ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Travelers are ready to see the sky lit up with fireworks on Thursday as they make their way to Northeast Florida to celebrate the Fourth of July.
Whether it’s finding something to eat or shopping for a souvenir, there were plenty of options for visitors to the nation’s oldest city.
Diane Sandoval was visiting her family this week from California. They beat the rush of traffic and drove from Jacksonville to St. Augustine.
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She said her plane tickets were more expensive compared to the ones purchased during the off-season, but said the $800 cost was well worth it.
“This is just kind of a quick turnaround trip for us. So we’re heading back in a little while. So we did the Ripley’s. We did walking around that area. So now we decided to come this way. I was looking for coffee. And you know, there’s plenty of coffee places here,” Sandoval said.
Some visitors opted to drive instead of fly for their family vacation, including Adam Parks and his family, who drove from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Saturday to beat traffic.
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“Get away from a little bit of the heat, get to the beach and spend the week and the Fourth of July here in St. Augustine, a place that we’ve come to for many years,” Parks said.
Parks said it hadn’t gotten too busy as of Wednesday night.
“We’ve been able to get around, to do a lot. We’ve spent a lot of time at the beach. Beaches haven’t been super crowded. We’ve been able to get out and do a lot of different things. So it’s been a lot of fun weather. It’s been great,” Parks said.
Jessica Driscoll, manager of Peace, Love and Little Donuts, said they have been busy all week.
“Since Friday, we’ve had an influx of people. Definitely had some rushes come in that we haven’t been prepared for,” Driscoll said.
Jenna Pearrow, a barista at Kookaburra Coffee, also was feeling the rush of customers.
“There have most definitely been more people coming in, and we love having people in the shop,” she said.
According to AAA, Sunday is one of the busiest travel days for drivers returning from their holiday vacations.