Sorry about the month long absence of the blog, lots of excuses. Two weeks we were really "roughin" it, no sewer, weak wi-fi and worst of all NO Satellite reception! Since then it seems like we've been on the go I couldn't sit down and devote a lot of time to the blog.
Thursday June 1, I got up at 5:30 to put the brisket on the Traeger -I hope it was worth it. Took a 8 mile bike ride then spent the day babysitting the brisket. Gary took the Jeep to back to the dealership, the sunroof leaked again during Wednesday's thunderstorm. We had brisket for dinner, I might have overcooked it a bit. We have enough to feed the entire park.
Friday, June 2, Went into Kingsland to get a hair cut, always scary. Tammy did a great job. I got caught in a nasty thunderstorm, sure enough the sunroof still leaks! I waited out the storm in a grocery store parking lot then drove to the Jeep dealership. Poor old Jeep, it's over 9 years old with 140,000 miles, I guess it's time to start having little problems. Gary cleaned the bbq, cooking the brisket made a mess. After dark Luci started barking, we had two armadillo's on the patio.
Saturday, June 3, We worked on the itinerary through the end of July. Quiet day, laundry and best of all no t-storms. We saw several huge birds flying over, we grabbed the binoculars for a better look. After research we discovered they are Woodstorks.
Sunday, June 4. After our morning bike ride, we left Luci at home while we drove about 45 minutes west to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (swamp) It is huge,, it covers 630 square miles. After picking up a quick lunch at Subway in Folkson we drove out to the swamp, it's been on fire for several weeks due to the drought and lightning strikes, we were lucky, the Suwanee Canal boat tours resumed just a couple of days before. The Suwanee Canal Co. purchased 238,000 acres from the state to drain the swamp to grow rice, sugarcane and cotton, when they realized they weren't going to be able to drain the swamp they switched to wetland logging. The company spent 3 years digging 11 1/2 miles of canal the company went bankrupt. The Federal Government , then President Roosevelt, acquired most of the swamp for a National Wildlife Refuge in 1937, Due to the drought we could only travel about 4 miles down the canal, water level was 2 feet below normal even after all the thunerstorms we've had lately. The water in the swamp is very pure, no rivers flow in, rainfall is the only major source. Two rivers flow out, the St. Mary's which flows to the Atlantic and the Suawanee flows down through Florida to the Gulf. Our guide, "Too" showed us the color of the water, looks like tea, it's very high high in tannic (sp?)acid. The European used the water from the swamp for their trips back across the Atlantic because it wouldn't grow algae. We saw many, many alligators on the boat trip, they would lazily swim away rom the boat as we approached. "Too" told us the gators can ove their lungs to different parts of their body - if he wanted to only have his head above water he would move his lungs down. They don't hibernate but do burrow and slow their respiration rate down to about 5 breaths an hour. They lay about 30 eggs but only 5-10% make it to adulthood. The temperature of the ground they are laid in determines the sex of the babies. We didn't see much more wildlife, a few turtles, sandhill cranes, woodpeckers and assorted other birds. There is a 7 1/2 mile round trip drive out to the Chesson homestead but the home was still wrapped in fire retardant material and the boardwalk was continuously being sprinkled, both were closed to the public. Fascinating area, there are water trails for canoes with camping areas out in the swamp. NO thank you!!! I don't want to sleep on the ground with all the swamp critters.
Monday, June 5 Gary took the Jeep down to the dealership to have the drains changed in the sunroof, twice they've cleaned them and still continue to leak. The good news, the estimate was $200 but the repairs only came to $76. Hope this does the trick. The weather continues to be hot and humid with afternoon and evening thunderstorms with drenching rains but no more tornado warnings.
Tuesday, June 6 We prepped for tomorrow's departure, it's such a great park and wonderful area we hate to leave. Since we've been here we've heard St. Mary's Seafood Restaurant was the best place for seafood in the area. Everyone was right, delish! After dinner we drove through historic St. Mary's one last time, this place seems like a wonderful place to live.
Friday, June 30, 2017
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Kings Bay Naval Base May 25 - May 31
I'm trying something new this week, I've already posted all the pictures. The computer doesn't let me load all my pictures after the text of the blog without mixing them all up. So far so good. We've had a busy week so sit down with a beverage and put your feet up.
Thursday, May 25 Today has been just beautiful, after 3 days of off and on thunderstorms and tornado warnings we're feeling a little cabin fever. We needed a little exercise, Crooked River State Park (not the one in Oregon) is just 4 miles from the base with lots of walking trails. We took two different trails, on the nature trail the only critter we saw was about a 4 foot black snake - fortunately I didn't see it, it slithered off into the brush before I got to the turnoff. The other trail took us up to a wildlife viewing platform - we didn't even see a bird! The exercise was good but "buggy". Now the ICK factor, as we drove out I found a tick on my thigh! Gary pulled it off even though it wanted to stay. On the way back to the base we stopped at McIntosh Sugar Mill Tabby ruins, it's the largest structure in the region constructed of Tabby. Tabby is made of oyster shells, sand and water. Built in the 18th century it was used for cane grinding, boiling and processing of sugar. At bedtime Gary and I checked each other out for ticks. TMI!
Friday, May 26, In the shower this morning I found a tick embedded in my tummy! ICKY! Gary pulled it out, this time it was "stuck" so it took longer. We made a Vet appointment for Luci, she'd just been lethargic, we weren't sure if it was the heat plus she'd been licking her tummy raw. Poor baby, her tummy was a mess and would you believe she had a dead tick on her! She's on antibiotic, steroids and hormones. When I crawled into bed I felt something sharp on my side, you guessed it, another tick! ICK ICK ICK ICK ICK ICK. I guess I'm just a tick magnet.
Saturday, May 27 The first thing I did was wash the sheets in hot bleach water. Other than that we had a fun day! We took the St. Mary's Theme Train Rock and Roll Express. The three open air cars travel a few miles through wooded areas and parts of St. Mary's, traveling with us were a couple of hobo's and Elvis. They played Roger Miller's King of the Road as we "clickety clacked" down the rails. At the halfway point was a "theater" western town front with Wolfgang out front on the "radio". Marvin Gaye, Whitney Houston, Johnny Cash, Nick Jagger, The Blues Brothers and Aretha Franklin were there to entertain us. Elvis got off the train to sing for us too. The musicians were all members of the local Little Theater Group. Rock and roll music played for us on the way back too. When we got back to the station the entertainers were waiting for us to meet and greet. On our way to the Summerfest fishing tournament on the waterfront we stopped at Orange Hall House Museum built in 1830, named Orange Hall for the sour orange trees that were on the property. The furnishings were period pieces nicely done. The Union soldiers occupied the house for a while during the Civil War but didn't trash it. We weren't able to go upstairs because the house is "listing", they are going to close for several months to shore up the foundation etc. We had a bit of lunch at the waterfront where food and craft vendors had set up for the festival they hold every Memorial Day. We went for a six mile bike ride after the temps cooled down. It was one of those 95 but "feels like" 101 days.
Sunday, May 28, We went to Sunday Service at the historic Presbyterian Church, built in 1808. In 1898 the church was remodeled - removing the balcony - known as the slave gallery. During the Civil War the Union Soldiers set fire to the church but it seems they were in a hurry to leave and the it only burned one side of the church. The First Presbyterian Church in St. Mary's is the oldest church building in Georgia in continuous use since 1808. Then we were really, really bad after church. Gary's fault, he made me do it! We went to the Riverside Cafe and had baklava and coffee. Back on base we noticed the BBQ vendor from the Summerfest stayed the night, he had his had his banner out and a sandwich board saying he was selling pulled pork sandwiches. He had quite a bit left over from the festival so he asked the park host if he could sell to the RV park. Sure! He had just come from the commissary, they were selling beef brisket for $1.99 a pound, he usually pays about $3.50, he ended up buying 5. I've never tried BBQ'ing a brisket before, I didn't want to waste $50. I picked one up for $26.00. Cross your fingers. We like staying on military base RV parks, they are very secure, well kept and reasonable, we are paying $19 a night here. The down side, there aren't any organized activities and only a few have a clubhouse. Tonight was a first! There was an ice cream social followed by karaoke, we met several couples that we normally wouldn't have even seen. Very nice.
Monday, May 29 We started off the day with a bike ride - not too sure how many miles but we rode almost an hour of peddling. Gary discovered a six mile road, barricaded at both ends that is much smoother then the bike path and I don't have to worry about any intersections to cross (or fall down in.) After the 6 miles Gary wanted to go further, I peddled like crazy and he coasted a lot. Maybe I need a lightweight bike too. I've never ridden more than 30 minutes-I'm so proud! It was in the high 80's before 10 with high humidity by the time we got back. We drove north about 30 miles to Jekyll Island National Historic Landmark. In 1886 East Coast millionaires bought the island for $125,000. They built a large clubhouse and elaborate "cottages"(mansions for a winter getaway and hunting preserve. By the 1900's Jekyll Island Club members reprsented 1/6 of the worlds wealth. By the end of WWII later generations lost interest in the island and sold it to the state of Georgia to use as a state park which included al the cottages. We took a trolley tour through the historic districh which included tours of two mansions. We only had time for the tour, Luci was waiting for us in the coach. Charlie and Dorothy, our neighbors, came over for happy hour, they've been full-time rv-ers for 20 years, although they spend a lot of their time in Titusville at their lot.
Wednesday, May 31, Where to begin? Last night we dropped Luci for boarding and doggie day care , we are going to Cumberland Island to take the six hour Land and Legends Tour. In a nutshell Cumberland Island National Seashore is the largest of Georgia's Barrier Islands, 17 miles long, 3 miles wide and 36,000 acres, it's separated from the mainland by salt marsh, the Cumberland River and Cumberland Sound. Early history the Timicuan Indians Spanish and English inhabited the islands. The Spaniards left their horsess behind, now there are over 150 feral horses roaming freely. Throughout our six hour tour our guide Mike talked continuously, there is so much history. In 1830 millionaire Robert Stafford acquired 1,700 acres and 148 slaves on Cumberland, his primary crop was sea cotton. Stafford educated his slaves, gave them fredom when not working and taught them to save money. After the Civil War the freed slaves moved to the north part of the island. Robert Stafford sold the property to Thomas and Lucy Carnagie, then they purchased the Dungeness property on the south in 1884. The Dungeness mansion was 59 rooms, 57,000 square feet on the edge of the sea marsh. The island has 18 miles of beaches on the Atlantic, personally I'd have built with an ocean view. As their 9 children grew into adulthood she built other estates on the island, Palm Orchard is the only one left in good condition. Lucy loved to entertain, the guests would ride on the Carnagie yacht to Jacksonville, then ride in the Carnagie railroad to the bay then take another smaller boat to Dungeness. At this time the Carnagies owned 90% of the island, the remaining 10% belonged to 3 resort hotels for the wealthy. The grandchildren donated the island to the National Parks and when the remaining heirs of the 10% pass on the property will go to the Park. The freed slaves worked at the hotels, owned land and formed a settlement. The tour took us up to the north end of the island, visited the settlement where they had a church which doubled as a school during the week. I mention this because JFK, Jr. was married in that same church in 1996, his family owns a B & B on the island and he loved to visit because the reporters couldn't follow him. The tiny church seats 40, the rests of the guests stayed at the B & B for the reception. They fooled all the press. We bounced our way back down to the south end of the island where the remains of Dungeness stands. A disgruntled employee burned it down. We walked through the grounds for about 20 minutes, we spotted a doe with new brand new baby, feral horses, huge magnolia trees and were amazed at the footprint of the mansion. As we waited for the ferry to take us back to St. Mary's a thunder and lightning storm hit. We picked up a very tired Luci and headed home after a long wonderful day.
Thursday, May 25 Today has been just beautiful, after 3 days of off and on thunderstorms and tornado warnings we're feeling a little cabin fever. We needed a little exercise, Crooked River State Park (not the one in Oregon) is just 4 miles from the base with lots of walking trails. We took two different trails, on the nature trail the only critter we saw was about a 4 foot black snake - fortunately I didn't see it, it slithered off into the brush before I got to the turnoff. The other trail took us up to a wildlife viewing platform - we didn't even see a bird! The exercise was good but "buggy". Now the ICK factor, as we drove out I found a tick on my thigh! Gary pulled it off even though it wanted to stay. On the way back to the base we stopped at McIntosh Sugar Mill Tabby ruins, it's the largest structure in the region constructed of Tabby. Tabby is made of oyster shells, sand and water. Built in the 18th century it was used for cane grinding, boiling and processing of sugar. At bedtime Gary and I checked each other out for ticks. TMI!
Friday, May 26, In the shower this morning I found a tick embedded in my tummy! ICKY! Gary pulled it out, this time it was "stuck" so it took longer. We made a Vet appointment for Luci, she'd just been lethargic, we weren't sure if it was the heat plus she'd been licking her tummy raw. Poor baby, her tummy was a mess and would you believe she had a dead tick on her! She's on antibiotic, steroids and hormones. When I crawled into bed I felt something sharp on my side, you guessed it, another tick! ICK ICK ICK ICK ICK ICK. I guess I'm just a tick magnet.
Saturday, May 27 The first thing I did was wash the sheets in hot bleach water. Other than that we had a fun day! We took the St. Mary's Theme Train Rock and Roll Express. The three open air cars travel a few miles through wooded areas and parts of St. Mary's, traveling with us were a couple of hobo's and Elvis. They played Roger Miller's King of the Road as we "clickety clacked" down the rails. At the halfway point was a "theater" western town front with Wolfgang out front on the "radio". Marvin Gaye, Whitney Houston, Johnny Cash, Nick Jagger, The Blues Brothers and Aretha Franklin were there to entertain us. Elvis got off the train to sing for us too. The musicians were all members of the local Little Theater Group. Rock and roll music played for us on the way back too. When we got back to the station the entertainers were waiting for us to meet and greet. On our way to the Summerfest fishing tournament on the waterfront we stopped at Orange Hall House Museum built in 1830, named Orange Hall for the sour orange trees that were on the property. The furnishings were period pieces nicely done. The Union soldiers occupied the house for a while during the Civil War but didn't trash it. We weren't able to go upstairs because the house is "listing", they are going to close for several months to shore up the foundation etc. We had a bit of lunch at the waterfront where food and craft vendors had set up for the festival they hold every Memorial Day. We went for a six mile bike ride after the temps cooled down. It was one of those 95 but "feels like" 101 days.
Sunday, May 28, We went to Sunday Service at the historic Presbyterian Church, built in 1808. In 1898 the church was remodeled - removing the balcony - known as the slave gallery. During the Civil War the Union Soldiers set fire to the church but it seems they were in a hurry to leave and the it only burned one side of the church. The First Presbyterian Church in St. Mary's is the oldest church building in Georgia in continuous use since 1808. Then we were really, really bad after church. Gary's fault, he made me do it! We went to the Riverside Cafe and had baklava and coffee. Back on base we noticed the BBQ vendor from the Summerfest stayed the night, he had his had his banner out and a sandwich board saying he was selling pulled pork sandwiches. He had quite a bit left over from the festival so he asked the park host if he could sell to the RV park. Sure! He had just come from the commissary, they were selling beef brisket for $1.99 a pound, he usually pays about $3.50, he ended up buying 5. I've never tried BBQ'ing a brisket before, I didn't want to waste $50. I picked one up for $26.00. Cross your fingers. We like staying on military base RV parks, they are very secure, well kept and reasonable, we are paying $19 a night here. The down side, there aren't any organized activities and only a few have a clubhouse. Tonight was a first! There was an ice cream social followed by karaoke, we met several couples that we normally wouldn't have even seen. Very nice.
Monday, May 29 We started off the day with a bike ride - not too sure how many miles but we rode almost an hour of peddling. Gary discovered a six mile road, barricaded at both ends that is much smoother then the bike path and I don't have to worry about any intersections to cross (or fall down in.) After the 6 miles Gary wanted to go further, I peddled like crazy and he coasted a lot. Maybe I need a lightweight bike too. I've never ridden more than 30 minutes-I'm so proud! It was in the high 80's before 10 with high humidity by the time we got back. We drove north about 30 miles to Jekyll Island National Historic Landmark. In 1886 East Coast millionaires bought the island for $125,000. They built a large clubhouse and elaborate "cottages"(mansions for a winter getaway and hunting preserve. By the 1900's Jekyll Island Club members reprsented 1/6 of the worlds wealth. By the end of WWII later generations lost interest in the island and sold it to the state of Georgia to use as a state park which included al the cottages. We took a trolley tour through the historic districh which included tours of two mansions. We only had time for the tour, Luci was waiting for us in the coach. Charlie and Dorothy, our neighbors, came over for happy hour, they've been full-time rv-ers for 20 years, although they spend a lot of their time in Titusville at their lot.
Wednesday, May 31, Where to begin? Last night we dropped Luci for boarding and doggie day care , we are going to Cumberland Island to take the six hour Land and Legends Tour. In a nutshell Cumberland Island National Seashore is the largest of Georgia's Barrier Islands, 17 miles long, 3 miles wide and 36,000 acres, it's separated from the mainland by salt marsh, the Cumberland River and Cumberland Sound. Early history the Timicuan Indians Spanish and English inhabited the islands. The Spaniards left their horsess behind, now there are over 150 feral horses roaming freely. Throughout our six hour tour our guide Mike talked continuously, there is so much history. In 1830 millionaire Robert Stafford acquired 1,700 acres and 148 slaves on Cumberland, his primary crop was sea cotton. Stafford educated his slaves, gave them fredom when not working and taught them to save money. After the Civil War the freed slaves moved to the north part of the island. Robert Stafford sold the property to Thomas and Lucy Carnagie, then they purchased the Dungeness property on the south in 1884. The Dungeness mansion was 59 rooms, 57,000 square feet on the edge of the sea marsh. The island has 18 miles of beaches on the Atlantic, personally I'd have built with an ocean view. As their 9 children grew into adulthood she built other estates on the island, Palm Orchard is the only one left in good condition. Lucy loved to entertain, the guests would ride on the Carnagie yacht to Jacksonville, then ride in the Carnagie railroad to the bay then take another smaller boat to Dungeness. At this time the Carnagies owned 90% of the island, the remaining 10% belonged to 3 resort hotels for the wealthy. The grandchildren donated the island to the National Parks and when the remaining heirs of the 10% pass on the property will go to the Park. The freed slaves worked at the hotels, owned land and formed a settlement. The tour took us up to the north end of the island, visited the settlement where they had a church which doubled as a school during the week. I mention this because JFK, Jr. was married in that same church in 1996, his family owns a B & B on the island and he loved to visit because the reporters couldn't follow him. The tiny church seats 40, the rests of the guests stayed at the B & B for the reception. They fooled all the press. We bounced our way back down to the south end of the island where the remains of Dungeness stands. A disgruntled employee burned it down. We walked through the grounds for about 20 minutes, we spotted a doe with new brand new baby, feral horses, huge magnolia trees and were amazed at the footprint of the mansion. As we waited for the ferry to take us back to St. Mary's a thunder and lightning storm hit. We picked up a very tired Luci and headed home after a long wonderful day.
May 25 - May 31 Kingsbay Submarine Base St. Mary's Georgia
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| Gary and Luci on the Nature Trail Crooked River St. Park |
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| Gopher tortoise nesting season |
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| Remains of Tabby Sugar Works, a few miles from base |
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| Rock and Roll Express |
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| At train station about 50 ibis flew into pines to roost |
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| Osprey nest along tracks |
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| Open air cars |
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| Elvis entertaining us on train |
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| Hobo on our train |
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| The Little Theater actors meet us back at the station |
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| Come on Elvis, give the old broad a kiss |
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| Submarine exhibit at entrance to base |
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| Our trolley on Jekyll Island |
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| 300 year old maritime live oak on Jekyll Isand |
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| One of the winter cottages on Jekyll Island |
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| Our ride to Cumberland Island |
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| Off we go! |
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| Our five seat tour bus |
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| Mama and baby feral horse on Cumberland |
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| Plum Orchard summer cottage |
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| The fireplace is under the staircase |
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| Mike our tour guide in one of the bedrooms |
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| Ascension Ferns, came back to life after previous days rain |
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| Bluff overlooking Jekyll Island |
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| Settlement Church where JFK, Jr. got married in 1996 |
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| The alter of the small church |
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| Doe and brand new baby at Dungeness ruins |
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| Add caption |
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