It’s Thursday morning here in, well I want to say “sunny St Augustine” but that would be a lie as it’s frigging overcast for yet another day. And, I won’t comment on how cold it is in the low 50s as my brother will call me names. He says that I am soft and that I have no idea what cold is as it’s 15 where he is in PA. Yes, Bill was pretty blunt about my lack of strength in dealing with the cold. In fact, he, well, he called me a name. Something about my not knowing what cold was and that if I wanted cold, well he’d some me cold. Ok Bill, no it’s not cold here and I am sure that I’ll soon be sweating. I totally hope so.
Anyway, even if Bill has no sympathy, I think it’s cold and even a little rainy here in but I’ll try not to complain about it any longer. Well, not any more for today at least. Just to defend myself, there are plenty of locals who think it’s pretty cold, so there. I know this because I took a poll.
Well, yesterday we got new house batteries for Pandora’s so she’s all charged up again. And, they only cost two boat dollars. The yard that we went to was very efficient and it only took about two hours and some very strong guys to heft out the old ones and put in the new. These batteries are much bigger than car batteries and weigh in at more than 100lbs each, and there are four of them. It was great to today to wake up and see the voltage readings in a reasonable range. Amazingly, while they have been showing their age in the last year, the last set lasted over 7 years. That’s a very long time for any battery. I am not sure bit I think it’s something like 120 years old in dog years. It seems that the next owner of Pandora will have years before they have to worry about replacing them again.
Today’s a big day here in St Augustine as it’s Brenda’s birthday and I want to be sure to do what I can to make it a great day for her. Alert!, alert!, this is not a dress rehearsal… Got it. So, early today I ran ashore early to pick up some croissants and made her a latte aboard,her first aboard in 2015. While I was ashore, I also took a long hot shower at the marina so that I would be nice and clean somewhat less offensive when I presented Brenda with her birthday breakfast. What a great shower. I’ll bet that I was plenty pink when I got out as I turned up the temperature as hot as I could stand it. “OK, Bob, enough about your hygine. What’s with the pink thing? TMI, TMI!” Ok, I get it. Anyway, it was good to be warm and clean. Oh yeah, Brenda enjoyed breakfast. That’s one down for the “birthday coordinator”.
Today we’ll spend some time ashore. St Augustine is a lovely city with some beautiful architecture and great ancient trees lining the streets. Beautiful stately live oaks. And, at night the trees on the main drag are all lit up with little white lights. Very festive.
Henry Flagler, who is generally thought of as the “father of Florida tourism” built two huge beautiful hotels here and a railroad to get customers here from the north. They both closed years ago as tourists gravitated to southern Florida, but one is now the home to Flagler College and the other home to a terrific museum. I wrote about a tour of the college on our last visit. You can read that post here. (Editor: It was much warmer that day but who’s keeping score?)
I am always struck by how beautiful the city architecture here is. Wonderful views wherever you look.
Did I say that it’s still cool here? In spite of the current “relatively” low temperatures, there is plenty of tropical foliage. I am told that the temperatures in the winter tend to swing wildly with some days in the 80s and then, in only a few short days, temperatures dive into the 40s and 50s. Not cold by the standards of “northerners” but plenty cold out on the water.
On particularly interesting plant is the “resurrection fern” that grows on the limbs of trees and just about anything else that can hold a bit of moisture. They get their name from the fact that they can shrivel up and look pretty dead when there is a drought and then are “resurrected” and spring back to life within hours when it rains. This was a plenty happy looking bunch growing on a tile roof over a door in the historic district. 
Anyway, sitting here in the coffee shop isn’t getting us out to walk around and enjoy the sights.
How about finishing with a nice shot of the “birthday girl” in one of her hand knitted sweater. She’s nice and toasty. Good thing as it’s cold. Well, not that cold. Yes, Bill, I am ALMOST sweating it’s so hot. 
Well, at least Pandora’s charged up with her new batteries and ready to go where it’s really warm. And, don’t forget, birthdays and the proper recognition of same isn’t a dress rehearsal I’d better get on it.
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