St. Simons Island

 Wow,



 Wow,



 As the preacher would say,"can I get an AMEN"


 Any picture on the cover of Southern Living, or any other magazine, about this place, is a lame attempt. Stunningly beautiful is all I can say. I nearly bought a GoPro video camera before this trip. If I had, and then mounted to windshield of Jeep, you might begin to understand the beauty of this place. The many pictures i took, and the few I will post, fall well short of capturing the beauty and feeling we saw and had today.

  Let us start at the lighthouse as we did. Not something one see's in north Texas. Nice museum depicting the history of the lighthouse and the life of the keepers.

 And something personal here. The first of April of this year Mary could not go up 3 steps without being in pain. One surgery and six months later Mary did all 129 steps to the top!

YOU GO GIRL!!!!

 After lunch in the historic downtown area (more on that later), we went to another museum

 The building is an old Coast Guard Station with a lookout tower on top that you see above. Yep, there goes that girl again!!

 We learned that Georgia sits farther back from continental shelf than the Carolina's. This means the water very gradually gets deeper and makes for wider beaches and higher tides. Not quite like Destin, but very acceptable.

 I told you no forts this time. Well I was truthful to a point as very little remains of the fort. Archaeologist have unearthed and documented the town associated with it. Read more about it HERE

 It only existed from 1732 to 1749 but they were able to piece together a pretty full picture of the town and able to identify the structures use.

 Think of the deep south and you might think of majestic live oaks and Spanish moss. How about moss hanging down 5 to 6 feet? A couple of my feeble attempts...

 One unexpected find on our way to Fort Frederica was this memorial. We are Methodist, Mary far more so than I, so this hit home.

 And now back to lunch. Mary had crab cakes AGAIN. Girl is eating what she can't get back home. I have been enjoying shrimp, kinda feel like Bubba Gump. And no, not shrimp the size of your little finger like back home. I am talking as big as your thumb with little to no batter. But I digress so back to lunch. Mary being Mary she just had to have this chocolate/fudgy/cakey thing with home made whip cream on top. Oh my word! We started this trip trying to eat good so we would not gain a hundred pounds. At this rate we will be driving home naked as our clothes will not fit.

Georgia, Georgia...

 ...Just and old sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind...

 Ah sing it Ray..

 At any rate, after entering Florida on Labor Day, September 7th we have moved to Georgia. Enjoyed our stay in Florida and have many memories to take with us. Completed my quest to find graves of relatives. Ate some great food, met some new friends. Nearly bought a new coach, looked at houses in 55+  (for us old people) gated communities (thanks, but no thanks). Saw places we will never return to, and saw places we plan to return to as often as possible. We loved Amelia Island and plan to return next year. If they had full hook ups it would be perfect.

 We are on Jekyl island in a rain storm as I type this. This campground will provide what we need, but return visit will not happen. A commercial type camp which means too many people too close together. Only two nights so no big deal. We have had a great run of good weather so a little shower not so bad.

 Google Earth, show the folks where we be!

 Why here you might be asking yourself. Well Mary and I spent too much time watching HGTV programs, one of which was/is Beachfront property. Or something like that anyway. Several segments featured St. Simons Island which you see just north of Jekyl. No campground there so got as close as I could. Has what appears to be a neat area around lighthouse...but that is for tomorrow. And guess what we don't have here...that's correct no forts this time.


 Well the rain quit so we got out for a few photos of the area. Beautiful oak trees cover these islands and make for wonderful setting.

 Ever wonder what happens when these trees loose their fight against time, wind and sea?  Well around here they come to this beach, known as driftwood beach. Tide and wind was up so not the best photo

 And I have a job opening I need to fill. Looking for a model to pose for pictures. Year model not important, pleasant disposition is. Current model started acting silly...

 St Simons Island tomorrow. Watched multiple private jets landing today. Give you some idea of the demographics?

Amelia Island

We leave you today with few words and mainly pictures. My poor efforts do not do the place justice, but I tried.

sea turtle, I was a little late and it ducked it's head

 Good night from Amelia Island, a place we shall return to.

Fort Clinch

 What, another fort? Well if you are going be on barrier islands, there are bound to be forts. Besides I promised you all (y'all) a history trip.

 If we are staying at Fort Clinch state park, there must be a fort somewhere around. Not as old as Castillo de San Marcus but civil war era mainly. Nice additional displays involved and they do living history enactments every month.

 Yes, Mary was cold. Up till last night we have been in shorts and flip flops, and endless summer. Well combine temps in low 60's with 20 mph winds from off shore and we were digging out the stored jackets.


 This next photo is of Cumberland Island which is just across the channel from us. It is mainly national seashore with restricted access. The other part of it is owned by the Carnegie family. Yes, those Carnegie's.

 Now, as Paul Harvey used to say, for the rest of the story. To the left of this picture you can follow the St.Mary river and part of the inter-coastal canal. There you will find the Kings Bay Naval base. That base supports the OHIO class nuclear submarine fleet. Those subs pass thru this channel heading out to defend us. None passed as we were there unfortunately, would have made a hell of a photo.

 The town of Fernandia has existed since well before the fort. They have done a good job of preserving the historic downtown area. A very charming area full of shops and restaurants.

 Speaking of restaurants...I utilize trip advisor to help me find interesting, yet affordable, places to dine. Our rule while traveling is no meals at chain restaurants that are available back home. Well you would never believe what is the top rated restaurant in Fernandia...

 No, it was not for lunch or dinner but we did stop in...

 How could you possibly resist that much temptation???

 Easy answer, you simply can't

 When the britches don't fit it will be because I washed them in hot water!!!


 Remember awhile back when Mary was attacked by a shark? Well it happened again.

 She told me "we are going to need a bigger boat!"...so I bought her a bigger boat

While waiting for sunset looking over the Amelia river, a magical thing happened. Not 20 feet from shore a pod of dolphins came by, not once but twice, feeding in the currents. Sailors thought dolphins brought protection and good luck. We were already smitten with this area, that episode was just cream on top.

 Tomorrow we travel down to southern end of Amelia. It is where the rich people stay. Maybe we can get in and out before they catch us!

Moving on up...

 No, we are not the Jefferson's, and instead of the east side it is the east coast. (Never watched the show but theme song stuck in my head...)


 At any rate we are now on Amelia Island, NE corner of Florida. This the first of 4 barrier or sea islands we will call home.I captured this photo from the web to show what I mean.

 Google Earth will provide us with an overhead view.

 Well, we wanted big oaks covered in moss...well we got them. Some anxious moments driving in as they are low in places, low enough to damage RV.

 Our home for next 3 nights.

 So far, so good on our new transportation.

 History lesson and sight seeing for tomorrow.


 While we are enjoying our trip, our thoughts are never far from friends and family. Dan's struggle with recovery from chemo treatment. JD's recovery from a rough late summer/early fall bout with medical issues. And always think of Matt and Marissa as they cope with stroke survival and all that means. Her blog can be found HERE