Amelia Island, FL - 16 January 2007

The history of Amelia Island is really fascinating: it's the only United States location that has been under eight different flags - the Timucuan Indians, France, Spain, Britain, United States, the "Green Cross of Florida" flag, the flag of the revolutionary Republic of Mexico, both the Confederate and Union flags. The final name for the island, Amelia Island, was given to it by the British Governor of Georgia, James Oglethorpe, in honor of Princess Amelia, daughter of King George II. If you're really interested in the history of the island, you can get a pretty comprehensive account at http://www.islandchamber.com/. Look at the top of the page and click on the drop down menu under Welcome Visitors. Click on Visitor Guide. The whole thing is there...but, the history part starts on page 8...of the 84 available.

It was such a nice day, this day, that we decided just to get in the car and drive to Amelia Island, this small island off the coast of southern GA/northern FL. We went right to the town of Fernandina and took a walk down their Centre Street, which is on the National Historic Registry. They put out a really nice brochure that pictures and explains lots of the buildings on the street, allowing you to either take a walking tour or a riding tour on your own. But if you want to take an official guided tour, there is a trolley with a guide available at the waterfront end of the street:

This next guy is supposed to represent all those pirates that visited these islands in days of old. He's a ferocious looking fella, isn't he?

We just walked around the town, looking at the old buildings on the street. This is the Florida House, Florida's oldest hotel. It's now a B & B, but still maintains the flavor of the old days.

Because of my dad's time as postmaster, I'm interested in seeing what other town's post offices look like. Now this is a post office:

We passed a candy store that had this jolly fellow standing out front. Makes you just want to rush right in there, doesn't it? Guess that's the idea....

Finally, we visited the house that was used as Pippi Longstocking's house in the film of the same name. For those of you not familiar with that, it's an animated movie about a raucous and precocious 9 y/o red head who sets up her home with her talking horse and pet monkey after her sea captain father is tossed overboard during a storm at sea. The story of her adventures ensues. The house, however, has been renovated since the movie was made, so it doesn't look exactly like the house you'll see if you watch the movie.

On the way back to the RV we detoured part of the way so we could see the beaches; they're supposed to be some of the most wonderful beaches on the Atlantic coast. They are nice!

Chesser Island Boardwalk, Okefenokee Swamp, GA

When we finished touring the homestead, we decided to walk to the swamp boardwalk trail - which the docent at the homestead said was 3/4 mile each way. We obviously misunderstood him, as we thought that he meant that the trail was only 3/4 of a mile from the homestead...so off we started to go. Soon we discovered that the boardwalk was about 1/2 mile away, each way, and then the boardwalk itself was 3/4 mile from beginning to end...and, when we got to the end, we had to walk the 3/4 mile back...and the 1/2 mile back to the car! So...2 1/2 miles later, we were really tired and finally back at the car, with only about 20 minutes left for us to get out of the park before it closed! Whew! Here are a few pictures that I took along the boardwalk...I wish we'd had more time and energy to explore the off-shoots of the boardwalk, as they sounded like there was neat stuff to see on them.

The boardwalk is really amazing! It goes on like this, winding through the swamp, for 3/4 of a mile!

Cypress knees, again...only these look like they're growing bigger out thru the top... If you look really close, you can see an alligator lurking in the grasses - actually, he's sleeping, I think.

The above two pictures were taken when we finally got to the end of the boardwalk...the water is called Seagrove Lake. It's really pretty...and, worth the walk...to me, but not to Peter because his arthritic toe really hurt from all the walking we had to do...and, now, we had to go all the way back!

Chesser Island, Okefenokee Swamp, GA

After we finished with the swamp tour, we drove down Swamp Island Drive and found a sign to Chesser Island Homestead...and, decided to see what it was:

This was such a beautiful entrance path that I couldn't resist taking this picture of Peter...the pathway is covered with large pine bark chips.

Here is a picture of the homestead from afar:

A lot of people think that the "swamp people" were poor and ignorant...but, as one person told us, if they were so dumb, they wouldn't have been able to survive so well in this unforgiving environment.

Here are some more pictures of the homestead:

This is their "garage" - the wagon lives on the left side and the buggy on the right. There's a corn crib in the middle.

The well...obviously.

The back of the house...entrance to the bedrooms. The double windows on the right look into the kitchen. You can see the top of the picket fence...it's very irregular, but charming, I think.

The side of the house...front porch to the right (there was a quilt on a frame there that could be pulled up to the ceiling when it wasn't being worked on - unfortunately I wasn't thinking, and didn't get a picture of it! Can you believe that?! I could kick myself now!)

On the far left you can just see the corner of their bathroom - on the screened in porch. There's an old cast iron tub on feet...just like the one I grew up using! Looks like it would be a wonderful place to take a bath...almost out in nature! This next picture is a little better one of the bathtub (if you look closely, you can see it on the right):

The family garden plot (fenced in, I guess, to keep all the deer and other critters out). Can you imagine being able to grow stuff in all this sand? I have enough trouble growing stuff in our rich farm dirt!: This is the sugar cane mill; they attached horses to the ends of this pole and as they walked around in a circle they made the drums turn, which squeezed the sugar juice out of the cane. It dripped down into the tray you see at the bottom and then flowed out the right side into a barrel or bucket. There is a sugar cane shed behind this, where the cane juice was boiled down into sugar. And, finally, a big old live oak tree in the side yard with spanish moss hanging off it. The whole "yard" is just sand, and supposedly they cleaned it almost every day and raked the sand to make it look presentable. It's such a nice place...I told Peter that it looked like a fun place to grow up as a kid! Even with all the work they had to do.

Okefenokee Swamp and National Wildlife Refuge

Well, since I last posted here, we've visited Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp and National Wildlife Refuge. It's really a pretty place and well-worth the visit if you're in the area and have the time to spend at least a day here. It's really a nice place for those of you that like to walk nature trails and see wild life.

The visitor center is really neat...and, has many hands-on exhibits that children would enjoy...and a beautiful and informative 15-minute movie about the swamp and it's inhabitants...and an animated mannequin (an older gentleman) sitting in a rocking chair on the porch telling stories about the area and its human inhabitants of the past. He's amazing...looks very real - his head, eyes and hands move...and, he even blinks!

Note: I don't know who that lady is...hope she doesn't mind my posting her picture!!

Here are some interesting facts about the swamp:

-Okefenokee is a vast bog inside a huge, saucer-shaped depression that was once part of the ocean floor

-the swamp floor is covered with peat deposits that are up to 15 feet thick

-these deposits are very unstable because they're not actually attached to the floor, but "float" on bubbles of methane gas, produced by the decaying process

-they're so unstable that if you could stomp on them, they would actually tremble...the swamp's name, Okefenokee, is a European rendition of the Indian words meaning "land of the trembling earth"

-the swamp waters are tea-colored from the tannic acid produced by decaying vegetation

-and, the swamp smells sweet...I read in one of my readings, that it's the water that smells like that, and one person actually tasted the water and said it does taste sweet! (that person wasn't either of us, though!)

-the swamp water is actually supposed to be pretty clean

-most of the water in the swamp comes from rainfall

-so, the level rises and falls as it rains, or doesn't

-the swamp is drained by two major rivers: the Suwanee River, which actually originates in the swamp, drains it to the southwest into the Gulf of Mexico; the St Mary's River drains it to the southeast into the Atlantic Ocean. The later river forms the boundary between Georgia and Florida.

-this swamp is one of the oldest and most well-preserved freshwater areas in America

-the swamp covers an area of 38 miles north to south; and 25 miles east to west

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his Civilian Conservation Corps are responsible for "cleaning up th swamp" and making it into the protected area that it is today. Before this, loggers, in the 1920s and early 1930s, pretty much decimated the area.

This picture is of the bottom of cypress trees, mirrored in the water...isn't it beautiful?

Then, we were lucky enuf to see lots of alligators...the day was warm (in the low 70s) and the water in the swamp was about 2 feet below normal, so the alligators migrated to the canal where our boat floated, because the water was deeper there. And, as you'll see, one of the banks was washed in sunlight...a wonderful place for them to lie and soak up those warm rays!

Isn't he a handsome fella?

This one almost looks like he's smiling, doesn't he?

And, then we saw some other wildlife:

This is a Great Blue Heron...and, the guide says it's unusual to see them up in trees. He was amazing!

A picture of turtles...a momma and her baby. The guide says that alligators like to eat turtles, if their shells aren't too hard to crack. Isn't that a gruesome thought!

Some interesting facts about alligators:

-the American Alligator hasn't changed very much from its original form some 180 million years ago

-in the 1950s and 60s, they were nearly hunted into extinction. Thus, they were placed on the protected list...and, have since increased their population to the point where they were removed from the protection in 1987. Their removal from the protection allows authorities, now, to "manage" those that wander into public recreation areas, or those that exhibit aggressive behavior toward humans or those that have a debilitating injury or disease.

-there are approx. 200,000 alligators in Georgia

-their habitat range is from the southern tip of Texas to the northeastern part of North Carolina

-alligators usually remain in the area where they were born for 2-3 years, then they begin looking for their own range

-females usually have small home ranges; males may occupy a range of more that 2 square miles

-during their courtship and breeding season, April to May, alligators prefer open waters; the rest of the year, males prefer open and deep waters; females seek out nesting habitat in shallow, heavily vegetated and secluded areas.

-alligators can live to the ripe old age of 60 in captivity; in the wild, however, they rarely live to be more than 50

-males can grow up to 16 feet in length; females to 10

-females lay an average of 35-40 eggs, that incubate for about 65 days

-the baby alligators are about 8-10 inches long when they're born

-only about 20% of the young will survive to maturity

-they grow about 8-10 inches per year for the first few years; they reach sexual maturity when they reach about 6 feet in length

-really large alligators can weigh as much as 800 lbs!

-alligators are carnivores and will eat almost anything they can catch: snails, crayfish, frogs, insects and other invertebrates when they are young; fish, turtles, snakes, waterfowl, raccoons, beavers, and also carrion. Given the opportunity, they will also eat pets (how awful!!!!) and smaller, domestic animals like goats and pigs.

Part of our swamp tour included the Chase Prairie. Prairies cover about 80,000 acres of the swamp. Once forested, these expanses of marsh were created during periods of severe drought when fires burned out vegetation and the top layers of peat. They harbor a variety of birds: herons, egrets, ibises, cranes and bitterns...also, alligators!

We also saw Sandhill Cranes, though my picture of them wasn't very good, as they were so far away. But this is a pretty good picture of an egret (at least, that's what I think it is - anyone know for sure?)

There are even some water lilies in the prairie:

Here's a picture of marsh grass and cypress knees. We've been told that the cypress knees are part of the cypress root system and how they "breathe". Peter has bought cypress knees online to carve...a friend of ours living in Alabama is the one who introduced him to that. Ron (our friend) has carved some beautiful knees!

Hopefully, you can get some idea of how beautiful this place really is...I'm so glad we got to see it! It always amazes me how diversified this wonderful country of ours is!

Bark House Carvings by Peter

While we've been on the road, Peter has continued to carve...one of his favorite pasttimes. Here are a few of his latest:

St Marys, GA

I mentioned that Kings Bay is close to the small town of St Marys...it's a wonderful little town with lots of wonderful things to see: Orange Hall, a really neat old cemetary, a really old historic Presbyterian Church, Cumberland Island, a national park, and some little boutiques and boutique-like restaurants. To see pictures and get info, you can visit it on the internet at www.stmaryswelcome.com I've taken pictures of all these places on our visit last year, but don't have them with me...so, can't show them to you. But, many of them are on the above web site.

Kings Bay, GA

We got here at Kings Bay, Eagle Hammock RV Park on the submarine base right before New Year's Eve...and, spent a rousing, old-persons' celebration in the community room there with our retired military friends. The "rousing" consisted of finger foods, sparkling grape juice at midnight, and card games and dominoes and just plain enjoying the company while waiting for the big hour! Sounds exciting, doesn't it? We all worked real hard to keep Peter awake long enough to see the new year come in...and, I'm proud to say that we succeeded this year! This is a really wonderful base: Naval Submarine Base at Kings Bay, GA, just outside the small, quaint town of St Marys. Originally the base was an Army base, obtained to build a military ocean terminal to ship ammunition in case of a national emergency. Construction began in 1956 and was completed in 1958. Since there wasn't an immediate operational need for the base, it was placed in an inactive ready status. It was used in 1964 to house area residents after Hurricane Dora and during the Cuban Missile Crisis, an Army Transportation Battalion of 1100 personnel and 70 small boats were positioned here. In 1975, when the US and Spain were re-negotiating our base agreement, it was determined that we would withdraw our fleet ballistic-missile submarine squadron from Rota, Spain. As a result, the Naval Submarine Support Base Kings Bay was established in what they called "developmental status" on 1 July 1978. The base is now called Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay and as of 6 July 1979, all the submarines of the Submarine Squadron 16 from the Rota, Spain base were making their home here. By September 1997 Kings Bay had its full complement of Trident submarines (10). There are currently 5 ballistic missile submarines and 1 guided missile submarine assigned here, with the expectation that the USS Georgia will arrive here in 2007 and the USS Alaska will be here sometime in 2008 or 2009. This is the "fake" submarine that adorns the entrance to the base at the Franklin Gate. I guess they make missiles here, too. Here's a monument on post that says "Strategic Weapons Facility Atlantic" There are some really interesting facts about the base, if you're interested. You can look them up on the internet at www.subasekb.navy.mil They also have a nice golf course here...Peter played and I got to drive the golf cart (I love that - couldn't hit a golf ball, though, if my life depended on it!) The weather has been perfect here the last few days: lower humidity, sunny, a little breeze (just enuf to keep the bugs away), and temps in the upper 60s, lower 70s. Pictures of one of the lakes on the golf course:

Lake Gaston, VA

Well, I guess it's about time I put something on this blog! We stopped at Lake Gaston, VA on the way down here. What a beautiful place! It is bordered by both Virginia and North Carolina. In fact, we left I 95 in NC and traveled on back roads back up into VA to get to the camping resort. The info on this lake is that it has over 20,000 acres of water that is of such high quality that it is almost drinkable without any treatment! The lake is 34 miles long and about 1 1/2 miles wide at the lower end; it has over 350 miles of shoreline and is about 200 feet above sea level. It's stocked with striped bass, large mouth bass, crappie (I don't really know what they are!), sunfish, and several varieties of catfish. Kathy, I guess you and Herb might like it here?! Here's a picture of Bijou and Missy surveying the lake - wondering if this is a place they really want to be. After they smelled every single leaf on the ground, they decided that it was really an ok place.

And a picture of the lake:

We stayed here 2 nights and when we left, we passed an historical marker along the road in NC that said something about "Allen Jones". Being the nosy person that I am, I had to know who that was and what he did to merit a marker...so, I looked it up in the internet. Peter says I'm the only person he knows who would do something like that! But, I did find out the following, for those of you who are history buffs (Jay):

Jones, Allen, (brother of Willie Jones), a Delegate from North Carolina; born in Edgecombe (now Halifax) County, N.C., December 24, 1739; attended Eton College, England; was a member of the colonial assembly 1773-1775; delegate to the five Provincial Congresses 1774-1776; served throughout the Revolutionary War, attaining the rank of brigadier general: served in the State senate 1777-1779, 1783, 1784, and 1787; Member of the Continental Congress in 1779 and 1780; member of the convention that rejected the proposed Constitution of the United States at Halifax, NC, in 1788; died on his plantation, "Mount Gallant," near Roanoke Rapids, Northampton County, NC, on November 10, 1798; interment in the private burial ground on his estate.