Florida's First Coast (called because it was first to be "discovered" by Europeans) was also the first part of Florida to which I was introduced, since I moved to St. Augustine from Vermont in 1961. Also known as Florida's Atlantic coast, it is known for its stretches of white sand beaches, as well as Cape Kennedy and St. Augustine, the oldest continuously-settled city in the continental United States.

Dedication of the Prince of Peace Memorial

By: Paul S Cilwa	Occurred: 9/5/1965 Posted: 1/11/2016		Page Views: 1,451
Hashtags: #MissiondeNombredeDios #Florida #PrinceofPeaceMemorial #StAugustine
Estimated reading time: 1 minute(s) (192 words)

In 1965, St. Augustine, Florida, celebrated the 500th birthday of its founding. As part of that celebration, the Mission de Nombre de Dios, site of the first Mass said in what is now the continental United States, erected a giant 200-foot cross and built a new chapel, the Prince of Peace Memorial. My Catholic high school choir sang at its dedication, and I took the opportunity to take photos.

Anastasia Island Jungle

By: Paul S Cilwa	Occurred: 7/1/1967 Posted: 11/1/2015		Page Views: 1,721
Hashtags: #Photography #Florida
Photos I took during my explorations of the wilderness near my home in St. Augustine Beach.
Estimated reading time: 2 minute(s) (382 words)

In 1967, I lived in a brand-new home on St. Augustine Beach, in a community called Coquina Gables. This development had been superimposed on a system of streets that had been laid in the late 1920s, before the Great Depression put a stop to silly things like investments. But those old streets provided access to the Florida scrub jungle, and my sisters and friends and I spent many summer days—when we weren't at the beach, itself—playing in the woods.

Jacksonville International Airport

By: Paul S Cilwa	Posted: 7/2/2007		Page Views: 1,151
Hashtags: #Photography #DorothyWeemsBrown #Florida
The time I visited Jacksonville International Airport in 1970, when it was new.
Estimated reading time: 3 minute(s) (656 words)

By 1970 the urge to fly was so commonplace that even my grandmother, Dorothy Weems Brown, was ready to go. She had been thinking of taking a trip to New Jersey to visit her friends up there but a journey by train/bus/car seemed just too tedious to consider. Now there was the opportunity to go by air, and no reason not to.

Castillo de San Marcus

By: Paul S Cilwa	Posted: 3/19/2010		Page Views: 1,090
Hashtags: #CastillodeSanMarcus #StAugustine #Florida #Photography
Let's take a time trip back to 1975 and open the photo album to look at my kids cavorting in St. Augustine's 'Old Fort'.
Estimated reading time: 3 minute(s) (618 words)

By 1975 my then-wife Mary and I had moved back to our hometown of St. Augustine. With two little girls and another on the way, I felt it was important to get pictures of them. I knew from experience that it's easy to intend to take "lots of photographs" but to never get around to actually doing it. And kids never get younger. So I made an effort to create "photo ops" in which we would dress the kids up, take them to some visually interesting place, and then take pictures of them as we let them wander around exploring.

1994: St. Joseph Academy Class of '69 25th Reunion

By: Paul S Cilwa	Posted: 7/21/2007		Page Views: 1,117
Hashtags: #StJosephAcademy
All about my 25th high school reunion.
Estimated reading time: 7 minute(s) (1497 words)

In 1994, shortly after the finalization of my divorce, I was invited to my 25th high school class reunion. So was my ex-wife, Mary, who graduated with me. It was a small class in a small school, with only about 40 students; and the fact that Mary was going to be there potentially made it a bit awkward. But, I thought, what the heck—I hadn't been popular in high school, anyway.

A Day In St. Augustine

By: Paul S Cilwa	Occurred: 2/8/2009		Page Views: 1,135
Hashtags: #StAugustine #Florida #Travel #Photography
All about my very short visit to my old home town.
Estimated reading time: 11 minute(s) (2416 words)

This month's trip, just completed, was to St. Augustine, Florida, where I grew up. Unlike several previous trips, this one went without a hitch. Which means my story about it may be less fascinating! But I do have pictures.