BudgetTravel

Activities

St. Augustine Alligator Farm (Lauren Keenan)

• Fort Clinch 2601 Atlantic Ave., Fernandina Beach, 904/277-7274, floridastateparks.org/fortclinch, $5, $2 extra for fort

DAY 2
Our first destination is the Fountain of Youth, in St. Augustine. It bills itself as a "national archaeological park"--a tourist trap too irresistible to pass up. (An earlier Google search revealed that there's no proof Ponce de León ever set foot on the grounds. It also yielded a link to a plastic surgery clinic in Tampa.) There's a diorama of Spanish soldiers and a frilly, blue, rolling mechanism meant to resemble ocean waves. In the center of the room is a brown stone well. The guide hands out cups of the famed water, which smells and tastes of sulfur. If you have to drink a lot of this stuff to live forever, forget it.

Further proof of Florida's eccentricity is in Vilano Beach, where there's a medieval-style castle built as a really big work of art. The castle is the turnoff point for Cap's on the Water, a wonderful seafood restaurant where we have an early lunch under some old oak trees that overlook marshland and the Tolomato River.

We then head over to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, where we find parking alongside three school buses. "This place is a zoo," I say, before realizing the pun. Will and Owen don't mind the crowds or the broiling heat. They watch in awe as a staffer entices Maximo, a 15-foot-long crocodile, to leap out of the pool and munch on some rodents.

The St. George Inn is at the north end of St. Augustine's historic district. Rooms are divided among four adorable buildings. Ours has a view of the city gates and the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, a 17th-century fort that protected Spanish, British, and American soldiers--in that order. As Owen naps, Will and I search for irates and then play hide-and-seek at Project SWING Park, a world-class playground. The slides, bridges, and stairs are so intricate that I worry about not being able to find him.

In the early evening, we all walk along St. George Street, lined by 18th-century buildings now home to bars, ice-cream parlors, restaurants, and souvenir shops. There are scores of T-shirts using the word booty in creative ways. Jessica and I consciously avoid pointing out the creepy figure staring out from the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse, a small museum that, thankfully, is closed. Dinner at Crab Grabbers Grill is good, but the meal is even more memorable because both William and Owen behave.

Lodging

• St. George Inn 4 St. George St., St. Augustine, 888/827-5740, stgeorge-inn.com, from $109

Food

• Cap's on the Water 4325 Myrtle St., Vilano Beach, 904/824-8794, capsonthewater.com, fish sandwich $9


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Note: This story was accurate when it was published. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.