April 21 – 24, 2022
The winter season at Cypress Woods was coming to a close. As usual we had a great time enjoying the various events and activities, meeting new residents, and enjoying the company of old friends. But the outside thermometer was rising into summer temperatures and many had already traveled north. So too we found our wanderlust kicking in and we started the arduous “packing up the lot” activity – taking patio furniture to storage, cleaning out and then storing the last few items in the shed, parking and covering the car and golf cart, and readying the truck and RV for travel.
We had originally planned to take our twice postponed Alaska caravan trip this summer, but, in light of our extensive travels last summer, decided to cancel and spend more time in some of our favorite places. So, where will our travels take us? Here’s the plan.
We pulled out of Cypress Woods at 9:45 the morning of April 21 and headed northeast through Bartow, around Lakeland, around Orlando, and then headed north on I-95 to our first stop – St. Augustine.
St. Augustine, FL
Our campground of choice in St. Augustine was the Sun RV Resorts of St. Augustine (formerly Compass RV Resort). This is an older park with mostly gravel sites but with a newer section in the back (called the Oasis) where the sites have pavers. Upon entry into the RV park, an attendant took our name, verified our reservation and provided our check-in packet. A gentleman in a golf cart then guided us to our site with the words “don’t freak out when you see the site”. Wait – what?? The site (#145) he led us to was long enough for our RV only. Uh – oh. Then he pointed to a small adjoining site where we could park the truck. Wow – wouldn’t it be nice if all sites were like this!
Pickleball in St. Augustine
So, what was the first thing we chose to do in St. Augustine? Find a place to play Pickleball of course. Why not the beach, sightseeing, shopping? We used to live about a hour away from here and came over often to enjoy the touristy things. Now, we needed some exercise. We found a public park (Treaty Park) with dedicated Pickleball courts and an active community of welcoming players. A couple of hours on the courts was all it took to wear us out. Now we could go back to the RV and recuperate by sitting outside for a while until it was time to dress for dinner.
Our favorite restaurant
Later in the evening we drove into the Old City to walk along St. George’s Street past the historic buildings and colorful shops. We stopped at Barley Republic for a pre-dinner drink before making our way to the Collage (our favorite restaurant). This small family owned restaurant has received multiple awards (Top 100 Best Restaurants in US, Best of the Best, Top 10 Places to Treat Yourself) and lives up to that reputation. All of their dishes are prepared from scratch and beautifully presented by their impeccable staff.
The Collage menu reflects the eclectic tastes of owners Mike Hyatt and Cindy Stangby and focuses on fresh local seafood, steaks, lamb and veal, using international flavor profiles.
collagestaug.com
As we enjoyed our meal, Bill and I attempted to name a restaurant in our travels across the country that rivals the Collage. We couldn’t do it.
Quiet Last Day
For our final day here, we talked about driving back into the Old City for an early (and light) dinner at the Columbia restaurant. We used to stop here from time to time to enjoy the tapas, sangria, and the famous 1905 salad. Unfortunately we couldn’t get a reservation so we abandoned the idea in favor of dinner in. Tomorrow we move on to another historic location.
