Finally, after being home over a month, I am posting the last of my travelblog postings.  I'm listening to Edith Piaf and wrapping this project up.

When I got back to Florida, my vacation wasn't quite over, yet.  I picked Rocco and my car up from Mom's place and drove north towards Jacksonville to visit some old friends.  They retired a few years ago and moved to Georgia.  Recently, they moved back to Florida and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to visit them, while I dealt with jetlag and rested from my journeys.  It turned out that I had no jetlag, so I was able to enjoy every minute of that visit.  They live very close to St. Augustine and the old fort there.  I had been there once, years ago, as had they, and we agreed that we wanted to visit it again.  It was a wonderful idea and we had a terrific day there. 

 Here are my friends:  Fran Stallings and his wife Judy.  Years ago, Fran was an environmental activist - professionally.  He was extremely well-funded by some local multi-billionaires and was able to rally all the local, state, national and international environmental organizations in a lawsuit against the federal government for non-enforcement of manatee protection regulation.  It was a long, drawn-out, vicious fight, but they WON!!!  That was the sort of thing he did when he was working, but now, he is enjoying a quiet, anonymous retirement with Judy.

More of the fort:

We were very lucky to be there at a time when the staff put on a display of firing a cannon over the harbour.  They were dressed in authentic Spanish soldier costumes of the era.

 Used REAL gunpowder!!! .... as you can see in this shot:

 .... and then pulled the cannon back from its firing position again.  It was fun to watch!

 More of the fort:

 After we toured the fort, we set out on foot to the downtown area, looking for a bar.  Saw some lovely examples of classic St Augustine architecture along the way:

 Fran and Judy wanted cocktails, but I wanted an iced coffee - I was having a fit, wanting some, for some strange reason.  Guess I was feeling tired and needed the caffeine kick.  We tried a couple places, and finally found a bar that served iced coffee:

 Bad weather was brewing, and we could smell it in the air.  As we drove back to their house, the sky and sea were absolutely beautiful.  I loved all the different shades of blue in this scene:

We had barely made it in the door when the rain started to pour down - a classic, Florida afternoon thundershower, but with more rain than usual. 

Okay, that's it for my travelblog - until next time I go somewhere, that is!