St Augustine: Founded Sept.8, 1565

Henry Billings idly studied the compass in his cabin aboard the William's Flight. It had been two years since he'd set sail in search of the man who had ruined not only his brother's finances, but the family name as well. He could not abide such humiliation, and when Parliament failed to satisfy, he'd taken matters into his own hands and set sail with a modest crew, some of whom were close friends and others there simply for the wages. His family, after all, used to be known for their wealth. Mercifully, he was not without a few leads as to the character and possible whereabouts of the scoundrel.

Canon Firing at Castillo De San Marcos National Monument, where history still comes alive. https://www.nationalparks.org/explore/parks/castillo-de-san-marcos-national-monument

This ancient Spanish fortress was designed to defend Florida as well as the Atlantic trade routes from the British forces and pirate raids. We happened to be at the River & Fort Restaurant across the street, and decided to walk around and burn off our rich meals. The timing couldn't have been better. We arrived just as the cannons were fired!

The St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum is definitely worth a visit, especially if you have children in tow and love seeing interesting and authentic artifacts from the old days of pirating. Did you know? There are only three officially recognized authentic Jolly Roger flags left in the world. Guess where one of them resides. https://www.thepiratemuseum.com/

St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied city in America, founded by Spanish admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles, ultimately Florida's first governor. This city was the capital of Spanish Florida for more than 200 years. It explains a lot of the Spanish architecture St. Augustine is known for.

Lightner Museum was founded in 1948 with the Spanish Renaissance Revival style structure built in 1887. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightner_Museum

The Lightner Museum was originally the Hotel Alcazar building in St. Augustine, commissioned by Henry Flagler to draw wealthy tourists via his railroad (Florida East Coast Railway) to vacation in Florida.

Built in 1888 as a luxury hotel by Frank W Smith and ultimately sold to Henry Flagler.

Henry Flagler purchased the Moorish Revival hotel named Casa Monica and changed its name to Cordova Hotel in 1889. The Lightner Museum building provided a luxury health spa for the hotel guests. It has a history of being used for varied purposes after the depression, including serving as the St. Johns County Courthouse. In 1997, Richard C. Kessler purchased the building and restored its former name and status as a luxury resort.

Bridge view of Castillo de San Marcos with canon tips showing.

Two years it may have been, but the man he was after would no longer stay in one place than would a hen in a den of foxes. He'd come close more than once, but victory insisted on playing hard to get. Henry clasped the compass firmly. It was inlaid with pure gold, a gift from his father and one of the few treasures they had left to the family name. And what a name it had been. Attached to it had been not just wealth, but prestige, good character and nary a breadth of scandal to muddy its pristine waters. He recalled the vow he'd made to his family, never to stop until the blackguard was caught. The British government however, deplored his initiative and renounced him as a vigilante. They called him a pirate.