Travelling to St. Augustine Florida is an amazing family adventure. Founded in 1565, St. Augustine is embedded in history, it is the oldest continuously occupied city and port established by Europeans in the Continental United States. Not to mention, it’s where the Authors parents live!

Map of Areas Visited in this Post

Disclaimer: the children are different ages in the pictures because this post was written over a few trips to St. Augustine. Enjoy!

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Castillo de San Marcos

The site of our very first Jr. Ranger Badge! The Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States.  Here’s where it all began!

Situated in downtown St. Augustine, the fort was constructed of coquina rock. Unique to Florida, the rock consists of millions of seashells cemented together. It proved highly durable and easily absorbed the force of many cannon balls. 

Fort Matanzas

Located a quick ferry ride from the visitor center located on Anastasia Island, this fort served as a defense for the southern approach to the Spanish military settlement of St. Augustine. 

Fort Matanzas is also home to a rich eco system that is delicately placed between a barrier island protecting it from the Atlantic’s harsh weather and the Matanzas river.

Anastasia State Park

Anastasia State Park is home to a pristine white sand beach protected by dunes, tidal marsh, and a maritime hammock.  The Author was solo parenting the boys for a week here while Cassy went to a work event in Tampa.

Solo parenting with these kiddos has one simple rule. Do what the kids want to do and everyone is happy. The Author had many “plans” for these boys on our trip, which included beach adventures, hikes, and so much more. Swimming against the current, we tackled most of them, but in the end I gave into the kids will.

Due to its ideal location nearby St. Augustine and it’s bargain nightly rates, Anastasia State Park is also home to one of the hardest to book campgrounds in all of Florida!

Nesting Sea Turtles are common along the Florida Atlantic coast.  Sea Turtles return to the place where they are born to build nests as adults, which is why it is so critical to protect these important breeding grounds. Thanks to the efforts of conservationists, the Sea Turtles populations are recovering after years of decline.

There are two hikes at this state park: the Ancient Dunes Trail and Marsh Trail. Both are less than a mile long, relatively flat, and great for hiking with children.

In addition to National Park ranger badges, we also love to collect the state park badges when available.

After a many days of activities, we settled into the camper for some rest and relaxation and let the kids run wild while Daddy napped.

Visit with the Parents in Nocatee

Nocatee, Florida is a relatively new planned city north of St. Augustine and South of Jacksonville. The city is well laid out, golf cart friendly, and home to several pools and two water parks for the residents.  It’s no wonder my parents chose to call this place home!

It is surrounded by a protected preserve and home to young families, retirees and everyone in between. It has a great small town, freshly built resort feel.

It is always a pleasure of staying with our folks in Nocatee.  Here we were able to celebrate Pops birthday, Father’s Day and an early birthday for Lincoln. All while Cassy was away at a work event in Tampa. 

Bonus Side Trip: St. Petersburg Florida

The Author snuck away for a few nights to meet Cassy in St. Petersburg Florida, near where she was working in Tampa, and left the kiddos with their grandparents. We took full advantage of the time away from the kids and went out on date nights. We hit up Green Bench Brewery and Red Mesa Mercado in downtown St. Petersburg and then took a walk along the pier.

Along the stroll on St. Pete Pier we encountered the Bending Arc, a 424-foot aerial sculpture by Janet Echelman. The sculpture’s title is a reference to Martin Luther King Jr.’s words, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”.

After a short 2 day, kid-less trip to St. Petersburg, the Author returned to Nocatee to grab the kids and head out to our next destination: New Orleans. We first needed to stop in Tallahassee to meet up with Cassy coming in from Tampa.

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