St. Augustine, FL Exit 318: The golden age of piracy is revealed through Pat Croce’s 30-year collection at the Pirate & Treasure Museum. You get to touch the only 400-yr-old authentic pirate chest in the world owned by authentic pirate Thomas Tew of RI, and see if you can spot one of the only Jolly Roger flags still around.
Below deck you can hear the tale of Blackbeard’s demise in NC at the hands of Great Britain’s Lt. Robert Maynard aboard the HMS Pearl – even though Blackbeard carried 6 pistols, a cutlass and a dagger! Find out about the miracle of Andrew Ramsen, whose rope broke when he was hung. The friars considered it a miracle, so the church saved him and he helped build Castillo de San Marcos.
See your favorite Hollywood pirates: one-eyed Willie from Goonies, Johnny Depp’s sword from Pirates of the Caribbean and Errol Flynn’s jacket from Captain Blood.
We learned that dancing the hempen jig means that when a person’s hung, their arms and legs twitch after the body drops. Ugh.
Location: St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum, 12 S. Castillo Drive, St Augustine,FL 32084
Hours: Daily 10 – 8
Tel: 877-GO-PLUNDER (877-467-5863)
www.thepiratemuseum.com