Attraction time.
We passed our first night at the Pirate Haus without incident - no ghosts, no poltergeists, no bed wetting - and everyone was well-rested. While the girls slept in (and took their usual , I snuck out early to see the sunrise over the old city. Walking around, having a nice pipe, and exploring the empty streets of the historic district.
When I got back to the room, the girls had finished up getting ready for the day. They got to try out their complimentary in-house,
. I was definitely looking forward to this more than any other attraction in St. Augustine:
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A model of the fort's layout. This is a pretty common design for 15th - 17th century forts - the corners allow cannons to be placed in almost any direction, and the walls are lower than the previous castles of the late medieval era (high walls were terrible against gun powder).
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The Castillo de San Marcos
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Approaching the forecastle (gatehouse)
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The Houghs cross the drawbridge that leads into the main fortress square from the forecastle
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The courtyard square of the Castillo de San Marcos
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Kris!
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...and again (handsome photographer at left)
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One of the fort's long-range cannons
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Carving in the stone wall of the fort's barracks, supposedly in Spanish. Historians can't figure out what the hell is means, though.
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Yours Truly, armed, as usual, with his trusty camera phone and old man hat.
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Interior walls of the fort
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The Cannonball scales the stairs leading up to the parapet.
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Abby mans the cannons
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...hey, there's Kris!
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The courtyard, from the parapet.
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Some more cannons on the parapet.
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Checking out one of the rifle towers
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View from one of the rifle towers
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More cannons.
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The fort overlooking the inlet
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Eastern wall
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Eastern wall, again
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Taking a break
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These kids were obsessed with hurling themselves off the fort's walls.
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Two guys that love to play dress up
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Drawbridge leading to the fort's forecastle/gatehouse
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Inside the fort - a lot of the rooms look like this. Pretty sure this one was a storehouse.
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Kris checking out another room.
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The pipe aficionado and a bunch of 17th or 18th century, British tavern pipes
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We didn't stick around for the demonstration.
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Family portrait (courtesy of some chick)
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An old Spanish tavern - unfortunately it didn't open until noon. Stupid social norms...
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Having a snack back at the room
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Taking a nap
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Back in the saddle
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Plaza courtyard on St. George Street
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Alayna trying on some sunglasses
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Statue of Ponce de Leon - first European to set foot on American soil, near St. Augustine, in 1513. He led expeditions into Florida, searching for the Fountain of Youth. Fifty years later, another conquistador, Melendez, constructed the Castillo de San Marcos and established the settlement of St. Augustine.
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More Ponce.
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Kris. Bein' happy.
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The Cannonball tries out a relic from the distant past...
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...which, of course, doesn't work.
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The Ghost Train...?
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Imperial a-holes.
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Alayna refers to
Star Wars as 'Robots.' Despite the fact that they're
droids, not robots.
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West of the market plaza - where most of the oldest residential houses in St. Augustine are found. Pricier souvenir stores over on that side of the historic district - not really the sort of gift shops you haul a stroller into.
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In the evening, we decided to hit up the
Pirate Museum of St. Augustine. It features a ton of antiques and rarities - including the world's only remaining pirate flag, and one of two known authentic pirate treasure chests. It also has on display several weapons and nautical instruments used by famous pirates, and admission was only $11 per adult.
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What infuriated me was the fact that they
prohibited cameras.
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That's right.
No cameras were allowed in the museum (these images here I found online). I was furious. As a huge pirate enthusiast, and an avid photographer, this was a double kick in the nuts. But, as you're about to see, I found a clever way around the whole 'no camera' thing - I snuck a few videos from my phone on the sly. They're not that great, and they're short (I had to tap into my ninja stealth skills and be quick) but they
do show some of the biggest features of the museum.
Enjoy the top secret videos, folks (and
screw you, Pirate Museum - you suck).
The Cannonball uses an interactive touch-screen tome to learn more about famous pirates.
The last Jolly Roger in existence.
The sword and flintlock pistol of Thomas Tew.
A blunderbuss belonging to Edward Teach (a.k.a. Blackbeard).
One of the two surviving, authentic pirate treasure chests (this one also belonging to Thomas Tew).
____________________________There you have it, folks. Day II of the Hough's St. Augustine Adventure. Stay tuned for the final installment.
- Captain Hough
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