There is not much to Flagler Beach,   other than the awesome beach.

 It has to be the most unpretentious, laid-back resort areas we have ever seen.  A lot of rental homes, a few condos, no high-rises and the occasional local restaurant/bar/pub.  Fisherman and surfers were the only people on the beach this morning, both waiting for “the big one”.

An hour into the ride, we had a broken spoke; of course, we could still ride, but we began to wonder if we had been alligator bit.  That and the northwest wind (that was supposed to be southwest) was wearing on us.  The headwind was about the same speed we were traveling, so while it did not slow us down, it did drain our legs with every pedal push.

We passed a long stretch of beach that the sea had reclaimed for her own, homes still hung on to precious real estate and surprisingly there were areas where very expensive homes were building on top of the sand dune.Yes, the views are amazing, but it made no sense to us, given that right down the road, homes had been washed away by the sea.  Beautiful views abound crossing the Mantanzas Inlet.

Short of St. Augustine, we stopped at a bike shop for the spoke repair and a quick cup of soup two doors down. Forty five minutes later, when we pushed away, the wind had switched to the predicted SW breeze; we traveled no faster, just easier for our last few miles.

We rode through St. Augustine Beach, overthe Bridge of Lions and into the oldest continuous city in the country; founded in 1565.  Our original plan was to take a day off in St. Augustine to see the sights, but with our long hiatus in Cocoa, we settled on the afternoon.  With not a lot of time and our legs beaten up by the wind, we opted for a trolley tour; actually a great way to get a lot inin a short amount of time.  Though we retained little of the history, this is Castillo de San Marcos National Monument,

we took a lot of pictures (waaaay too many pictures),a few are identified below.

Gates to the cityOriginally the Pounce de Leon Hotel, now Flagler College.  Flagler’s personal church.  The Original Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum and one of the two most valuable pieces in the entire worldwide Ripley collection.  Built as the Alcazar Hotel and now City Hall.  Most importantly the company that developed the chocolate kiss.

Though we entered the gates for the Fountain of Youth, we felt no younger upon leaving; in fact, we felt thirsty.  One stop later, we were in front of a local watering hole, so jumped off for a cold one and a bite to eat.

Dinner was with a view of the Matanzas River (sans the meaning of Matanzas – slaughter) and delicious, Shrimp and Grits and Chicken Piccata.  A bit of romance on our walk back to our room.

It was a hot day today and though less than 37 miles, it was tough.  Two days off would have been perfect, but four days rest set us back, so we are breaking our legs in again……but we are riding, so just as happy as this newly married couple.