Last weekend, my father and I drove south of St. Augustine and St. Augustine Beach for our next exploratory trip. This time we ended up on Anastasia Island just south of St. Augustine Beach. Here you’ll find Marineland, a once-thriving marine park where dolphins performed for awe-struck visitors. Like many marine parks, Marineland stopped functioning as an entertainment aqua park and exists today as an educational center.

While we didn’t go into Marineland, we drove through it and saw the entrance. Our main targets on this trip were Washington Oaks Gardens and the coquina beaches across the road. Washington Oaks Gardens dates back to the 18th century and, after passing through several hands, eventually landed under Florida State Parks’ control after its last owner handed the land to them for free.

Today the park charges just $5 to enter and features beautiful landscaping and gardens. Within you’ll find a greenhouse; rose garden; gazebo with fountains; and the old winter home of the last family, built in the 1930s. I even got some inspiration for my own garden on the types of native Floridian plants. The winter home sits a few steps from the Intracoastal, offering beautiful views of small islands and passing boats. Open to visitors, the home features information stands detailing the land’s history, starting with the Timucua natives and ending with it opening as a state park.

After a few hours walking in the park, we got back into the car and ventured just a mile up the road to a public access site to the beach. When you walk on the coast here, you almost forget you’re in Florida, mainly because you see rock outcroppings scattered across the sand and trailing into the sea. These are coquina rocks, a blend of sand and shells that formed this sturdy material, the same material that makes up Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine. A lovely day, we passed many families and beachgoers playing in the sand, water and tide pools formed by the exposed coquina.

We didn’t expect to be hungry when we headed home, but we were, and given that, a one-hour drive was just too far given how hungry we were. So, with a quick Google search we stumbled upon Viola’s Pizza, Pasta and Seafood, a local restaurant on Anastasia Island. This restaurant sits in a former house, and it was intimate and cozy. I quickly realized I made a good choice when I saw many diners and cars present.

We both ordered the bang bang tacos; I got the blackened mahi mahi tacos while my dad got the shrimp ones. Both came with a fresh mango, pineapple and pepper slaw; a tangy sauce; and greens. We were blown away with the freshness and bursting flavor of the food, not to mention the price of it was almost too good to be true. While every seaside restaurant has no excuse serving frozen seafood, this restaurant perfected the craft. My fish was flaky, delicate and full of a smoked flavor that was balanced by the freshness and acidity of the slaw. Should I ever venture back to Anastasia Island, I will undoubtedly come here again.

— Aoife O’Riordan, associate editor