Great Race 2023 St. Augustine, Florida to Colorado Springs, Colorado

Here we are again, starting another adventure in our 1966 Ford Mustang. As many of you know we call our Mustang Jane. Jane was given her name from the secretary on the TV series, the Beverly Hill Billies.

This year we are starting the Great Race in St Augustine, Florida. We arrived here on Monday to give ourselves a little time to acclimate to the time. Arriving early also gave us the opportunity to see what the oldest city in the United States had to offer.

Before exploring this beautiful golf Mecca, and vacation paradise, we met up with Jane and the crew from McCollister’s Global Shipping. We were excited to see they had made it. Jane sat in a museum in Auburn, Indiana for the past month. The McCollister’s team is fantastic, they were not only in touch with us regularly, they sent pictures of Jane to let us know all was good. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to thank our sponsors, and for a picture with the team that delivered most of the 130 cars participating in this year’s rally.

Thank you McCollister’s for being a sponsor of our team and the Great. You can follow McCollister’s at #mccollistersglobalshipping and Casper #AdventuresofCasperandWendy

After taking care of a few administrative tasks, we ventured into the old part of St. Augustine with our dear friend JeanAnn and Gary. Jean Ann and Gary may have been in every city in the US. Everywhere we go on the Great Race, they know the city, and share the highlights. They gave us the tour of the historic sites in St. Augustine.

Aside from a very interesting and historical past, St Augustine has miles of beautiful beaches. St. Augustine is located on Anastasia island in the Northeastern part of the state. The area like so many southern states is seeing an explosion of development, but still holds on to its Spanish history and roots.

It is maybe best known as the oldest city, but also known for “The Fountain of Youth”. Pounce De Leon was not here for long, but long enough to find the healing powers of the local spring waters. There is a state park where you can still go and drink from the springs.

The buildings downtown show the history of the city with some dating back 455 years. The center piece of the town is the Flagler University in its castle like Spanish architecture. A few blocks away is The Mission Nombre de Dios, the mission was built in 1565. The missionaries were the first to bring Christianity to the new world. On the ocean front still stands Castillo de San Marcos, built in 1695. The fort was originally built of wood and later refortified. The towns people would all stay in the fort, at one point as many as 1500 people.

The World Golf Hall of Fame is located in St. Augustine, and brings people from all over the world who love golf. We happen to be staying at the resort on the campus for the World Hall of Fame. It is a little warm and wet for golf this time of year, but I imagine this place is packed the rest of the year.

Lastly, a few new entries that caught my eye.

I would be remiss if I didn’t thank the people who helped us arrive here. Thank you again McCollister’s. We also send a huge thank you to the team at Mustang Country. We appreciate you working on Jane down to the last minute.

One final note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BRAD!