On Sunday, we drove to south Georgia to stay overnight at a place that a bunch of my co-workers recommended. It's a hostel that has a bunch of treehouses in the woods. It was a nice place and we saw something that really blew our minds: they have a bunch of chickens in some open coops, but some of them hang out in trees. Yes - they fly up a few feet and grab onto a limb. Then they hop up to another limb climbing higher. There were about 1/2 a dozen of them in various trees at any given point of time. (My grandparents raised chickens... and this is something that I never have seen. Can't wait to show them the pic that Todd took!) We didn't get a lot of sleep b/c of two roosters that were "broken." They crowed at 1:30, 4:30, 5:15, 5:20, and 5:30. We were supposed to get up at 6:30 so we could pack up and drive the rest of the way (about an hour) to St. Mary's Georgia to catch the ferry over to Cumberland.
It started to rain as we were on the ferry. It began raining harder and harder 'til we were finally over to the island -- where it was a flat out downpour of rain as we were unloading all of our gear. Luckily, they have carts that you can take to your campsite, so we rolled our wet gear to campsite #9 with our "hosts" Dave & Christine and their two children Megan & Miles. Todd & I used to work with Dave; he and his family have been 4 or 5 times previously and know the island very well. We were fortunate that they were willing to share their annual trip with us. We really enjoyed their company.... their insight to the island.... and experiencing their relationship with their children -- who are great kids!
We were not able to rent bikes, so the sites we were able to see were within a 3 - 5 mile range from the campsite. We headed South on the first day & checked out the ruins of the old Carnagie family home. We saw one horse, but didn't stick around long (b/c we got a late start to the day) and headed back to the campsite to build a fire & make dinner. We ended up going back the following morning -- taking a path off of the main road to get there. 
We stayed for several hours, had a picnic lunch on the lawn, watched a group of horses, visited the marsh below the estate, visited the family cemetary, then took a boardwalk through marsh and dunes over to the beach on the east side of the island. We saw the same pack of horses, cranes eating fish in the marsh, and a deer. The island is so full of wildlife (especially of note are the wild horses). The island is partly developed but is mostly preserved. There are old family homes on the northern part of island, but not many. The majority of people on the island are campers or people who take the ferry over for a day trip. (We came over on the Monday morning ferry and there wasn't another 'til Thursday morning - so we saw a number of the same people here and there.) 
The following morning, I went with Dave, Miles, and a neighboring camper (who they've met on previous trips) to watch the sun rise. Later, I went back out to the beach to do yoga. I only saw one person while doing it, so I didn't feel too silly out there. It is AMAZING how peaceful it is there... the only thing you really hear is the beach and the birds. Later, we all hiked to the middle part of the island -- heading north up the beach. We saw another camp site (there are basically 3 "areas" to camp on the island), hung out for awhile in a big field where we saw 16 horses in the distance, and then hiked back down a trail through the woods back south. We didn't see any wildlife on that trip (except armadillos) 'til the very end. 
A small pack of 3 horses crossed our path. They stopped. We stopped. Then they eventually passed. We were always trying to be respectful of them unlike some people we saw on the island who would approach the horses. Dumb move! You just don't know what they'll do -- or if they'll turn. (Dave & his family experienced this on a previous trip -- two packs fighting within feet of him and the fam -- which was pretty scary for them.)
We watched the lunar elipse on the beach that night. It was SO SO dark and we were able to see a zillion stars in the sky once the full eclipse was in effect. (Otherwise, we had a full moon while we were there & you could walk through certain areas without your flashlight). I don't think I've described where we stayed. We were inside a forest of live oaks with twisty branches that often would bend down and touch the ground. Walking from the dunes -- you'd enter into this cave-like hole to get into the forest. It looked creepy from the outside, but was very cool on the inside. 
The following morning, Todd & I went to watch the sun rise (which one do you think is nicer? I can't decide!) 
and I stayed on the beach to do yoga again. As I was walking along the boardwalk to head back into the canopy of trees, I was actually sad. I would really love to be able to stay - do more yoga on the beach - relax - experience more nature & beauty - hike - etc. I knew that it would be hectic to pack up and get our gear back onto the boat, but we did it (and without rain!). We enjoyed a nice lunch with Dave & his family, then headed our separate ways. They headed to Savannah for the night to meet up with some other (former) co-workers. We went to Jekyll Island to check out a jobsite for a project that I'm involved in then head home. It POURED rain all the way back home... so - in a way... it was good that we did come home when we did. We will go back - for sure. Perhaps we'll charter a boat with Dave & his family and bring our own bikes onto the island. It may cost slightly more to do that than pay for the ferry ride and rent bikes -- but at least we'd be guaranteed to have them and know that we could make it to the top of the island. We WILL go back. It's an amazing place. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
and I stayed on the beach to do yoga again. As I was walking along the boardwalk to head back into the canopy of trees, I was actually sad. I would really love to be able to stay - do more yoga on the beach - relax - experience more nature & beauty - hike - etc. I knew that it would be hectic to pack up and get our gear back onto the boat, but we did it (and without rain!). We enjoyed a nice lunch with Dave & his family, then headed our separate ways. They headed to Savannah for the night to meet up with some other (former) co-workers. We went to Jekyll Island to check out a jobsite for a project that I'm involved in then head home. It POURED rain all the way back home... so - in a way... it was good that we did come home when we did. We will go back - for sure. Perhaps we'll charter a boat with Dave & his family and bring our own bikes onto the island. It may cost slightly more to do that than pay for the ferry ride and rent bikes -- but at least we'd be guaranteed to have them and know that we could make it to the top of the island. We WILL go back. It's an amazing place. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
No comments:
Post a Comment