Goin' down south

[Dedian]

I'll be in the St. Augustine, FL area June 9-15 for a little vacay - anything going on, anything interesting to see, anyone around to pick with?

Thanks for any info!

Stuart

[donniemac]

Youmissed the folk festival the first weekend of May, the same time as Merlefest(that's where I was). There is a lot to do and see in St. Augustine. The old part of town is pretty interesting (neat buildings with most being shops and some historical/ museum sites - typical Florida as everything has a fee) with the Spanish fort a must see. The first Ripley's Believe It Or Not is in St. Augustine. There is a lot of entertainment with most of it being typical tourist town stuff - pop/country/folk covers with Buffet thrown in. My favorite bar is Tradewinds and I like to eat at Scarlett O'Hara's. SOH's is definately better for food. You won't go wrong with any of the seafood restaurants that are over on the barrier island, Anastasia. Anastasia State park with a wide open beach is worth the visit also if you like beaches.
Don't know where you would find any picking, plenty of places to sit and pick in town. You might get some of the buskers to join in. My experience is that they are friendly and I have seen some bring extra drums etc. for audience participation. As long as you don't want part of the collection there should not be any problems with joining in. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Dedian]

Thanks for the tips donniemac - I probably won't be comfortable enough playing in public ("Listen folks, as I play a 50 bpm version of Sally Goodin!") I've been to most of the historical sites there (My grandma lives there, in World Golf Village), and good food is always a must with her! Don't know if there's anything worthy of visiting in Jacksonville, since that's only an hour away. I might just be busy enough as it is, who knows. Thanks for the info though!

[cutbait2]

go to oldcity.com and look under music news. i like the mill top, i see sam pacetti, an excellent acoustic guitarist is playing there, the Driftwoods are a really fine BG band who will be playing at the Creekside Dinery during your stay, see Gatorbone.com for details, the lead guitarist Lon Williamson also builds a really good mandolin.

[donniemac]

Slimpickins, I need some help. I went to oldcity.com prior to leaving my post and did not find the listings you mentioned. I get down that way 2-3 times a year and would like to have a better idea of what is going on. I went to music and media but do not see listings for either the Milltop or Creekside dinery. I just found it under weekly music news.:)
thanks for the tip.