Linda with a new friend, Brownie the pelican.
St Augustine Beach Pier
Kiddie pool and playground at the Saint Augustine Beach pier.
Waves
Notes From My Residency Journal
Today I visited one of my favorite places in St Augustine Beach, the city pier. What a bargain, it costs a dollar to hang around on the pier and enjoy the day. There is a visitor's center with lots of brochures and maps for the tourist spots and the attendant is friendly and knowledgeable about the area. You buy your pier pass inside the tackle shop. There is a lovely modern kiddie pool with fountains and a slide. There were lots of little kids splashing and playing and lots of moms enjoying the sun.
Being a weekday mid- morning, there wasn't much traffic on the pier but I got to have my picture taken with Brownie the pelican by a fellow tourist. He was very brave, allowing me to get quite close to him, and I took some good shots of him myself, which I will use for a painting. I met three fishermen who said it was slow going today. They caught a couple of catfish.
I love this pier and always visit it at least once during my stay. I find it to be the very best way to study waves, from the top down.
Restaurant Reviews
Cafe 11
I had breakfast at Cafe 11 yesterday on my way to the Alligator Farm. I have eaten there before. It gets zero for style points. It has a concrete floor, and no atmosphere at all. It is dark, sort of warehouse in atmosphere. . You order at the counter and the waitress brings your food. They give you a coffee mug that is real stoneware, and you get your own. It has sort of a new age modern hippie feel to it with weird music.
On the good side, it is an Internet cafe, so I can use my wi-fi IPad while I eat. The food is really outstanding. I had the egg, bacon and home fries breakfast. The bacon was crisp, the eggs fried to my request of over medium, not hard and not runny, and the home fries had delicious herbs grilled with them; the potatoes were nicely caramelized. It was hot too. The coffee was ok, not as bold as I like it but adequate. Despite the atmosphere, it is an excellent choice for breakfast at the beach. The price was average.
Wildflower Cafe
I have heard about this cafe and it has an impressive web site online.It is in an upscale building on A1A between St Augustine and the 206 bridge, on the beach side of the highway. It is beautifully decorated with clothed tables covered in glass, sort of an English cottage decor. The service was immediate and excellent. My server's name was Anna. There was the usual variety of selections, with a few like crab cake Benedict and spinach omelets. I chose the classic Eggs Benedict. I got the home fries as a side. The plate was nicely presented with a slice of fruit, which always impresses me. The coffee was bold, good and plentiful.
I was a bit disappointed in the actual meal.It was warm but close to room temperature. The hollandaise sauce was bland and not thick and creamy as that sauce should be. It did not have the lovely lemon taste that I love. The Canadian bacon was too thick, tasting more like ham, chewy. The home fries had not been properly grilled to caramelize the potatoes, so they were soft and under grilled, bland.
The bill for coffee and Eggs Benedict was about 14.00 and with a five dollar tip for good service, it was a bit on the high end for breakfast. I will probably pass on this one in the future.
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