As Route 17 meanders across the state line and eventually into Jacksonville, Florida, it joins FL 211 at Riverside Avenue, at the edge of the popular Riverside Avondale Historic District.

The neighborhood – which boasts one of the most diverse collections of historical residential architecture in Florida – is filled with antique shops, boutiques, and inns. One of the city's most inviting B&Bs, The Inn at Oak Street (structure c.1902) sits on a corner within walking distance of a mini shopping mall, any number of chic restaurants, and the prestigious Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens.

At the Cummer, visitors can view Thomas Moran's "Ponce de Leon in Florida" and one of the foremost collections of Meissen porcelain in the world. Outside, statuary, arbors and fountains can be found under the branches of the Cummer oak, estimated to be nearly 300 years old. The tree's limb span exceeds 175 feet, and it is nearly 75 feet high.

Riverside Avenue also leads to the downtown area and Jacksonville Landing, a shopping, dining, and entertainment center on the north shore of the St. Johns River. It's easy to spend a half a day at the Landing. For the other half? Hop a water taxi to the other side for an afternoon along the Southbank Riverwalk where Friendship Fountain, the Museum of Science and History, and the Jacksonville Maritime Museum can be found.

St. Augustine isn't far from Jacksonville. With Jacksonville's Main Street Bridge connecting to US 95, it is possible to include one location as a day trip from the other.

There is so much to see in St. Augustine, visitors are encouraged to take a trolley tour. They can hop off for a closer look at the Lightner Museum, the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum, or Flagler College. Flagler College was once the Hotel Ponce de Leon, the hotel that put St. Augustine on the map in the late 1800s.

Visitors can tour landmarks of the city on a sightseeing cruise: St. Augustine Lighthouse, Castillo de San Marcos built in 1695, the site of Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles landing in 1565, the Bridge of Lions, and other sites that hug the water's edge. On foot, there's even more to explore in the Colonial Spanish Quarter or at Old St. Augustine Village. While St. George Street anchors the downtown shopping area, antique lovers haunt the Uptown District where the number of shops, rare book stores, and restaurants is growing.

A short drive to World Golf Village lets everyone get into the game of golf at the World Golf Hall of Fame. The Hall takes visitors on a journey from golf's infancy to present day through dozens of exhibits and an IMAX theater.

On the way to the beach, stop at Whetstone Chocolate Factory for a self-guided tour that includes a video, a walk through the factory, and a tasty sample of chocolate. You'll learn, for example, that chocolate makers never wear scent. Perfume or cologne attaches itself to chocolate and affects its flavor.

Every day is eventful in the St. Augustine area with more than 50 celebrations staged each year. Reenactments are particularly popular, so it is common to see residents of the nation's oldest city dressed in a style of a bygone era. The 11-block, pedestrian-only historic district is dotted with specialty shops and restaurants. The district lies alongside St. Augustine's town square where, like other stops along the Intracoastal Waterway, great limbs of centuries old, live oak trees provide a shady respite for residents and tourists alike.