Day 6: the oldest town in USA, St. Augustine.

Today is July, 4th, 2025!!! Here we are, going to another place, another beach. This time, St. Augustine. Look why this is a famous place (source ChatGPT):

St. Augustine, founded in 1565 by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established city in the continental U.S., predating Jamestown and Plymouth by decades. Established as a Spanish military outpost, it faced attacks from pirates and rival powers like England; Sir Francis Drake burned it in 1586. The city changed hands several times, from Spain to Britain in 1763, back to Spain in 1783, and finally to the U.S. in 1821.

The iconic Castillo de San Marcos, a star-shaped fort completed in 1695, symbolizes St. Augustine’s colonial past. In the late 1800s, Henry Flagler transformed the city into a luxurious winter resort for America’s wealthy with grand hotels like the Ponce de Leon. St. Augustine also played a key role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, with demonstrations helping push the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Today, St. Augustine is celebrated for its charming historic district, cobblestone streets, colonial architecture, and landmarks like St. George Street and the St. Augustine Lighthouse, blending Spanish, British, and American heritage into a unique cultural destination.

But before we arrived at St. Augustine, dad had a surprise for us.

We stopped here for a Kayaking tour! 😎

The name of the tour is called “Three Brothers”, they make these paddle boards for the tours and they sell them as well. I really wanted to paddle board but mom and dad said I should go kayaking with them, so I did it.

Mom and dad on one kayak!

Me and Bryan (the guide) on another one. It was cool!

This is where we went, to the river close to the ocean, it is called Salt Run! A beautiful place with marinas, mangroves, pelicans, dolphins, manatees and sea turtles!