Sailing Mystic Hearts

There’s just something about St. Augustine! Since first visiting last year on our winter trip south, this town quickly became a favorite of ours. And after spending two full days offshore from northern South Carolina, we were so eager to be settled for a few days and once again explore the oldest city in the United States.

Upon arrival, Paul needed some time to catch up on work priorities while I tended to the boat. As cruisers who have to work to maintain this lifestyle, it’s always a delicate balance between work and play. Sometimes it means we stay in a location a day or two longer than we normally would so that we can play tourist and still fulfill work obligations, but it’s always worth the effort we put in.

Eat ALL the Food

The last time we were here, we had some great food experiences, but in a city known for its culinary options, we also wanted to branch out and try some new places as well.

Oldies but Goodies:

The Kookaburra is a coffee shop known for its delicious Aussie pies. Similar to a quiche, but with a thicker crust, we can’t resist their Corker (sausage, egg, and cheese) or their Rashers & Eggs (bacon, egg, and cheese). The coffee is quite good too, with our favorite being an iced P.C. (caramel and vanilla latte).

Mojo Old City BBQ quite possibly might be my favorite BBQ restaurant (and we’ve had a lot of BBQ)! A typical BBQ meal comes with two sides and Texas toast. I had pork BBQ with sweet BBQ sauce, mashed potatoes, and smoked corn. Yes, you heard that right! Smoked corn. So delicious and great portion sizes. We split an order of fried pickle chips. I’ve never been a fan of pickles, but these were really tasty!

Cousteau’s Waffle & Milkshake Bar is known for its Belgian waffles and hand-spun milkshakes. We treated ourselves to a key lime milkshake while in town one evening.

New to Us:

Barley Republic, the best Irish gastro-pub in town! Christopher, a fellow cruiser friend who spends his winters in St. Augustine on SV Reliant, let us know about a cruiser Happy Hour meet-up taking place at this restaurant. We had never been and hadn’t seen our friend since the prior winter we were in Beaufort, SC, so we happily agreed to the meet-up, which took place on their large front porch patio. Barley Republic serves up a lot of typical English/Irish food and they make a very solid fish and chips and margarita. I’m interested in coming back to try other fare and enjoy the ambiance.  

Harry’s Seafood Bar & Grille was another restaurant we were super excited to try. Our friends Steph and Travis from Sailing Jibsea recommended it to us last year, but we never got around to eating there. While in town, we caught up with our friend Greg from SV Longtail (who used to live aboard near us in Norfolk) and left the marina for good to begin his world travels. We last said goodbye to him while in Virginia, thinking we wouldn’t see him again, but were pleasantly surprised to cross paths again in Florida. We broke bread at this incredible restaurant, Paul enjoying their French market pasta (with chicken and shrimp) and me enjoying their shrimp and grits. We left that meal absolutely stuffed and still had leftovers for another night!

New Stops

I love visiting religious sites while sightseeing and St. Augustine had two places I was eager to check out. Both are must-stops if you enjoy culture, history, and architecture.

St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine had all the beautiful, rich iconography you’d expect to find in an Orthodox church. This shrine has floor to ceiling paintings, a gift shop, and various historical relics and plaques.

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine is an 18th century Catholic church open on weekdays to visitors. The architecture is impressive, as are the stained glass windows and paintings.