder which led to the observation deck. The ladder had been declared unsafe just days before we arrived and was off-limits to visitors till it was repaired.

About 20 minutes later, we headed back to our ferry as another load of tourists was debarking. Hordes of tiny fiddler crabs with their big claws raised, saluted us as we headed back to the mainland.

We think St. Augustine might be a place we'd like to visit again and it's on the list for ports of call when we head back south next winter.