Trip #6: St. Augustine & Ormond Beach, FL

December 26 – 31, 2007 

ANASTASIA STATE PARK – St. Augustine, FL

TOMOKA STATE PARK – Ormond Beach, FL

Arrived in St. A to 59 degrees! Very nice campground on the beach. Of course by day 3 things were quite damp being so close to the ocean, but got in some beach metal detecting and a 4-mile, hard-packed sand beach bike ride. Also enjoyed biking to town for dinner and touring the old town. Colombia, a winery, Scarlett O’Hara’s – now this is camping. Biked another 13 miles and then some. Another full moon night. After a few days headed to Ormond Beach—but first, a stop at the outlet mall. Ormond Beach looked like the real “Old Florida,” loved it. Toured the OLD, old as in 1831, Bulow Plantation Ruins, which were burned down by the Seminoles in 1836, during the Second Seminole War. Very interesting area. Even got in a canoe ride on Bulow Creek though it was very windy, a hard row. Celebrated New Year’s Eve in Vero with the O’C’s.

Park Info: Anastasia State Park was first opened to the public in 1949 and includes more than 1,600 acres featuring four miles of pristine beach, a tidal salt marsh, and a maritime and upland hammock. There is also an archaeological site where coquina rock was mined to create the nearby fortress, Castillo de San Marcos National Monument.

Check this out for details on Bulow. 

Tomoka: Within the park is the site of the Timucuan village of Nocoroco, located on the Tomoka River. The site was inhabited approximately a thousand years ago. Visitors can stroll a one-half mile nature trail through a hardwood hammock that was once an indigo field for an 18th century British landowner. 

Three pennies! a new record.

St. Augustine, Ponce Landing

St. A - Between the beach and the campground was this habitat

Old Dixie Highway in Ormond Beach -- WAY!

the windy canoe trip on Bulow Creek

A scenic loop tour at Ormond, beautiful

Tomoka State Park display of the Timucua indians who had a village here 1,000 years ago

Bulow Plantation Ruins, circa 1831

More ruins

More ruins; surprisingly there's a lot left.

Nice pine trail to the ruins