When you visit the city of St Augustine, you see the waters of the Matanzas River, but not the ocean because of all the little islands here. The two big ones are Anastasia Island and Vilano Beach which is more like a peninsula. Walking the beaches around this area is unique as although the sand is light gray, almost white, the ocean side beaches appear yellow. Close examination shows that there is that light colored sand, there is also a layer of finely crushed sea shells on top. The sand is covered with these fragments as well as whole shells. From Vilano Beach, we traveled up A1A to Mickler’s Landing, a beach just south of Jacksonville. Closer to the city, this beach had more people, but other beaches along the way were almost empty. Here the air is fresh, the sound is deafening, the scenery is breath taking, and you never want to leave.