Hometown Proud

Everyone knows St. Augustine is a great city to escape to.  We have delish food, beautiful water views, history and fun attractions.  But the best thing going for St. Augustine?  Our people.

Firehouse Subs sponsors a charity tennis tournament every year in Jacksonville.  This year’s Firehouse Subs Men’s Doubles Tournament is this weekend, May 17-19.  Proceeds from this event go to the Public Safety Foundation- huge donors to police, firemen & EMTs.  It’ll be a fun weekend!  I’m especially looking forward to Saturday afternoon’s family time where they have bouncey houses for the kids, local BBQ for everyone & rum punch for the parents {all free!}.

My friends at Firehouse asked if I could put together a Weekend in St. Augustine gift basket for the silent auction.  I want to brag on the local businesses who rushed to help raise money for our first responders just like those emergency personnel would rush to help us any hour of any day:

A huge THANK YOU to:

• Old Town Trolley Tours
• Picasso Art Exhibit tickets were donated by the 450th
• Pub Life Bed & Breakfast Beer {read my Pub Life review}
• Romanza Celtic Heritage Festival {yep, there’s a review on that, too!}
• Spice & Tea Exchange of St. Augustine {here’s my Spice & Tea Exchange review}
• St. Augustine Historic Walking Tours {and, finally, my St Augustine Walking Tours Review}

There is a lot going on here in St. Augustine this weekend (Romanza, for one!) but if you’re headed North to Jacksonville, pop by Firehouse Subs Tennis Tournament at Deerwood Country Club!  See some great tennis matches, support a good cause & bid on the gift baskets… especially the St. Augustine Staycation basket!!

St. Augustine’s Old School Museum

You knew, when I said “St. Augustine’s Old School Museum” in the title of this blog, that we’re talking about an old school building- not old school as in Naughty by Nature’s “Hip Hop Hurray Heeeyyy, hoooo, heeeyyy, hoooo, hip hop hurray, hoooo, haaaaay, hoooo…” or something even more Old School like… well, I don’t know like what because I’m not that old.  {Help me out, Karl?!}

Anyways, this post is about the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse Museum in St. Augustine - a St. Augustine attraction for decades and a nice place to prop up your feet for a bit in the midst of busy tours.

We’re grateful to be able to visit for free.  Several local attractions allow St. Johns County Residents free admission, including the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse Museum.  My kids like to pop in and buzz through these parts of the attraction:

We always have to push the button and listen to the teacher.  Usually two or three times.  At least it’s not six times, one for each kid!  My children have never commented on the stiff movement of the automated teacher or why sometimes the button needs to be pushed 4 times before it works.  They genuinely love the old school facets of this Old School House! {you knew I was going to work that in, didn’t you?!}

Then someone always comments on the kid in the dark time-out room under the stairs.  I usually make some quip about bringing back the good old days in our homeschool & they usually give me the “ohhh, MOM!” bit.

Sometimes predictability is a good thing.  These fond memories of being together as a family are being etched into our lives.

My favorite time of year to walk around the Old Schoolhouse gardens is Christmas.  St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights make the entire city radiant and this property also shines with a little extra Christmas cheer.  Year round, though, I like to find an empty bench and prop my feet up while the kiddos freely explore the old well and statues placed around the enclosed gardens.

Before we leave, we always must ring the bell.  I say “before we leave” because otherwise it’d be tolling the entire time we’re visiting… and that makes for a Mamma headache.  So we save it for the end.

Protip: Save the bell ringing for the end of your visit to the Oldest Schoolhouse Museum!

The Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse Museum is a small attraction.  But it’s a genuine step back in time if you’ll slow down long enough to read the signs, listen to the old school teacher and, hearing the laughter of children on St. George Street outside, imagine all the sweet blessings that have passed through these doors.

Stop & smile at the next kid you see on the street.  He may not smile back but you’ll have made an impression just like the schoolhouse has on my family.

The Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse
14 St. George Street
1-888-653-7245