St. Augustine, Florida

As a mother of four, vacations have always been an interesting challenge. The best destination we love, is St. Augustine Beach, one of the Florida beaches.

For larger families, it is so important to have everything in close proximity to the "home base". With lots of activities within walking distance or a short drive, families can spend more time having fun and less time driving and breaking up arguments! I like to reserve a condo that is in between the beach and the pool. This makes our routine flow more smoothly as we can exchange the items used at the beach for the pool items on the way! Condo rentals away from the beach are generally less expensive than those located directly on the ocean. We saved alot of money on our rental, that we were able to put toward food and entertainment.

Feeding a family of four in a tourist town can be very costly. To defray those costs, it is helpful to rent a unit that has a full kitchen and a grill. When we arrive, we make a trip to the grocery store and stock up on the things we need so that the majority of our meals can be prepared at the unit. This saves so much time and money.

We also like to visit downtown St. Augustine. There are so many fun things to do. It's a really interesting historic city, too. We always make a trip to the old fort, Castillo de San Marcos, which is a national landmark. You can take a guided tour of the fort, and browse their gift shop.

We have also toured the Lightner Museum which has many interesting collections and antiques in a beautiful building with lots of history. This museum is also the site of the 'first indoor swimming pool in Florida'. It has now been converted into a restaurant.

For even more history, you will also find the Fountain of Youth. Outside on the courtyard, there are stocks and a rather curious object that looks like a giant bird cage. The kids loved this and it is a favorite picture site in our family albums.

Generally speaking, the clerks and townspeople are very friendly and helpful. To visit this marvelous city, is like stepping back in time with it's horse drawn carriages, trolley rides, and river boats. This town has so much history and the best part is that the residents truly welcome their visitors.

I'm very anxious to visit this wonderful vacation spot again.

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