Our first day, here in Florida, and we are already loving the weather! We were up and out of the house early (8:30am) this morning and ready for a day of adventure. It has been a few years, three to be exact, since we have seen our dear friends – Dallas and Kirsten and their perfect little boy, Daxton! This morning, we got to spend some QT with them as they showed off their little piece of heaven.
First up, on our agenda was this impressive fort called Castillo de San Marcos. It is the oldest and largest masonry fort in the United States. Construction started in 1672 and ended in 1675 after the core of the current structure was completed. The fort was used at one point, to incarcerate Native American tribes, most notably, the famous war chief, Osceola, during the Seminole Wars. The building is impressive and looks as sturdy today as it would have been when it was freshly built.
This was our first long trip as a family of five and Grace had a blast, while Audrey was her usual toddler self, and Matthew was an angel. Despite the many night time awakenings, we managed to enjoy every. single. day. of this awesome vacation and our lovely friends. Aaron got some quality time with his buddy, Dallas. They were roommates in the Bay Area a decade ago and we all dated around the same time. Those were some fun days!
Dallas took turns watching Matthew as he catnapped, and hung out with Aaron and Audrey when she got too wriggly. Look at that smile – her slice of heaven when she is next to her Daddy.
We got to explore each of the rooms in this impressive fort, learn more about its history, watch a cool live cannon show from the terrace of the fort, and have Daxton be Grace’s personal guide. Grace loved having a pal to play with and so did Daxton from the looks of it. He did a fabulous job telling us about the fort!
It was wonderful to explore with our friends, and to have our whole family together. Through it all, Matthew was a dream, only fussing when tired or hungry but taking little naps as we strolled around.
We would love to come back here again and explore some more! What a cool place!
