Mileage: 2118
Location: Charleston, South Carolina.
What: have lost all sense of time, don't care much about time!
Mood: neutral :) .
The water in Matanzas Bay is now calm and tranquil. At Castillo De San Marcos( Spanish Fort for over 225 years), the sound of cannon fire ricochets off the walls of every house in the this hamlet of St. Augustine as the National Park Service holds another day of cannon firing demonstration to the hordes of tourists that have descended on the town. In the Colonial Spanish Quarter, a church bell rings to mark the hour. I stand on the highest point in town, the Bridge of Lions and from the vantage point, I can see everything in the town, from the fort in the north, all the way south to the St. Francis Barracks (Army National Guard outpost).
I have walked around the town for two days, and I have this feeling deep within me that I am native of this place. I'm actually coming back from my three mile walk to the Lighthouse. It is a beautiful day for walking. The rain from last night seemed to have seared a nice north-easterly breeze that now blankets the city. On my way to the Lighthouse, I saw a bookstore selling lots of old books and the like. Ever curious, I decided to make a quick stop. To my amazement, the books were very cheap. Buried deep between books of sailing, I found "The Crystal Desert" which had a selling price of $2.50. "Don't tell him that you bought this book for such a low price, because he might give you a straight D in the next class you take with him," the old, loving lady in the shop warned me. She said so, because that book was written by my best professor: David G. Campbell. It's amazing what you can find out here…
Time moves very slowly in this town. The Bridge of Lions, takes twenty minutes to open and then close. A lot of people use bikes to move around while the majority prefer walking. The town has it's share of construction work going on, and believe it or not I saw a lot of Mexican construction workers. Walking in the Plaza de la Constitucion, a roadside evangelical pulled me over and said, "IF you die today, do you know where you are going?" I laughed. He was a young boy, clasping a small bible in one hand, and a few cards in the other. Nearby, his co-preacher read allowed from the bible, trying to refine his skills. "There is a way to know my brother, and it's right here in the bible," added the young preacher. He proceeded to show me lots of verses, and in the end I prayed after him. "Now, if somebody asks you where you are going if you die today, you will know," he declared, his voice full of emotion and satisfaction at having saved me from hell.
Francis Drake, was a pirate. He was knighted by the queen for being a pirate. Who said crime does not pay? He sacked St. Augustine in 1586. In 1668, a legion of pirates followed in Drake's wake and attached the city, burning it to the ground. Through is turbulent history, five flags have flown over the small hamlet of St. Augustine. It is
the longest continually occupied European settlement in the continental United States; a few were founded prior to St. Augustine but all failed, including the original Pensacola
colony in West Florida (First founded in 1559) — which was wiped out by a hurricane a mere two years after its founding, and Fort Caroline in what is today Jacksonville, Florida in 1564. The history of the town is reflected in it's mix of cultures. There is native Indian heritage, Spanish streets and the like, and of course the British. Walking through the historic district, times stands still. Here, you find jewelry stores all over. After a few minutes of walking the historic district, a questions cropped up in mind: Why is everybody selling jewels? "It's because people like them," a store owner informed. That was the same answer I got when I asked another shopkeeper. On the surface, that's an adequate answer, but I wasn't happy. The reason why everybody was selling jewels, I posited, was due to the town's history. Pirates are rumored to have anchored in the bay. It is easy to understand that, wherever you found pirates, jewels were not far behind.
I leave the city tomorrow, bound for Charleston, South Carolina. My stay here in the city has been rewarding. Oh, here are a few emails that some of you have written me in response to some of my journal entries:
Evan Miller:
No joke about McDonalds, even in Iowa most of the people who work there are obese. In Japan, all the girls who work at McDonalds are thin and attractive, and most of the people who go there appear to be in good shape. Just thought I'd offer an interesting tidbit about Japanese fast food. How much longer are you going to be down South? Sounds like you're having a good time. See you in the fall! Matta ne!
Janet Alexander:
Sounds like you are on a roll…..literally! I had a thought about road systems. While Florida’s highway system may be the best, Iowa’s road system was built to accommodate a rural economy. In other words, farmers have to get their products to market, and that means Iowa’s roads are on a grid, one road…at least a county road… every mile in Iowa! So you can get within a mile of anywhere! J
While you’re thinking of the military as an institution, also think of all the misuse of military power (think Abu Ghraib, Mai Lai, and now Haditha). Those are only a few by the US military!
Adam Lake:
It is funny that you are driving everywhere, I love driving and have done several road trips around the US over the years, but I have very litte experience with the mass transit in the US. So this summer, I am going to try to get everywhere I am going only by using mass transit. It is like we are opposites in travel! I have done this easily in europe, but in the US it is kind of hard. I am trying to figure out if I can take a bike so that I can cover some of the longer distances that I will need to walk, like between a train station and the bus station across town.
Your road trip sounds like a blast, I am sorry you have a frowny face for the last entry, but believe me, you are doing something right now that very few people will ever have the chance to do, and it sounds like you are indeed making the most of it!
Like I said in the previous emails, feel free to share your thoughts with me! Hope you have a nice weekend. Love, Trymore.
