Titusville Trip Day Seven | Bella Rossa Fabrica

Day Seven

I woke up before the alarm again. After a stroll around the historic district of St. Augustine, I stopped into a café and had a banana nut muffin and an espresso. The area is called the zone of safety because the Spanish had walled it off to protect the locals during attacks. It was nice and quiet early in the morning in contrast to my experience the day before. I went looking for the basilica; I thought I found it, but I had found Flagler College. I resorted to the phone’s GPS to find it, and it has to be the world’s smallest basilica.

Next I toured the Castello del San Marco. I nearly skipped it because tickets are $15.00, but for $20.00 I bought a 12-month pass to all the national parks. I spent some time visiting every room on the ground level. By the stairs I spotted a sign listing the cannon firing schedule. The first firing was to be at 10:30 AM, just a 45-minute wait. I inspected the cannons (actually the mortars, howitzers, and cannons) and enjoyed the views from the ramparts. Since I still had another 30-minute wait, I left the Castello and bought a croissant I was eyeballing the night before and another espresso. The shot was again on the bitter side; maybe they get their beans from Kookaburra, but the croissant was very good, not Paris good, but top USA quality.

St Augustine, FL

I returned to the Castello for the cannon firing; it was a long 6-man operation with the officer in charge issuing all commands in Spanish. We were instructed to cover our ears, but I needed my hands to attempt to take photos. I wasn’t that loud to my uncovered ears. From there I checked out of my hotel and headed south on A1A, winging it old school without the aid of a GPS. There was no need to hurry, and I planned to stop a bunch.

The only stop on the way of any interest was Fort Matanzas National Monument, which guarded the back way into St. Augustine. Unfortunately, the ferry over to the fort was not running that day, and most of the nature trail was closed. While I sat in the parking lot eating my lunch, I had a conversation with Troy, a treasure hunter up from the Gulf Coast. He lives on his boat (a 51-foot treasure boat) that he salvaged after a storm and restored. He charters fishing trips and dive cruises somewhere on the Gulf Coast of Florida. He rode out the storm on the boat, and as soon as the boat floated back off the dock, he jumped in his truck and headed north. He became quite interested in the rocket launch and gave me his business card so I could call him if I ran into anybody selling a ticket. Troy also pointed out a bees nest in the tree I had parked under and was surprised it wasn't dripping honey.

The only interesting thing that happened was in Daytona Beach. The road was closed southbound, so I had to leave A1A and drive through neighborhoods. There were lots of piles of storm debris along the roadsides and lots of sand in the roads. I finally ended up at the southern tip of the island and had to retrace my route.

I checked into the Hampton Inn in Titusville and did my laundry and was hoping they would launch the next day; this was turning into a freaking quest. I drove down to Florida’s Seafood Bar and Grill in Cocoa Beach. I sat down at the bar (of course) and ordered the calamari and shrimp appetizer and a Caesar salad. The bartender placed a bowl of warm fritters in front of me, not corn or fish fritters but covered in powdered sugar (pretty much donut holes). I never had dessert before dinner, but maybe that’s how they do things down there. The appetizer and salad were both huge. The calamari was OK, but the shrimp were very tender. Because it was smothered in a sweet and sour sauce, I really couldn't taste the seafood, but it still tasted good. I was able to finish the appetizer and about a third of the salad because of the size and the fact that half of it was buried in Caesar dressing. The whole thing cost $24.00; once again, I was faced with Southern hospitality and enormous portions.