Railroad tycoon Henry Flagler built the hotel for the affluent in his day. But the Ponce de Leon Hotel closed just before World War II to be used as a Coast Guard facility. The building later reopened in 1968 as Flagler College for girls only and began admitting male students in 1970. The dorms are the original hotel rooms, and students use the antique hotel mailboxes.

The Ponce de Leon Hotel was the first building in Florida to be wired with electricity, and Thomas Edison did much of the wiring. The outer walls of the building are made of 5 inches of concrete, which, come to think of it, is what I need in my dining room. Then if anyone tosses a biscuit across the room, we don't have to worry about it creating a hole in the wall.

This is the college and cafeteria that student Megan Saunders invited me to visit. She told me the food is good and the campus is gorgeous. She was right.

Cafeteria Director Jerry Kula and his staff of 60 work hard to bring the students a good lunch every day. On the day of my visit, they were serving grouper (fish), chicken nuggets, mixed veggies, tofu fried rice, green beans, salad and homemade pizza. I had the rice, beans, pizza and salad - and didn't regret a bite of it, especially the homemade pizza cooked in a real pizza oven!

At the time of my visit, Megan was a junior, majoring in English with a creative writing minor. She has aspirations of working at a New York publishing house.

Megan says the best thing about her school, besides the amazing setting, is the close-knit atmosphere. Because it's relatively small, the students quickly get to know everyone.

According to Megan, the average class size is 22 students, but some classes are as small as eight students. Megan belongs to a sign language club on campus called Spirit. Members sign to music for local elementary schools and seasonal shows at the college.

The entire St. Augustine area is rich in history. The oldest schoolhouse in America is located there (no, they didn't make me serve detention) and the oldest home, too. The city is also the site of the legendary Ponce de Leon “Fountain of Youth.” There are walking tours, trolley tours, horse and buggy rides, and a Ripley's Believe It Or Not.

St. Augustine is the oldest city in our nation and is also the site of the Castillo de San Marcos fort, constructed between 1672 and 1695. The fort has a double drawbridge entrance and was used as a defense for the city.

So, have I piqued your interest in visiting Florida? Hope so. And if you get hungry while touring, there are plenty of restaurants. But if you want delicious pizza cooked in a pizza oven at Flagler College, sorry. That's only open to students and guests - and one hungry writer searching the country for the best school cafeteria food in America.