My Birthday and the Fountain of Youth
As we proceeded northward in Florida, my birthday coincided with our arrival at the Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth discovered centuries ago. It is still providing refreshment and that dream (fantasy?) of reclaiming our youth. I was pumped! I imbibed the magic elixir and waited impatiently for my youth to return. Then I was informed that it would take 24 hours. It has been a long 24 hours. Three streams were gushing from the fountain, and I chose the middle one. I think it was the placebo. Canopied streets draped with Spanish Moss (neither Spanish nor moss) ringed the area around the 500-year-old site. Peacocks strolled the grounds and were quite vocal about our trespassing. A demonstration of the cross-bow showed how the Spanish dominated their lands. Explorers used older weaponry during their travels since funds were scarce and these weapons were cheap. They had few cannon and a few powder muskets that were more finic...