St. Augustine, FL: The Fountain of Youth, Ripley's Believe it or Not, Castillo de San Marcos and the Columbia Restaurant...

When you grow up in Ohio, you take your vacations in Florida.  I think it's a law.  At least, looking back, that's how it seemed.  That's where we (my family) - and everybody I knew - went for any vacation lasting longer than 5 days.  We usually drove.  On a side note, I'll never forget my first flight ever, to Orlando, Florida in 1991...

Anyways, being the child of a history teacher, our family usually found places with some history / Americana mixed in for good measure.  One of those cities was Saint Augustine, Florida.

St. Augustine has the honor of being the oldest continuous European settlement in the U.S.   It was discovered by the Spanish in 1513.  If you know your legends, Ponce de Leon was looking for the Fountain of Youth (and gold) when he stumbled here.  The Spanish influence can be seen everywhere, and it's definitely a unique place.  It's located on the east coast of Florida, not far from Jacksonville, off the A1A, never too crowded with tourists, very walkable, and surrounded by plenty of beaches.

The Fountain of Youth Park is a nice afternoon stop that has a 1960's feel to it.  I don't think anything has been updated since the park was built, but there's plenty to do.  My favorite is the planetarium, showing how explorers navigated the seas using the stars.  Make no mistake, this is not a high-tech presentation, but it was interesting enough to hold my attention.

There are also plenty of mannequins showing the not-so-friendly relations between the Spanish and the Native Americans, and re-creations of the original settlement.  Then, finally, you hit the jackpot:

This is it.  The big one.  And, yes, you can drink from it!  But there's one problem - it is disgusting.  Disgusting in a way that makes you choke and gag.  The water is warm, and smells like rotten eggs.  Fountain of Youth?  More like Fountain of Sulfur. If this is the secret to eternal youth, I'll take my chances on the afterlife.  If you're curious and want to try it yourself, you can always order some from the gift shop...

The Spanish influence can be seen everywhere, but especially in the gigantic Castillo de San Marcos, an old fort built in 1672.  The history of this fort involves the Spanish, British, Native Americans, and the Confederacy. and it was used up until 1900.  It's now part of the National Park Service.  I'll let you read about it, but I've never seen anything else like this in the continental U.S.:

Here's a top-down view for a better perspective.  This place is huge, and very well preserved.  Note the people walking around...

Another great example of the Spanish influence is the also amazingly, well-preserved "old town". It's only a few blocks from the fort.  Walking through the city gate, you find yourself on St. George Street.  Closed to traffic, you'll find the street and some shops are made of an incredibly durable, ground-up coral, unique to Spanish architecture of that era:

It's touristy, but it works well.  The "old town" area covers quite a few blocks, and is full with souvenir shops, locally-made clothing stores, antique shops, and restaurants.  Lots of restaurants. 

Speaking of which, since you're in Florida, why not try some Cuban food?  I'd definitely recommend The Columbia.  It's a very popular place in Old Town.  There's usually a short wait, but the staff is good at turning tables over quickly.  The inside is nicely decorated - very classy, and open - exactly what you'd expect.

I ordered a 1/2 Cuban sandwich / salad combo.  The sandwich was a combination of ham, salami, pork, Swiss cheese, mustard and pickle grilled on fresh-baked thin, buttery bread.  The salad was their famous "1905 salad", which is made up *at your table* of a bizarre combination of items; yet somehow, they all work very well together.  The half sandwich was enormous, and filled me up for the rest of the day, and it only set me back about $10.  This picture is from Trip Advisor (not mine), but shows you basically what I got:

Last but not least, why not visit something Bizarre?  How about the original Ripley's Believe it or Not?  Museum...

Set in a beautiful mansion where Ripley himself was a guest, this is the first of the brand's several museums.  This is also where the opening to the circa 2000 television series was filmed.  There are plenty of discount coupons available around the city, so don't pay full price. 

I've been to a few of these around the country, and I've definitely noticed some of the same displays, but, overall, this one is my favorite.  It seems to have the largest amount of Ripley's personal items, and that caught my attention.  I could be wrong about that, though. 

Also, there are a few displays out front that you can't see in this picture, but they're very interesting.  I'll let you explore to lean more...

Honestly, there's too much to discuss in one blog, so maybe one day I'll follow up with more.  St. Augustine is a great vacation destination, with something for everyone.  Please share any suggestions / feedback. 

Thanks for reading!

Cooperstown, NY - The Baseball Hall of Fame, The Cooperstown Diner, and the Neptune Diner

I thought this would be as good a time as any to jump across the country, so, here we are in Cooperstown, New York.  As you may know, Cooperstown is allegedly the "birthplace" of baseball.  Abner Doubleday supposedly invented the game here, back in 1839, although there's no evidence to support that claim, but, why let the truth get in the way of a good story?  If you're a baseball fan, this trip is a must! 

It's also home to the James Fenimore Cooper Art Museum, dealing with art based on his writings, and local Native American tribes.  If you're a big Cooper fan, his grave is here, too.

That being said, this is a beautiful, rustic New England town.  Unfortunately, it's in the middle of nowhere, and there's no real easy way to get here.  It defies the laws of physics.  Even if you live in Cooperstown, it's still about a 7 hour drive away.  There are only 2 hotels reasonably nearby (lots of pricey B&B's available though, but I consider this blog for the budget conscious), and they both tend to book  upmonths in advance (especially for spring and summer weekends).  We stayed at this Holiday Inn Express.  It featured clean, quiet rooms, included a made-to-order breakfast (not the usual buffet, but that may have changed), and had a nice pool, with a view of the Catskill Mountains.  The price (during the height of tourist season) was reasonable.  Booking your hotel first is a must, because there is NOTHING anywhere nearby.  Nada, zip, zilch.  If you don't have a reservation, you could easily end up driving over an hour to find a room for the night...

Since it's a small town, parking can be impossible to find, I parked my car in clearly-marked lot, and a vintage trolley bus came to pick us up.  This vintage bus will provide you with unlimited transportation all day, stopping at designated points every 15 minutes, for about $2.00. 

We were dropped off at Doubleday Field (a small baseball stadium) on Main Street, and started walking through the downtown.  It's a very small downtown - about 5 or 6 blocks - filled with mostly baseball memorabilia shops and restaurants.  Walking through it made me feel like I've stepped back in time to the 1900's - sort of like Main Street at Disneyland.  At the end of Main Street is the Mecca:  The Baseball Hall of Fame.

If you like baseball, even if it's only a little, this place will make you feel like you're 10 years old again.  Artifacts and other memorabilia from most of the heroes from baseball's golden age (Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, etc.) are on display.  There's a few films to watch, and, of course, the actual Hall of Legends:

Seriously, check out the gift shop at the end.  It sells some exclusive stuff that you can't get anywhere else.

After all that walking around, we were starving.  Fortunately, this little place caught our eyes on the way to the museum:

The Cooperstown Diner.  It's a noticeably miniature diner, with about 4 booths inside; but, don't let the small size fool you.  This place is known for their juicy, 1/2 lb., hand-formed cheeseburger.  With fries and a drink, it's around $8.00, and believe you me, you will not be hungry afterwards.  Here's a picture:

As big as it was, the burger was still cooked perfectly - it was juicy and greasy, but not too greasy.  The bun was soft, and the lettuce was crisp.  The fries were fat, fresh steak fries (my favorite).  It was perfect.  If you're a burger connoisseur, you need to try this.  I've tried burgers all over the country, and this would definitely make it on my Top 5 Burgers List.

If you've read this far, here's a bonus suggestion:  The Neptune Diner.  Right outside of Cooperstown, in Oneonta, NY, this vintage diner is a work of art that makes you feel like you've stepped back into 1958.

When you first walk in, you'll see a display cooler filled with all kinds of homemade desserts, like pies stuffed with fruit, and oversized cakes.  That's a good sign.

The servers were very friendly, the menu was extensive, and the portions were definitely shareable (I've been here twice:  the first time, I ordered the Monte Cristo, and couldn't finish it, the second time, I had an omelette).  I got a slice of chocolate cake to go (both times), and it was amazing (both times).  It's a combination of American comfort food, and Greek diner food.  Another definite recommendation!

In short, Cooperstown, NY is a great weekend trip, with something for the whole family, and some great places to eat...

Thanks for reading!  Keep checking back - there's plenty more to come...

San Diego, California - Project Pie

At work today, a co-worker asked me if I wanted to go to Project Pie.  I'd never heard of it.  If you haven't heard of it, and you like pizza, read on...

Project Pie is located in the Hillcrest neighborhood.  There are no shortage of great places to eat in Hillcrest, so if you want to stay in business, you need to stand out.  As for what makes this place unique, think pizza at Chipotle.  Well, not exactly, but take the Chipotle model of personalizing your own item, and that's Project Pie.  It's essentially a (not-too-thin) thin-crust pizza that you design yourself.  But, before I get ahead of myself, here's a look inside:

 I didn't take a picture of the entire inside, but there are plenty of tables to sit at, and the walls are decorated with humorous and inspirational quotes.  Enough about the décor, let's talk about the food.

Project Pie offers 2 options:  1) ordering a pizza off the menu, or 2) building your own.  A basic cheese pizza is $6.00, and anything else is $7.50.  The pizza is 12".

So, you order your pizza, and fresh dough is stretched out.  Then the staff starts loading up on the toppings.  Extra pepperoni?  No problem.  Just a little pineapple?  You got it.  as much - or as little - of any topping(s) as you want for $7.50.  You could get mushrooms only, or one with every topping on the menu (and there are many), and the price is still $7.50...

After you've got everything you want on it, two minutes in the brick oven, and you're good to go.  Here's mine (pepperoni, meatball, and sausage - the #2):

 

 

I thought it was excellent!  The crust wasn't cracker-thin, and it was chewy on the inside.  It was also a little black on the bottom, since this is an actual pizza oven, fire and all.  It's cut into four giant slices.  I'd say depending on how hungry you are, you could probably split one with someone, and fill up.  If you're starving, be selfish, and order one for yourself...

 

I'm also happy to say the soda machine (with free refills) offered Boylan's natural cane sodas.  I haven't had Boylan's since I lived on the east coast.  It seems to be a regional favorite in the New York / New Jersey areas.  The cola, birch beer, and grape sodas are my recommendations.  Soda and pizza set me back $9.00.

Finally, I ordered a dessert pizza ($4.50) with nutella and banana to take back to the office.  I gave most of it away to co-workers, but the half-slice I had was good.  Basically, it was a chewy crepe.  My only complaint was that I wish they'd put a little more nutella on it.  I guess I could have asked for it, and would next time.  Peanut butter was also an option, as was cinnamon and sugar...   

In conclusion, I really enjoyed it, and the prices are great!  Try this place now!