Anastasia State Park

We are located on a barrier island between the Atlantic and the intercostal waterway. From our front deck we can see the sunrise over the ocean and from the back deck we watched the sun set over the Matanzas River. There are huge houses with even bigger boats moored along the River.
We had a slow morning and then checked out the beach in front of the condo. There was a strong wind blowing and temps only In the 60's. With riptide warnings and marine wildlife warnings (sharks) we are probably not going to be swimming in the ocean, yikes!
We packed up our camera, binoculars and lunch and drove to the 3000 acre Anastasia State Park where we camped 30 years ago. We checked out the campgrounds and tried to figure out how we walked from our campsite, over the sand dunes to the ocean. There is a salt pond in the way now, but the campground is still beautiful and has sites big enough for our RV. We walked on the beach, had a picnic lunch in the sun and then went to the st. Augustine lighthouse for a tour.
    The first tower at this site was a watchtower put jere by the Spanish settlers to watch for pirates like Francis Drake.  Then, a lighthouse was built in 1734 and later replaced by the lighthouse board in 1874 to provide a beacon that is visible for 25 miles.  For many years the light was tended by the lighthouse keepers who lived on the remote island of Anastasia with their families.
     The tower stands 140 feet above the city and has 219 steps.  Keepers needed to carry five gallons of oil up these stairs every two hours to keep the light burning.  They must have had really good legs and lungs.  The lighthouse tower and  keepers. House have been fully restored.  It was fun to tour and imagine living there with a family.  At least it was fairly warm.  I recall touring one in Maine that was on a high cliff where the wife had to crawl down a steep trail to get water and to take a bath even in the winter - not for me.   The Florida families had two huge cisterns in the basement of their house which sorted rain water that ran off their roof and pumped it into their kitchen with a hand pump.  Such pampered ladies.
     We had a nice afternoon nap and a glass of wine while listening to the still big surf.  Later I did my TripAdvisor research on restaurants and found a highly rated local "tiki" bar nearby.  We headed out for some coconut fried shrimp and mahi-mahi.  The sun was glorious and the wind quieted down and it was warmer out as we watched the sun go down.  It was great to watch the news and see that Minnesota is getting more snow as I kick off my sandals by my front door.