Local Secrets and Adventures
Someone once told me that everything changes every 5o miles or so.
I am here to write about the changes in entertainment that occur in St. Augustine the farther you travel away from the famous Bridge of Lions while remaining within a stone’s throw. Specifically, the things that the locals want to keep secret like music, food and nature, my three favorite things.
Why am I willing to give up these secrets when no other local will? Although I have lived here longer than the state I was born in, Tennessee, I am not what you call a “real local”. These are people who can go to the old cemeteries and point to the headstones of relatives. The same folks whose last name matches the street signs. Mr. Ponce and Ms. Pacetti scoff when a transplant, like me, talks about how much our city has changed. Those names and ways are slowly dwindling.
As a result more of those secrets are being shared on social media. A standard question on the Facebook group, “I Love St. Augustine” reads, “where do all the locals go?” I am sure that is a common question for any tourist town and is readily given up by most locals. But I bet those folks do not have the word “Native”engraved on their license plates.
I want to take those Facebook responses a few steps further, within 50 miles that is, and show incoming transplants, snowbirds and even a few tourists some fun and inexpensive things to do. Like me, you may feel the need to skip Disney World one more year if you listen close.
It is difficult to participate in any activity in this area without being exposed to the historical aspects, even if you are no longer around the downtown, St. Augustine, oldest everything scenario. I hope to share what I know or have learned about the local musicians who jam together every week, the best place to watch the sunset on the east coast, and where to find cowboys and girls, all within a stone’s throw.