Clay R. Seay

St. Augustine, FL is the Oldest European Settlement in the USA, dating back to 1565. It will celebrate its' 450th Birthday in 2015. This is a link to recently released photos from the Library of Congress.

http://staugustine.com/photos-st-augustine-library-congress#slide=0

Having lived here since 1997, it is amazing to me that some of the buildings shown are exactly the same today as there were fifteen years ago and as they are represented in these photos dating back as far as the late 1800's. Of course roads are now paved, but places like the Ponce De Leon Hotel, now Flagler College, The Alacaza Hotel, now the Lightener Museum, The Casa Monica Hotel, The Marine Barracks, The Lighthouse, The Zorayda Club as well as Ft. Marion, now the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument as well as almost all of the Churches shown are the same now as originally built.

Please come visit Historic St. Augustine and see how history has been preserved for generations and the commitment of the City of St. Augustine to continue the preservation for future generations. It is a step back in time and you might decided to stay and never leave.

Beach Driving Passes on sale now for St Johns County and St. Augustine, FL.

Beach driving passes are available now at pre-season prices of $30 for St. Johns County residents and $40 for non-residents. Passes may be purchased at the St. Johns County Pier, Tax Collector's Offices and Recreation and Parks Office. The price increases by $10 beginning March 2nd. Without the pass, the daily access price is $6 for residents and $7 for non-residents.

With over 40 miles of scenic coastline, St. Johns County beaches offer some of the best recreational and wildlife viewing opportunities in the beautiful State of Florida. Just minutes from the historic district of downtown St. Augustine residents and visitors can park off-beach and walk, sunbathe, fish or enjoy wildlife viewing along endless miles of pristine coastline or park directly on the sand and enjoy a dip in the surf near one of the several staffed lifeguard towers.

Our beaches have several miles of coquina and white soft sand beaches set against a backdrop of natural dunes topped with sea oats. All which are popular for holding special events such as weddings, parties, marathons, and other events similar in nature. St. Johns County offers many beach front parks and has easy access to most of its beaches.

Beach Driving Rules include:

1. Vehicle traffic must remain in the designated driving lanes as identified by cone.
2. Parking is allowed on the west side of the driving lane between the cones and the conservation zone
3. Vehicles are allowed to drive 10 mph on the beach
4. Traffic is southbound only between A street Ramp and Crescent Beach Ramp
5. Two way Traffic is permitted between Crescent Beach and Fort Matanzas Ramp
6. All Vehicles are required to stop at all beach ramps and yield to all pedestrians
7. Soft Sand conditions may exist please read signs as they are updated with changing conditions

For more information on beach driving, visit the St Johns County web-site for beach guidelines, including beach safety, turtle season restrictions, additional rules on beach behavior and detailed information on beach access points.

This is a photo of the St. Augustine Beach area for driving with the St Johns County Pier just barely visible.

One more reason to fall in love with St Johns County and the St. Augustine area. If you are searching for a beach-front home, let me help you with your search & purchase of your slice of paradise.

St. Augustine is ranked in the top 15 of the TripAdvisor Survey released this week.TripAdvisor named the city to its “Top 15 U.S. Destinations on the Rise” for 2012.

St. Augustine was No. 9 on a list that includes two other Florida destinations as well as Austin,TX and Branson, MO.Nashville was No. 1.

“St. Augustine is among the nation’s hot spots which have clearly piqued travelers’ interest over the last year,”TripAdvisor spokeswoman Julie Cassetina said.“We’ve seen a substantial increase in year-on-year volume of TripAdvisor reviews being written about the city and tourist businesses within it.

TripAdvisor is a travel site that ranks places, lodgings and attractions using data and reviews from people who have experienced them.The site features more than 60 million reviews and opinions from travelers around the world, covering more than 93,000 destinations, 520,000 hotels, 155,000 attractions, 715,000 restaurants and more,Cassetina said.

TripAdvisor chose its winners based on an increase in traveler reviews, which the site says indicates those destinations are “hot spots piquing vacationers’ interest.”

St. Augustine has a wonderful history of winning awards, including 2011 National Geographic December Award as one of the top 10 best places in the world to see holiday lights.

The Miami Herald named the city one of seven Florida wonders a couple of years ago and in 2009, U.S. News & World Report named the city one of the top best places to live in the United States.

So make your travels plans to see our beautiful city in 2012. While you are here, let me help you with a home search & purchase. St. Augustine is a magical place to live.

St. Johns County School District retained the No.1 title in Florida for its High Schools based of FCAT scores.

The Florida's Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) are based on performances including graduation rate, participation and performance in accelerated programs, and college readiness skills.

In all, the district has two A schools, four B schools and one M school, based on the 2010-11 state assessment.

A’s went to Allen Nease and Ponte Vedra high schools. B schools are Bartram Trail, Creekside, Pedro Menendez and St. Augustine high schools.

M stands for “maintaining” and is applied to St. Johns Technical High School, which for 2009-10 received an F.District officials have disagreed with that F score, arguing the school is designed as an alternative school and uses a different rating system than traditional high schools. Officials said the M rating reflected improvements in reading and math gains for 2010-11.

The school district also ranked No. 1 in Florida when school grades for elementary and middle schools were released during the summer of 2011.

This is one more reason to make St Johns County and the St. Augustine area your home for 2012. Please let me know ow I can help you with our home search & purchase.

Kayaking at Moses Creek in St. Augustine, Fl is one of my favorite places to share. Moses Creek Conservation Area spans over 2,000 acres and preserves one of the few remaining undeveloped tidal creeks in the St. Augustine region. It is located about 3 miles from my front door and is quick and easy to reach. I have included a few photos taken from my last trip.

This is the photo from the picnic table.

Once you enter the creek and reach the scenic point, this is the view that awaits.

If you love kayaking then you need to visit Moses Creek in St. Augustine. Let me know if you have some questions on other kayaking spots in St. Augustine, FL. See you on the water.