Georgia Revisited

On April 25^th we said a sad goodbye to Florida, but a warm welcome to Georgia as we crossed over the imaginary State line. We felt that on our way down, we just skimmed over Georgia and never really got to see it. All we remember is lots of uninhabited marshlands with clumps of trees here and there. This time we took a few days to explore some areas.

(Wild horse on Cumberland Island, GA)

Our first stop was Jekyll Island, once known as the most exclusive club, ‘The Jekyll Island Club’, it is now a state run tourist destination where you can walk the grounds where the Rockerfeller’s, Morgan’s and others took a winter retreat in their not so humble “cottages”. The island also has many nature and bike trails to explore. Sal and I weren’t sure if we would want to stay another day here, but after a long walk from our anchorage to the historic district, I decided another day would be well spent here.

(Bike path through the forest)

On Tuesday morning, we woke to birds chirping. It seems like the last few places we have anchored in have been noisy: Jacksonville with the city sounds, Sister’s creek with the helicopter noise and the port, and Fernandina with the mill. It was so peaceful here at night. Waking in a good mood, we put on our walking shoes, as we knew it would be a long day. We took a bike path that cut through a small, forested area to cut across to the ocean side of the island. We walked along the beach in search of a breakfast place. We walked and walked and walked until we came across the restaurant. We had a well-deserved greasy breakfast to rejuvenate us for the rest of the day. We were going to head straight to the museum, but couldn’t resist first playing a round of mini golf on the way. At the museum we signed up for a trolley tour of the grounds, which included entry into 2 of the cottages. We were given a guided tour describing who was part of this exclusive club, when they came, what they did and of course little anecdotes to bring life to the members. The cottages were not what we would call a ‘cottage’, but more what we would call a large mansion. There were beautiful lawns and landscaping that they continue to upkeep. We were glad we elected the trolley tour because by that time our feet were starting to get a little sore, and we still had to walk the 5 km back to the boat. We were exhausted to say the least when we got back. We forgot how hard it is to be a tourist. Well worth the visit though and we even saw some wildlife – 2 alligators, a deer and of course lots of birds.

(One of the many 'cottages')

The next day the winds started up. Severe weather was happening further inland and we kept glued to the weather reports for any severe weather coming our way. We just received strong winds on Wednesday. The next day we had hoped to do another 30 miles, but decided to call it quits before having to cross a larger sound as the winds were in the 20 knot range and gusting higher. We found a comfortable anchorage where we were by ourselves with lots of swing room. We settled in for a lazy afternoon of movie watching, when of course the wind died. But we stayed, and were glad that we had because a series of thunderstorms passed through the area, bringing winds, rains and some lightning that seemed a little too close for comfort. It really makes you feel vulnerable in a little sailboat looking out and counting the Mississippi’s between flash of lightning and the bang. We were lucky once again and nothing bad happened, except for discovering we have a little leak and have no idea from where the water is getting in.

We had a long day of motoring with a little bit of motor sailing on Friday. After the thunderstorms of Thursday the wind shifted around to the north cooling things down. We hardly saw a boat all day, but saw many, many dolphins and baby dolphins swimming in and around the rivers. We still get excited about seeing dolphins and will always look if we hear or see a splash around. We didn’t get anchored until after sundown that day. Both were a little cranky as we had been on the go for 13 hours. We had a revitalizing sleep and the next day took another little detour off the ICW to visit the city of Savannah.

We had heard many good things about the city. We arrived on a Saturday which of course meant lots of people, but we were looking forward to that after being in quiet anchorages for the past few days. We docked at the city docks since there was no place to anchor as the river is very deep and busy with freighters, as well there is a swift current and the tidal range is about 9 feet. We were warned that the docks might have cockroaches, so we bought some spray and drenched the lines. We didn’t see any cockroaches on the dock, but we did see some in the streets, which freaked me out a bit. I am fearful that we might find some on the boat, but haven’t seen one yet (knock on wood).

(Touring of a restored tall ship)

Savannah is an old and charming city. The river street is down about 2 stories from the main streets which was designed a few centuries ago because of it being a major shipping port. The downtown streets are cobblestone and narrow. There were lots of shops and restaurants and tours going on. We decided to take a ghost pub tour, to get to see a bit of the city, hear some history, and of course enjoy a drink or two. We found Savannah an interesting place because the whole downtown area is licensed, so you can buy a beer and just walk around with it. The first time we did that I felt like I was doing something wrong, but there are rarely anyone in the bars during the day, as everyone is enjoying their beverage by the water. Savannah was also the first place that we got internet in about a week, so we got to check up on our emails and let our parents know we were ok. We just stayed one night and then it was time to continue northward and out of Georgia. We are glad we took the extra couple of days to do some sightseeing as we really enjoyed what we did and saw.