Outdoor Wednesday: The Bridge of Lions and Publix #1000

Today is Outdoor Wednesday at my friend Susan's blog, A Southern Daydreamer, and I have some pictures of the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine that I'd like to share with you. The bridge is currently under major restoration (the original bridge pictured here is currently torn apart in an effort to rebuild it while a temporary bridge is ferrying motorists and pedestrians), but here's a pre-restoration shot I showed you a few weeks ago. If you look closely, you will notice the towers toward the center of the bridge...



And if you look at this next shot, you'll see the towers replicated when Publix opened its 1000th store. This historic store just so happens to be located in historic St. Augustine....



You can see the towers better in this next shot...



And in this shot. One of the neatest things Publix did, among many, was to build this huge display of the Bridge of Lions...



They also spelled out 1000 in apples and oranges, and I thought this was very creative...



They even had a replica of the sea wall that is executed in cinder block as seen above and resembles the roughness of the original sea wall's coquina block as seen in this shot taken from the water...



And they placed a replica lion on either end, complete with one paw on a ball...



To resemble the original lions who are placed there in honor of Florida's founder, Juan Ponce de Leon, with leon referring to the word "lion"...



Here's another shot of a boat preparing to hoist sail and go under the Bridge of Lions which just so happens to be a drawbridge...



And here is Publix's version of the same (with sail hoisted). Notice the blue waves of the water in the bay...



On the top of the bridge is Mr. George Jenkins, the founder of Publix and a great philanthropist. His commitment to excellence involving his customers, his products, his employees, and the communities that Publix serves is still felt today, and I'm sure he is smiling down from Heaven on his 1000th store opening. Congratulations, Mr. George, on this fine accomplishment. The Ancient City is proud to be the home to the historic 1000th Publix store, and we hope to be home to the 2000th store as well! Shopping at Publix is such a pleasure! :-)



That's my Outdoor Wednesday offering (that brought us indoors as well), and I thank you for visiting me here today. Please join our lovely hostess Susan and a host of other people who have wonderful posts to share with you today by going here. I can't wait to see what everyone has to offer, and everyone includes YOU! :-)



Here's wishing you smooth sailing throughout the rest of the week...


Quintessentially,


Mrs. Magpie (Sheila)