Post #42: Tide is King

Saturday, November 14, 2020 

Geoffrey Chaucer may have said “Time and tide wait for no man,” but man, did we spend a lot of time waiting for the tides today. We are experiencing a “king tide,” caused by the rains from hurricane Eta, the alignment of the earth, moon, and sun, and the gravitational pull of the new moon.  So even though the bridges are supposed to provide 65’ of clearance from the water at high tide, with swollen waterways, that clearance is diminished.  We waited and circled for 45 minutes at our first bridge this morning until the height board read at least 63’6” clearance before we could pass under. Trust me, this one was a nail-biter. We could hear the bendable antenna as it rebounded off each of the girders.

It was a beautiful, warm (82 degrees) afternoon and since we were traveling on a Saturday, there were hundreds of pleasure boats out on the water—people were fishing, waterskiing, tubing, riding jet skis and other contraptions, and, of course, heading out for lunch on the water.

We arrived in St. Augustine, “America’s Oldest City,” at around 3 p.m. ready to explore the sights.

A blend of original structures (battlements and dungeons of Castillo de San Marcos National Monument built in 1672), authentic museums (the oldest wooden schoolhouse in the U.S. according to 1716 records; a boarding house from 1797), the restored buildings and streets of San Augustin Antiquo, and Ponce de Leon’s famed Fountain of Youth, St. Augustine also boasts Potter’s Wax Museum, Ripley’s Believe It or Not exhibits, a Pirate & Treasure Museum, and a Medieval Torture Collection. You get the picture....  

Wow, the place was hoppin’!!! The streets were packed—so much so that we could not social distance and only about 15% of people were wearing masks.  Restaurants were full to capacity with long waiting lines along the sidewalks, dance music blared from rooftop bars, families and friends gathered along the waterfront, and Christmas decorations festooned all the buildings.  What???

Unknowingly, we had arrived on the first evening of “Nights of Lights,” St. Augustine’s 27th annual two-month long illumination extravaganza that dazzles the eye and “welcomes visitors and locals to our beautiful cityscape.” We felt like we had entered an alternative universe where Covid-19 does not exist. We ordered take-out pizza and went back to the boat.

When our kids were little, we used to play a game where David was the Tickle Monster and Mommy was “Safety” and if they were touching me, the Tickle Monster could not attack them. We play that game with our grandkids still.  For us now, Onward feels like “Safety.”

Is it going to be like this everywhere in Florida?