After enjoying a morning at the hotel pool, we packed up and left Savannah to head to St. Augustine. We’ve visited there before, but again, Molly was pretty little and didn’t have a ton of memories.

Our first stop driving into town was visiting Mission Nombre De Dios and Our Lady of Le Leche Shrine. The shrine is one of my most favorite places in St. Augustine! The grounds are a beautiful place to explore, and I love sitting in the tiny chapel at the shrine. Patrick and I visited there on our babymoon when I was pregnant with Regina. I lifted up many prayers in there for baby Regina!

We love staying at the Casa Monica when we visit St. Augustine, but this time we decided to rent a house from AirBnB so we knew we’d have plenty of space. We found an adorable little cottage with two bedrooms, walking distance to downtown. So we settled into our little house, and then enjoyed dinner at the Columbia. Somehow, the girls have lived in Floriida, 35 minutes from Tampa, and we’ve never taken them to the Columbia! They all loved it!

The girls had a list of places they wanted to visit – first up was Ripley’s Believe It or Not. They LOVED it! We weren’t sure if they’d be bored or not, but they really enjoyed it. They still talk about the things they saw there. I definitely recommend it as a stop if you visit St. Augustine – it’s the perfect cheesetastic tourist trap!

We had a ghost tour booked for St. Augustine, too. After Molly opted out of the one in Savannah, we weren’t sure how she’d feel about this one. But, it was a trolley tour and when we got there to check in, she saw lots of kids younger than her, so she figured it was safe.

The Ghosts and Gravestones tour ended up being our favorite part of the trip. The trolley allows you to visit multiple locations in the city, and it’s immersive. Your trolley driver and guide are actors, taking you through the stories of each stop. This makes the stories come to life!

The girls thought it was hilarious that daddy got scared on the tour! The tour takes you through the wax museum after it has closed. You walk through to the back, where there is a pirate scene. They asked for a volunteer to help tell the story of a pirate, and chose Patrick (who definitely did NOT volunteer!). As the story is being told, a blackhooded figure who was at the back of the scene jumps out. Patrick was not expecting that and the girls thought it was so funny!

The tour also takes you to a cemetery, and the Old Jail. We’ve never visited the Old Jail, and being there after it’s closed is creepy. And then your guide leaves you with a “prisoner” and you’re put in one of the cellblocks. The stories can be a little morbid, but nothing that little ones need to avoid.

We really enjoyed this tour, although the big girls claimed it wasn’t nearly as scary as the Savannah tour. But it was a perfect family-friendly tour!

We love St. Augustine – it’s a fairly quick drive from us, and is full of history, tourist spots, and beauty. But full disclosure, don’t walk down St. George Street in the middle of the day in June – it was so hot I thought the girls were going to melt! Walking around all day in Savannah was lovely, but as soon as we got back to Florida, we were hit with the reality of our Florida summers!