Blueberry Pie at the Pine Country Restaurant, Williams, AZ
Anybody who knows me, knows I love pie– especially fresh fruit pies. Well friends, I finally did it. I ordered a piece of pie for breakfast.
I was sipping a mug of coffee in Williams, Arizona, while waiting for the train–specifically the Grand Canyon Railway that would transport me to the Grand Canyon. It’s an understatement to say I was beyond excited. I was giddy and needed a truly grand breakfast. So, as luck would have it, I happened to be in the Pine Country Restaurant, home of world-famous pies.Their motto reads: Everyone should have a little pie in the pines and I agreed.
People are as fascinated with sea turtles but the adult turtles and young hatchlings get disoriented by white light during nesting or egg laying season. The plight of the sea turtle is precarious, since nesting females could abandon a nest site before laying her eggs. And hatchlings instinctively head toward the beckoning flashlights of curious onlookers rather than heading for the safety of the ocean.
Dangle a visit to the Fountain of Youth in front of any woman my age and they’ll dance visions of laser treatments, Botox or wrinkle fillers in their heads. As luck would have it, the true Fountain of Youth, discovered by Ponce de Leon, exists in nearby St. Augustine,Florida. Why I’ve never visited defies explanation as my crow’s feet, furrowed brows and sagging chin beg for help.
I arrived one Saturday morning and found the parking lot bustling with cars, buses and tourists exiting a sightseeing trolley. The 15-acre site rests adjacent the Mantaza’s Inlet–just a stone’s throw from downtown and the city’s crowning glory, Castillo de San Marcos National Monument or simply ‘the fort’.
Native Timucuan diorama
I meandered into the Spring House, a throwback to circa-1957 roadside attractions of early tourism, featuring life-size dioramas. These, I might add, haven’t benefited from a dusting in over 20 years. But, in an innocent way, the Old Florida icons are charming. I felt I was stepping back to a childhood museum visit, so heck; I was already I feeling younger.
I was also enthralled by a little 5-year-old boy who endlessly barraged his parents with questions. “What are those guys doing? What kind of pants are they wearing,” he asked. His Mom attempted to explain, reading from the sign telling of the 1565 Spanish landing. “But why,” he countered, that nightmarish question delivered over and over from a curious mind.
I stayed back and eavesdropped, and then we all proceeded toward the building’s piece d’resistance–a hole in the floor–revealing a stone shaft with a laconic spring bubbling at about as much intensity as a pneumonia patient. Visitors are invited to partake the wondrous water from paper cups placed on a counter. Forget sipping, I gulped two glasses in hopes of some youthful benefit.
The Fountain of Youth
While Ponce de Leon thought he had discovered the source of longevity or everlasting life; I was seeking to erase a few signs of aging. If this is the Fountain of Youth, who knows what might be emulsified in the ionic liquid.
However, feeling far from a frog turning into a princess, I wandered on to investigate the rest of the archeological site. While the attraction doesn’t rank as a world-class museum, the grounds prove interesting enough and educational. A makeshift Timucuan village had been constructed in one corner, a two-story 3-D globe presentation explains the Spanish explorations and a statue of Ponce de Leon proudly stands near the river’s edge.
Firing the canon
Two costumed re-enactors demonstrate the firing of an old canon every hour. Kids love this, but it was here I found a treasure–Carlos, a strappingly handsome Spaniard whose looks stole my heart.
