Today we crossed into Florida. This was the short hop of our journey. We decided to head for historic St. Augustine. Pedro Menendez de Aviles and his 800 settlers founded this town as a Spanish colony in 1565. This makes it the oldest city in the continental U. S. Our first stop in this lovely city was to be the Castillo de San Marcos.
This is the oldest masonry fort in the U.S. and it has never been overtaken by force despite many attempts. It over looks Matanzas Bay and when you are standing on it the views are great.
The historic district is crammed full of tourists and they have tons of shops, restaurants and historical sites. After completing the tour of the fort and watching a short video about it we set out in search of some authentic Cuban food. We were walking along the streets but didn’t see any restaurants that fit the bill. I decided we needed to ask a local. I scanned around and spotted . . . an American Legion Hall! Don, being the geezer that he is, has membership in many of these organizations: Legion, VFW, heck he’s probably a Moose, Elk, Loyal Order of Raccoon and Water Buffalo for all I know. We open the door to what is a gorgeous old building on primo real estate right in the heart of the historic district. The Grand Poohbah (or whatever you call him) told us that the site was bequeathed to the Legion and had been there since the 1930’s. The Legionnaires were quick to point us to some close Cuban eats and after we quenched our thirst, it was on to lunch.
As we entered, a sweet elderly woman beckoned us to come into the house. She was a slight, soft-spoken woman and their was a familiar air about her to us. Involuntarily, Don began rubbing his knuckles and deftly darting to and fro. My knees started to hurt. It was undeniable. Our long roots were betraying us. The gentle lady eyed us both and she immediately recognized past victims, er I mean STUDENTS, of the Catholic education system. Although she was dressed in civilian garb, we also were not fooled and knew we were in the presence of a Catholic Nun.
The Sisters of St. Joseph were originally a French order who volunteered to come to America with the mission of teaching freed slaves. They arrived in 1866 after being recruited by Father Miguel O’Reilly who was then the parish priest in St. Augustine. They were skilled in making bobbin lace and made and sold it to help support themselves.
According to Sister Joyce, this house stood on the foundation of the oldest house in St. Augustine tracing back to the 1500s. Behind this house, was a residence for the Sisters and a skilled care facility for those Sisters requiring more care. Sister Joyce told us that all the remaining Sisters of their order here are older women. They are mostly hospital chaplains now as the order is no longer actively teaching. Sister Joyce has a twin sister in another house who serves in this way.
She was really sweet and Don had to apologize for the shirt he was wearing which read:
(At last! I was vindicated in my hatred of his extensive collection of obnoxious slogan t shirts) Sister just laughed and said she thought it was “cute”. At least I could take solace in the fact that Don’s knuckles had been rapped on more than one occasion by one of her fellow sisters.
She then led us back into the garden which contained fruits, vegetables and herbs that were indigenous to the area and used by the populace at that time for food and medicine. She answered our questions and gave us insight to the holdings of the museum. (which was infinitely less interesting than talking with her) When we finished, she gracefully posed for a picture for us.
We sneaked back into the house and left a note of thanks for Sister Joyce on the table (and put a donation into the box to help fund this delightful little respite – Happy Birthday Kim Palmer!)
Trip Log: Whatever the hell (excuse me Sister Joyce – “heck”) day this is : Waycross, GA to St. Augustine, FL 123 miles
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