St. Augustine, Florida Vacation fun activities - not a cheap place to vacation at
St. Augustine, Florida Vacation fun activities.
St. Augustine, Florida vacation – having as much fun as you possibly can!
St. Augustine, Florida must be the ghost capital of the world; there were more ghostly haunted sites than you could shake a stick at, again something my wife loves. With so many ghoulish haunts to choose from my wife settled on ‘Ripley’s Haunted Castle Adventure’. It took some coaxing but my scared little boy said that he would do it – for me and only if I held his hand as I walked with him.
The tour was at night, which made it fun for me. Who doesn’t want to go into places like these at night – that alone was worth the price of admission but that is just me?
The tour takes you through the whole building; you watch a 3D movie about a ghost hunting company’s documentary: I will let you be the judge, if you ever see it. The story is about the troubled history of Ripley’s castle and finding Mr. X.
Mr. X murdered two women in the castle when it was run as a high end hotel in 1941. The murders were documented as part of a tragic fire that occurred in the hotel – but there is proof, not to mention the appearance of spirits, believed to be Ruth Pickering and Bette Richeson. Mr. X is only known by Mr. X seeing as he hid his identity by signing the hotel register as ‘X’.
At the beginning of the tour we are given EMF monitors and a light that is ‘suppose’ to help us see shadows of apparitions that may be near. The tour was not my kind of thing, but I did enjoy watching my children react to all the spooky tales of restless spirits walking about. Sadly enough, most of the pictures I took were terrible; the flash made the picture look like if it was day and without the flash, all you got was darkness.
There is simply so much to do and see in St. Augustine, you have:
Paranormal investigation in the old jail
Ghost and Gravestones
A Pirate Ghost tour
A Ghostly Experience walking tour
The Black Raven – Live Pirate Show
St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum
Colonial Quarter (area full of shops and specialty shops)
Ponce de Leon Fountain of youth
Several Horse carriage rides
And so much more...
Personally I enjoyed the ‘Castillo de San Marcos’, a bit of history, nostalgia and it was so much fun to see the expressions on my kids faces when they saw how people lived in those days. The biggest surprise was the bathrooms, or should I say, the holes they pooped in (so funny) no modern amenities there, they sat right by each other. Like my son said: how gross!
The last time I was there it was $2 per person but now, it cost $7 dollars per person and free for kids ten and under.
Of course the kids had a blast considering that it was not an amusement park and I you really have to be careful – I did not enjoy the bruised I got from smashing my leg into one of the canons (ouch!).
I enjoyed the food, even if everything was a bit pricey.
We ate at place highly recommended by a friend of mine, ‘Pizzalley’ which is sort of a high-end Pizza restaurant that specializes in Italian food; the pizza was great even if I like NY pizza better. The atmosphere was cozy even if the place was completely full and the kids made fun of the bare butt angles – my son had a blast.
Another place we ate was ‘Harry's Seafood Bar & Grille’. That place was awesome, the food was delicious and the service was great. They had a large area where you can dine outside in a courtyard but because of the cool weather I opted for indoors and we asked for a window. The place is large and spacey but only has one person bathroom; the extra bathrooms are upstairs (strange)?
The best part of our dining experience was that my ten year old boy was in love with one of the waitresses, a tall full figured probably twenty something woman. He whispers to me (loud enough for everyone at the table to hear) – "hey Dad, did you see the waitress, I love her". Everyone at the table started laughing. I asked him “I thought you didn’t like girls that were taller than you?” and he responded by saying "I changed my mind".
Next time I visit St. Augustine, Fl. I think I am going to stay in town in one of the small Bed and Breakfast Inns or a hotel. The place is simply full of places to enjoy but the traffic is horrific and parking, oh my God! There is no free parking, not in the tourist area any way. I had to pay ten dollars for an indoor parking garage next to the visitors welcome center.
All in all, the vacation was a hit and the kids enjoyed themselves. St. Augustine, Florida is a wonderful place to visit and vacation in – but bring lots of cash.
St. Augustine, Florida vacation – having as much fun as you possibly can!
St. Augustine, Florida must be the ghost capital of the world; there were more ghostly haunted sites than you could shake a stick at, again something my wife loves. With so many ghoulish haunts to choose from my wife settled on ‘Ripley’s Haunted Castle Adventure’. It took some coaxing but my scared little boy said that he would do it – for me and only if I held his hand as I walked with him.
The tour takes you through the whole building; you watch a 3D movie about a ghost hunting company’s documentary: I will let you be the judge, if you ever see it. The story is about the troubled history of Ripley’s castle and finding Mr. X.
Mr. X murdered two women in the castle when it was run as a high end hotel in 1941. The murders were documented as part of a tragic fire that occurred in the hotel – but there is proof, not to mention the appearance of spirits, believed to be Ruth Pickering and Bette Richeson. Mr. X is only known by Mr. X seeing as he hid his identity by signing the hotel register as ‘X’.
At the beginning of the tour we are given EMF monitors and a light that is ‘suppose’ to help us see shadows of apparitions that may be near. The tour was not my kind of thing, but I did enjoy watching my children react to all the spooky tales of restless spirits walking about. Sadly enough, most of the pictures I took were terrible; the flash made the picture look like if it was day and without the flash, all you got was darkness.
There is simply so much to do and see in St. Augustine, you have:
Paranormal investigation in the old jail
Ghost and Gravestones
A Pirate Ghost tour
A Ghostly Experience walking tour
The Black Raven – Live Pirate Show
St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum
Colonial Quarter (area full of shops and specialty shops)
Ponce de Leon Fountain of youth
Several Horse carriage rides
And so much more...
The last time I was there it was $2 per person but now, it cost $7 dollars per person and free for kids ten and under.
I enjoyed the food, even if everything was a bit pricey.
We ate at place highly recommended by a friend of mine, ‘Pizzalley’ which is sort of a high-end Pizza restaurant that specializes in Italian food; the pizza was great even if I like NY pizza better. The atmosphere was cozy even if the place was completely full and the kids made fun of the bare butt angles – my son had a blast.
The best part of our dining experience was that my ten year old boy was in love with one of the waitresses, a tall full figured probably twenty something woman. He whispers to me (loud enough for everyone at the table to hear) – "hey Dad, did you see the waitress, I love her". Everyone at the table started laughing. I asked him “I thought you didn’t like girls that were taller than you?” and he responded by saying "I changed my mind".
All in all, the vacation was a hit and the kids enjoyed themselves. St. Augustine, Florida is a wonderful place to visit and vacation in – but bring lots of cash.
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