St Augustine Florida Nights Of Lights 2021

I arrived in St Augustine FL on November 29.

I’m staying at Stagecoach RV Park – one of several favorite campgrounds in the St Augustine area.

Finally Relaxing!?!

My time in St Augustine has been busy (fun-busy) but I noticed something strange.

I’ve been able to relax.

This is the first time I’ve felt relaxed since I got back on the road just over a year ago (back in October 2020).

I have no idea why I suddenly chilled-out but it’s a great feeling.

St Augustine Nights Of Lights

The St Augustine Nights Of Lights is a free, popular attraction this time of year.

I drove down town to check out the lights but it was was SUPER-DUPER-POOPER-SCOOPER busy as heck!!

In years gone by, it’s always busy but this year it was just nuts.

There was no where to park, traffic was backed up and, these days, more people tend to be impatient and unforgiving.

Where There’s A Will There’s A Way

Back at the campground, I was bummed about not being able to enjoy the Nights of Lights.

There had to be another way.

Most downtown business Owner’s leave their Christmas-Holiday lights on all night (even after they close their business for the night).

I crossed into the Eastern Time Zone a couple weeks ago and I still haven’t adjusted. This means I wake up around 5 or 6am instead of 6 or 7am.

So, one morning – when I woke up around 5am, I drove to Avenida Menendez street in downtown St Augustine to see what I could see!

There was very little traffic.

I pulled in to a front row parking spot to admire the lights for as long as I wanted and, of course, get some pictures.

I’ve been learning how to take better pictures with my phone camera better but my night time photo taking skills still need some work.

After tweaking the settings on my phone, the pictures came out a little better than prior attempts.

It was nice to be able to view the lights in peace.

There was no heavy traffic (and no exhaust fumes to deal with).

There were no crowds of people (and no perfume and other toxic-to-me stuff to deal with).

I also didn’t have to deal with rude people!

If you use Google maps, here’s a link to check out Avenida Menendez Street during the day.

Running Errands

After the sun came up, I wasn’t ready to go back home.

I needed groceries so… off to Publix (supermarket) I went.

On The Way Back Home

The Publix I went to is on Anastasia Island. The only way back to the campground was to cross the Bridge of Lion’s and drive back through downtown St Augustine.

Crossing the Bridge of Lion’s I get a wide angle view of Avenida Menendez St.

The buildings on the right side of the picture are the same buildings that were lit up in the pictures above.

From Avenida Menendez St… I turn left on to Castillo Dr.

To my right sits the Castillo Restaurant all decked out for the Holiday’s!

Conveniently located next to the restaurant is the Renaissance Hotel.

The hotel is equally decked out for the Holiday’s!

Parting Thoughts

I’ve been to St Augustine several times but, this time of year, there’s always a sense of excitement.

I’ll be here one more week before heading to Homestead FL to see Nikki and the crew.