Arrival ~ the start ~ many nice captures to come in the next hour
SUNRISE ~ Villano Beach ~ Saint Augustine, Florida U.S.A.
First Light ~ Sunrise drama at the Inlet ~ Hot Summer 2018
Northern Florida ~ 4th of July Holiday ~ Treasure Coast
(three more photos 'from this morning' in the comments)
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Ponce de Leon claimed Florida for Spain in 1513. (Christopher Columbus discovered North America in 1492 but actually landed in the Bahamas). Other Spanish explorers later found gold and silver in Mexico and Peru. The treasure was sent back to Spain in ships sailing in the Gulf Stream. Spanish settlements needed to be built in Florida to protect the Spanish Treasure fleets. King Phillip II of Spain sent Pedro Menendez to settle in Florida and drive out French garrisons recently established there. In September 1565, Pedro Menendez with 700 soldiers and colonists landed here and founded St. Augustine making it the oldest continually occupied European settlement in North America ~ Treasure Coast ~ NE Florida ~ Saint Augustine Inlet
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._augustine_florida
[ this time-lapse sunrise is best-viewed in
slide-show mode: click arrow upper/right ]
flic.kr/s /aHsmkP7f8A 