April 2 - St. Augustine, FL

Drove into town and got a seat on the tour train. Got off of the train at the Hotel Ponce de Leon, now known as the Flagler College.

Henry Flagler and John D. Rockefeller, neither one having much money, teamed up together to invest in oil. This investment turned out to be a huge success and created Standard Oil of New Jersey. Mr. Flagler came to St. Augustine for one week on his honeymoon and fell in love with the town. He decided that it needed a first class hotel. The hotel was built in 1887 and was a resort for the rich and famous. The rooms were $300 a night and they had to sign up for 90 days which is the equivalent of $270,000 today. The hotel has Tiffany windows, ornate murals and Spanish Renaissance architecture. Many famous people stayed at the hotel including several presidents. The hotel was a success and it was the most beautiful resort at that time. His son turned the hotel into a women’s college and it is now a four year co-ed college. We were able to tour the lobby, the massive dining room with the Tiffany stain-glass windows and some of the smaller rooms used as conference rooms. It was wonderful to see all the wood work, furniture, and murals throughout the college.

We continued to walk around the town and look at the various buildings. We went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch and it was awful. After all that horrible Mexican food we just had to stop and have an ice cream. We walked down by the fort and then got back on the train.