Wandering

I wandered off yesterday in search of a little place in Florida I had never been before – Vilano Beach. I had chatted with a photographer who lived there, and I was curious.

As I drove up A1A North, through St. Augustine, all the familiar names popped out at me...Jungle Hut Road, Surf Road...I passed a couple of new art galleries and old standbys, like the Hammock Hardware Store – which is about as rustic as you get.

As I pulled in to St. Augustine Beach, I had to stop at the Wednesday Farmer's Market. It was too tempting not to. There were propagated orchids for only $8, and lots of fresh, local produce. Not to mention my beloved boiled peanuts. I ended up with radishes to munch on and some Silver Queen corn for dinner.

Vilano Beach was a surprise. It's located on a little barrier island just north of St. Augustine. It's not very active, but has a retro feel to it, with fairly new town improvements, such as mosaics, street signs and recycled glass pathways, all in bright turquoise, pink and green. It looked very South Beach, Miami to me. There just didn't seem to be any people milling around, so it looked a little depressing. The public pier crawls out into the water, and there's a quasi-marina there, but not much activity there either. I rolled around the residential areas, and fell in love with the architecture. Almost all the houses are retro – very 50s and 60s. There are some older wood frame ones that date back to the 30s.

The beach is gorgeous. There are two public accesses that I found, and both had ample parking and a wood boardwalk. In the dead center of town, there is one of the fanciest Hampton Inns I have ever seen, with giant concrete lions and a fountain out front.

This is one of those Florida towns that begs to be explored. I'm sure there's something deeper than what I saw on the surface here. Stay tuned. Maybe I'll find it.