St. Augustine, Florida

My take on St. Augustine …  

I was expecting St. Augustine to be a quaint old Florida town. Between last Saturday night and St. Patrick’s Day, though, North America’s oldest city was hopping with revelers. My wife and I learned that St. Augustine is actually a popular party town. It’s more like New Orleans than Cape May. 

 

Whether you like to drink alcohol or seltzer water, however, St. Augustine is a very interesting place. Although it’s a city that can be easily explored by foot in a day, a 90-minute trolley bus tour will point out its many attractions and touch upon the city’s 460-year history. Its Spanish origins remain evident in the names of many streets and architecture of some buildings. 

 

There is no shortage of bars, restaurants, cafes, and shops in the area around St. George St. Just like New Orleans is very different from the rest of Louisiana and Cape May is nothing like the rest of New Jersey, St. Augustine seems unlike the rest of Florida. To my wife and me, it was reminiscent of an old Southern city, like parts of Savannah and Charleston and, yes, the French Quarter in New Orleans. We were reminded it is in Florida, though, because one of its best and most popular restaurants, Columbia’s, features a classic Cuban menu, and good Cuban coffee is easily available around the city.

To see a few more photos from St. Augustine, check out my recent Instagram post.

… and Microsoft Copilot’s take on my St. Augustine blog post: 

 

St. Augustine: A Hidden Gem of Festivity and History

“I anticipated St. Augustine to be a quaint old Florida town, steeped in tranquility and history. However, between the lively celebrations of last Saturday night and the exuberance of St. Patrick’s Day, North America’s oldest city revealed itself as a vibrant party hub. My wife and I were pleasantly surprised to discover that St. Augustine is actually a popular destination for revelers, akin to the spirited streets of New Orleans rather than the serene charm of Cape May.

“Whether your drink of choice is a spirited cocktail or refreshing seltzer water, St. Augustine offers an intriguing blend of celebration and history. Although the city can be comfortably explored on foot within a day, a 90-minute trolley bus tour is highly recommended to fully appreciate its myriad attractions and delve into its rich 460-year history. The city's Spanish origins are beautifully preserved in the names of its streets and the architectural splendor of its buildings.

“St. George St. is a bustling area, brimming with bars, restaurants, cafes, and shops, each exuding its unique charm. Much like how New Orleans stands apart from the rest of Louisiana, and Cape May distinguishes itself from New Jersey, St. Augustine seems to exist in a realm of its own, distinct from the rest of Florida. For my wife and me, it evoked the essence of an old Southern city, reminiscent of Savannah, Charleston, and indeed, the French Quarter in New Orleans.

“Yet, reminders of its Floridian roots are never far away. Columbia's, one of the best and most popular restaurants in the city, offers a delectable classic Cuban menu, and the availability of excellent Cuban coffee throughout the city is a delightful perk.

“St. Augustine is a city that seamlessly blends the festive spirit with profound historical significance, offering visitors an experience that is as enriching as it is entertaining. It's a hidden gem waiting to be explored, promising memories that will linger long after the revelry has ended.”

Ray Davies versus the autobiography, part 2

Leave it to Ray Davies to take on an autobiography as a creative challenge.  Twice.

Rather than give his fans a chronological account of facts and anecdotes about his life, the former singer and songwriter of the Kinks has twice chosen a different approach.  Almost 20 years ago, he authored X-Ray, which can be described as a semi-fictional autobiography.  Late last year, he released Americana, which presents the British star's experience in the United States.  Of course, they are both great reads.

In Americana, Davies explains the influence US music and films had on his artistic development as a child in suburban London.  He goes on to describe the Kinks first US tour in 1965, on the heels of the British Invasion, and their comeback tour in the fall of 1969.  Comeback from what, you might ask, since the Kinks continued recording and releasing good music in the intervening years?

Davies' mind, now almost 70 years old, isn't quite so sharp on this point.  At various points in Americana, he writes he doesn't know why the Kinks were banned from performing in the US for four years in the late 1960s.  Near the end of the book, however, he indicates it was probably because of an issue with a concert promoter.

Davies goes on to describe how important the US music market was for the Kinks as the band continued evolving during the 1970s, switching labels and management and, by the 1980s, playing venues as large as Madison Square Garden.  He recalls forcing Bill Graham to keep his word when the Kinks took the stage in front of hundreds of thousands of people at the US Festival in San Bernardino in 1982.

Davies also writes with pride about being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and playing at its inaugural concert at Cleveland Stadium in 1995 -- which turned out to be the final Kinks concert in the US.  Davies did return as a solo performer 10 years later, reading excerpts from his X-Ray autobiography and playing stripped-down versions of Kinks songs.  I was fortunate to catch him at the McCarter Theater in Princeton in 1997.

A significant part of Americana, however, centers around New Orleans.  Specifically, Davies writes much about his experiences in this unique US city, including the shooting which almost ended his life in January of 2004.  It's these passages about New Orleans, which break up the chronological order in which he presents his American experience, which are the most telling.  They're a ray of light into his mind and soul, with a poignancy about his life, the muse he followed, the ambitions he harbored, the relationships he valued, not stated elsewhere in his writings, but understood and appreciated by Davies' fans.  He also provides new insights into the unique lure of New Orleans.

Reading Americana had me thinking about the times I saw the Kinks in concert.  In late July of 1979, they played a great show at the Asbury Park Convention Hall, a venue for a 1977 performance Davies describes "like playing Southend-on-Sea at an English seaside resort.  Great audience; say no more.”

In July of 1987, the Kinks played one of the last concerts at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey, located in a part of town in which one or two old movie theaters screened pornography, which was also accessible from surrounding shops.  Davies introduced a new Kinks song, "Welcome to Sleazy Town," by alluding to these facts.

Having played at the Capitol Theatre at least five other times since 1972, I'm sure Davies was familiar with Passaic, where I also saw Elvis Costello, the Ramones, Patti Smith Group, the Who, Joe Jackson, the Clash, Pretenders, Adam and the Ants, Missing Persons, the Thompson Twins, REM and others.  British or American, it's questionable if anyone from these acts can write about their experiences on these shores like Ray Davies -- who has inspired many of them in the nearly 50 years since the Kinks first landed at Kennedy Airport.

Will Davies ever pen a conventional autobiography?  If so, would it be as interesting as X-Ray or Americana?  A definite maybe...you really got me...he's one to give the people what they want...not just a face in the crowd...but already a well respected man...one of the survivors...a 20th century man...killing time...hoping for better things...as his life goes on.

New Orleans: characters welcome

There are probably more characters per capita in New Orleans than any other American city, even New York. With almost a third of its population gone since the devastation from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans’ characters seem more visible these days. This appears to further add to the unique character of this special American city.

There was the man with the full white beard, sunglasses, red hat, Hawaiian shirt, red shorts, and red hi-top shoes who slowly but merrily made his way up Bourbon Street one evening, not to be outdone by another overweight man who wore nothing more than a genie- or showgirl-type costume while dancing to recorded music a few blocks away on Bourbon Street.

Then there was Ann, who led a demonstration at the New Orleans School of Cooking while entertaining tourists with her take on the city’s history and quirks, including accents of inhabitants like the woman behind the desk at Le Richelieu, who sounded if she spent a lot of time in both Louisiana and Brooklyn.

Other interesting workers included a tour bus driver, who remarked, “It’s a long way from New Jersey. Y’all here on that witness protection program?” The swamp tour guide discussed changes on the bayou before and after Katrina, and said, “Bubba Gump is the only New Orleans restaurant that doesn’t serve gulf shrimp.” There was the highly educated and very talkative waitress at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, and the warm and cheery man at the entrance to Pat O’Brien’s with a name tag that appropriately read “Love.”

Of course, there were many and varied entertainers in Jackson Square and on Bourbon and Royal Streets, including a violin and guitar duo who segued seamlessly from Bob Marley’s “Could You Be Loved” to Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven.” The next day, they were joined by a vocalist on “Summertime.” Even some of the many young people walking around with pit bulls stopped to listen.

All kinds of interesting men seem to spend time on the streets, from the very kind old gentleman in the Garden District who stopped to talk with two middle-age tourists and voluntarily pointed out the Manning family home, to the bicyclist riding down Chartres Street one night cheerily singing “Don’t know much about history…” to Heath, the word busker on Frenchmen Street who recited the following poem he wrote on a manual typewriter in less than 15 minutes:

DISNEYLAND FOR ADULTS

The Swamp tour ran into
The haunted vampire tour
Its bus lateral, sidewalk careening
Into the enebriated crowd

blindly following
some gothic guy
his red, satin cloak
covering his pimply face
as plastic, hand grenade containers
explode into air
and the loudspeaker on the bus
shouts out
“To the left, how about them vampire,
swamp gators?”

People stare, looking through –
Steamly cracked windows
for viewers of the cypress swamp.

New Orleans remains a city with many characters, and a lot of character. It’s been that way for almost 300 years, through French rule, Spanish rule, French control again and, after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, under US control. Through all the change and turmoil over the years, its music, food, drink and architecture have remained unique among American cities. So has its diverse mix of people, who continue to give the city its own very special character.

To see more photos of the people and places Charley saw while on vacation in New Orleans recently, click the link below.

Kodak Gallery: Charles's Gallery