The Castillo de San Marcos of St. Augustine, FL

The Make-A-Wish Foundation sent my daughter, myself and my other daughter to Florida to see my family.  While we were there we spent a day in St. Augustine.  One of the places we were lucky enough to visit was an old fort (castle) built by the Spanish in 1695.  This fort was called the Castillo de San Marcos.

The fort is unique in that it is made out of Coquina which is a kind of shell stone.  I thought the kids would have been bored since this is basically a historical site, but they loved it!  As soon as we got there they were greated by Spanish Soldiers.  We stopped to have the kids picture taken with them.  After that there was a canon firing demonstration on the top level of the castle.  The kids held their ears in anticipation for the blast which was really loud.

After visiting all the rooms we got to hear a lecture about all the different weapons used at the castle.  There was a cute little gift shop with gifts for anyone's budget.  I bought the kids each a wooden flute for $.94 each and a little miniature of the castle for $4.95.

You can bring your lunch, but you must eat it outside of the castle at one of their picnic benches.  The view is beautiful.

Price for admission is cheap as well: $6.00 for adults and kids are free. 

We loved this place and will go back again and again when we visit St. Augustine.