Riverside Rest.

St. Augustine Overnighter September 17, 2011

Photos courtesy of Deniece and Luke Bonofiglio, Shelia Kauffman, Phil and Bea Raskin, Barbara and Jerry Lindley.

Story courtesy of Deniece Bonofiglio.

Well, what a fantastic weekend it was! After literally eating and running after the LOH breakfast, we throttled to Fletcher's South to meet 30 some Chapter members to embark on the ride to St. Augustine! The group was split into two, one led by our Director Ed and the other led by our Head Road Captain Luke. We took two different routes so as not to have to wait in the line at the same comfort stops! Brilliant idea! We were all SO LOVED all the way there and back by the infamous, seasonal love bugs! We were a little pressed for time so the thought did cross our minds to ride with our mouths open and not have to stop for lunch! NOT! Calling this "The Juicy Bug Tour" is appropriate though! Nevertheless, it was a great ride and the two groups did meet up with each other (a few times) during the ride. We did stop for lunch at the Speckled Butterbean which is homemade and very good. (Just don't ask for extra silverware)! We set out all together after the restaurant and the two groups went in different directions. We managed to meet up not far from our destination and we dominated both lanes of the road! It was awesome! We made it to the Hotel and scrambled to the Columbia for Dinner. Some of us had the infamous 1905 Salad and of course I had to try their famous Sangria as I had heard it was the best! And yes it was! After dinner we made our way to the Ghost Tour Bus and embarked on a historic, narrated tour through the darkness of St. Augustine learning about certain unsettled ghosts. We got to tour inside the Old City Jail where "Charlie" gave us a history lesson about the jail, how he was innocent, but was hanged forever ago anyway! Then there was little Billy, often seen on the swings in the park. If you look close at the center picture second row from the bottom, you will see little Billy's "orb" as he was going to the swing set! Yeah, ok! The only illuminating thing I saw in the dark was Jim Wattam's face as his sunscreen kept the inside of his saddle bag well protected during the ride! I sure hope he's putting lotion on it!

Thanks for a great weekend Ed!