"Anniversary" Weekend

September 12, 13, & 14th Jon and I headed to St. Augustine to celebrate our anniversary. Our actual anniversary (the 21st) was the next weekend but my parents were busy that weekend, and when someone agrees to watch all three of your children. . .well, it goes unsaid, you work around their schedule. Anyway, Jon and I enjoyed our alone time together immensely!

The first morning I woke up early-out of habit and couldn't go back to sleep so I did something I've always wanted to do: watch the sunrise over the Atlantic. I know my Aunt Cathy is a big sunset person and I do enjoy those but the sunrise was particularly amazing. Of course, God was showing off a bit that morning too. Just watching the sunrise was a huge reminder of how great our God is, but then just in case anyone was in doubt of that (not me!) a shooting star shot across the still dark sky. It was pretty amazing and humbling. I took some beautiful pictures and then did some of my bible study sitting right there with my toes in the sand.

After a stop at Starbucks (of course) we headed to the Fountain of Youth, the Castillo de San Marcos (the fort) and downtown St. Augustine for history, food, and browsing. We visited the Fountain and I was hit with the reality of walking the same steps as the first European ever to set foot in Florida. Yes, I'm a history nerd and yes, I like this kind of stuff. And of course, I drank the water! We grabbed lunch downtown at a Mexican Restuarant with a great view and then headed to the fort for a little more history. After the fort we shopped a little, browsed a lot and walked even more. Then headed back to the hotel for a nap (me) and Notre Dame football (Jon).

The actual markers left by Ponce de Leon so he could find the fountain when he returned. They have not been moved, only unearthed.

We finished our day at a great, out-of-the-way restuarant. It is called the Creekside Diner and the food and atomosphere was wonderful.