For the second leg of our stay in St. Augustine, we moved to a beautiful historic bed & breakfast on the bayside. The Bayfront Marin House, as seen on HGTV. We unloaded our luggage and Steve took our vehicle to the private parking area a couple blocks away.
After changing into more comfy attire and grabbing my pen and writing pad, we quickly melted into our wicker lounging furniture on the second story wraparound porch. A suited gentleman exiting from a room nearby, strolled past us and went down the steps to the lawn below. I became inquisitive as the sound of lovely piano music drifted up. A quick glance down confirmed that a wedding was about to happen! The gazebo was finely and delicately decorated. A few people that were milling around, quickly moved to the provided seating,confirming that it was almost time!
Next, out came the bridesmaids from the apartment next to ours, followed by the bride. Her sweet smile floated directly toward us. Hesitating before descending the staircase and glancing our direction again, her lips formed the words “do I look ok?” We gave her a thumbs up with the “perfect” word blown back to her. And she was… beautiful. As the ceremony began, we settled back into our comfy seating and I began to write.
A beautiful long-haired cat walked past me. She carried herself with the graceful attitude that implied “I am queen of this porch and clearly have no interest in guests.” Then she padded down the steps, disappearing among the plants and flowers. “Ok”
I thought. You may ignore me for the moment, but trust me, we will become acquainted before I depart. Maybe tomorrow.
Music once again draws our attention. Tracy Bryde is singing “Keeper of the Stars.” The groom is dancing with his bride in the gazabo and the surrounding palm trees are swaying and dancing in the breeze. Beautiful white puffy clouds highlight the brilliant blue sky. All is well…
Moving on, God blessed us with a beautiful new day! Sunshine and water. Sailboats, fishing boats, party boats, a pirate boat… “What? A Pirate boat! Are you kidding me?” Ok, ok! Our walk along the waterfront became an adventure! A large group had gathered to board the pirate ship dressed appropriately for such a launch. Steve and I talked about what fun that would be as we continued on with our stroll.
Conversation drifted from topics such as ‘how do you tell the difference between a palm tree and a coconut tree’ to the draw bridge that was raising to let a large vessel go through. “That bridge is the one that Dana passed through last year when he helped a friend take his ship from Florida up the coast to Maine,” Steve commented.
I breathed deep with a smile. “Yep, Cousin Dana is often in the right place at the right time.” I recall reading the updates as the shipmen progressed north on their voyage
up the east coast. It was kind of exciting to us folks whoare somewhat timid about faring well on the waters. What courage it must take to launch out on such a journey! Here is a shout out to Cousin Dana. I can’t really think of a greeting that sounds seaworthy, so I’ll just say “Howdy” West Virginia style. “We love Y’all down there in South Florida.”
Leaving the waterfront walk and slipping back a couple blocks into the more private residential area, we walked and talked, spotting a couple bed and breakfast homes with shaded porches or verandas that might accommodate our next visit. We discussed the color schemes and curb appeal, or lack thereof and what our choices would be for improvement.
Occasionally, we observed a home that looked like a misfit, not exactly fitting the history time period. Wetossed our thoughts back and forth with each other about what adjustments we would make to step-up the curb appeal. Many bed & breakfasts beckoned for our glance as if to ask, “Am I what you are looking for?” Or “look at me” “I have a balcony with a swing and often there ismusic drifting up in the evenings from adjoining streetswith eateries hosting live instrumentals.”
So many beautiful homes from the period of the city. We mentally catalogued ideas that we could take home with us to West Virginia and try to replicate in a little different fashion that would fit our country home. I decided that I personally loved the Spanish styled homes. “How do I implement that flavor into our country style,” you ask?
“I have no idea!”
Exhausted from the morning outing, we returned to our porch with coffee and hot tea in hand, courtesy of the staff. Our stay at The Marin, included breakfast delivered to our door, afternoon trays with delicious snacks and glasses of wine in the evening upon
Sunscreen, pelicans and sailboats filled the remainder of my afternoon as I slipped to the porch to relax in my favorite resting spot to soak up the surrounding views and atmosphere. Beautiful horse drawn buggies continued to trot by with vacationing passengers waving. And Queen Tabby padded back up the steps from the lawn and tooka pose at the top of the steps. With an occasional glance at me to make sure I was keeping in my boundaries, she settled into a soothing purr!
A lovely dinner at the yacht club restaurant earlier in the week, begged for a return visit, having boasted their scallops as legendary. However, driving back just for a final dinner, brought a huge disappointment, as we were too early for dinner. They opened at 7 pm. Steve loves scallops. However, being a Maine boy, he ‘seldom to never’ finds any to meet his expectation. Maybe a trip up to Maine just for some good scallops? Whatcha’ think folks?
We finished our week at The Marin enjoying small, short outings and walks, greeting other smiling passersby and softly saying goodbye to St. Augustine.
Leaving Florida and heading up the coast, I placed my request to Steve for maybe a brief stopover at Savanah. He agreed. So, we motored on. Georgia, here we come!
Tune back in for another adventure in Savanah, Georgia.
Contact me at: alice.heartpaths@gmail.com
