Day 16 Orlando Florida to Jacksonville Florida

So we’ve reached the turnaround point of our trip, and now we’re heading back across the country to LA. We drove to the east coast and stopped to dip our toes in the Atlantic Ocean, so that we can say that we really did go right from the West Coast to the East Coast. The water felt quite warm, and there are plenty of people on the beaches over here on the East Coast. Gorgeous weather too.

We made our way up the coast, stopping at St Augustine, the oldest continuously occupied European-established city in the US. It was founded by a Spanish explorer in 1565. We wandered round the Castillo de San Marcos fort and the old streets in the centre of the town, where we saw the original city gate, the oldest wooden school in the US and a few other old things that have been around since before Australia was discovered. If you’re interested, here’s the Wikipedia article

We’re staying in Jacksonville tonight, then heading north to Georgia tomorrow.

Space Shuttle launch pad and vehicle assembly building across the water from Titusville Florida

How the americans handle beach traffic. Hundreds of cars, thousands of people over many kilometres of beach, all controlled and orderly. Smyrna Beach Florida

Feet in the Atlantic Ocean