07 May 2014
St. Augustine, FL

Terri has arrived (!) which means the time has really begun to start checking things out. We decide that part of this activity will be done via the Old Town Trolley.

Now this is a trolley that Gina decided we should ride yesterday, kicking off our 3-day trolley passes. No matter that she decided we should get on it during the hottest part of the day, also known as the best time of day to be napping instead of outdoors, placing an automatic strike against it. And no matter that we were borderline undecided about whether or not the trolley was worth the 3-block bumpy ride that it seemed to repeat over and over and over again, with each time it went around pointing out a different sight that really, you’d already seen the previous time around only you weren’t supposed to be focusing on it during that go ’round because the trolley guy was talking about the building across the street that you’d seen the time around before that, and that you could have walked to faster than sitting in trolley traffic on the trolley. Dammit, we were going to ride that Old Town Trolley again with Terri onboard proudly displaying yesterday’s payment sticker even if it killed us. Which it didn’t, although there were moments when keeling over could have been a nice respite from listening to Gina complain about the trolley.

But really, I exaggerate a little, as we did get some good historical information out of the trolley driver. For example, the magnificently beautiful and exclusive Ponce de Leon Hotel that was built by the millionaire Henry Flagler back in 1888 (now converted into Flagler College) originally sported nightly room rental rates of $90. Seems reasonable until the economists inform you that converted to today’s dollars, those rooms would rent for $2,000 per night. What I really want to know from those same economists is if my $29 trolley ticket can be converted back to actual cash in my pocket.