St. Augustine Ponte Vedra 2008 Travel Planner - (Page 30) long. I have little trouble feeding my eyes at the Surfside Park at Vilano Beach. Surf Station and the Pit Surf Shop give lessons (which I’m too hopeless to try). At Anastasia State Park, surfers put sails to boards and sky even when waves are mild. If you’ve never tried windsurfing, the park’s Salt Run inlet with its protected calmer waters, is an ideal place to learn. Anastasia Watersports can show you how. More experienced sailboarders can access the open ocean and ride the wind and waves along the park’s pristine beaches. Less strenuous, but just as thrilling, is parasailing. I watch as a mom and her two children hang side-by-side in harnesses beneath a smiley-face parachute. Their feet dangle in the air as a boat connected by cables propels them upward giving them a bird’s-eye view of the historic city and beaches. Smile High Parasailing operates from St. Augustine Municipal Marina during spring and summer. I prefer to keep my toes close to the water as I speed across the surf and find Raging Watersports obliging. Having never ridden a Jet Ski before, I’m comforted by their instructions on how to operate the craft, navigate and stay in the channels. Call ahead in winter. Historic Shores I’d always dreamed of climbing to the top of a historic lighthouse, but the opportunity to do so at night was unfathomable until I learned of the St. Augustine Lighthouse’s Dark of the Moon Tour. Mysteries and ghost lore come together with views of the twinkling lights of the historic city to the west and a moonlit beach to the east. Like the mainland sister, the beaches played significant roles in history, and the lighthouse finished in 1874 is only one of the relics. The Fort Matanzas National Monument, completed by the Spanish in 1742 as a fortress against British colonial invasion, can be explored every day of the year except Christmas. In addition to the fort, the park has a mile of beach and nature trails. Jumping forward to the 1920s during times of segregation, the small beach community of Butler Beach was developed as a haven for African-Americans. The now-integrated community honors its founder, Frank Butler, with two parks bearing his name at Anastasia Island. As I look at the beachfront Butler Park East, tips of sea oats sway with the ocean breeze. A fishing craft is launched from a boat ramp on the riverside Butler Park West. Just an average day in a place that’s anything but. 30
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