Family Photo Review: Nights of Lights in St. Augustine

Nights of Lights in St. AugustineOur journey started out around 10 AM from our home in Oviedo. The trip took just less than 2 hours and we arrived at the Castillo de San Marco. We paid to park for the maximum four hours and set out to visit the fort. We paid $7 per adult and our 12-year old and 4-year old were free to visit. The kids enjoyed the stairs and the cannons while we enjoyed the view and the history of the fort.

After our visit to the fort, we made our way to the Pirate Museum. It would have cost approximately $40 for the family to view the museum, so we opted for viewing the gift store and the few artifacts they had.

Next was lunch. After lunch, we went straight for St. George Street for some fun shopping. My son loved The Popcorn Factory and spent some of his holiday money on 5 flavors of popcorn! We visited the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine. After our journey up St. George Street, our meter was about to expire, so we set out for the car and then decided to hit the beach.

St. Augustine Beach was lovely. The weather was a little cool, but it didn’t stop the kids from playing in the sand and in the water (up to their knees). My husband and I were able to enjoy the quiet while watching the kids play. It was a perfect moment for us!

Finally, the time had come to head to the trolley welcome center to purchase our tickets and head for the trolley. We chose Old Town Trolley Tours to take us around the city. We arrived at the welcome center at 5:15 PM and enjoyed free parking. We walked across to the trolley pick up after paying our roughly $35 (the 4-year old was free). All marketing says that the tours start at 6 PM, but the first trolley rolled up at 5:30. We loaded into the trolley and staged until the sun was completely down.

Finally, we were off. We traveled along the bay, through Downtown, past some Bed and Breakfasts, and past Flagler College, seeing most of them twice, screaming “Merry Christmas” to pedestrians and singing carols. At the end, we enjoyed apple cider, a cookie, and a visit with Santa.

The lights were beautiful. The glasses they gave you enhanced the view. I wish it would have lasted longer and had more varieties and sites of lights, but what they did have was enjoyable. It was about a 30 minute loop through the city and I had a smile on my face the entire time.

If we had gone just for the Nights of Lights, I probably would have been disappointed, but coupled with the adventures of the day and the joy my kids had on their faces with each stop, it was a perfect family day.