A Jekyll Island Reprise [Update 2]

[ Vickie does it again - see comments at the end of this blog for answer and standings.]

It was only fitting that we should pay a return visit to Jekyll Island since it has been one of the favorite discoveries of this journey thus far (but I should also mention that our list of favorites is really pretty long). Weather forecasts down here (especially along the coastal areas) appear to be a real challenge and rarely correct. We picked today for this trip since it was supposed to be the brightest and warmest day of the week and since we leave for Florida on Sunday, our options were limited. Needless to say, the day was mostly overcast and cool and the actual visibility right at the Atlantic coast was very limited. On the other hand, we did not have to concern ourselves with the position of the sun as we were taking photos on the island.

Today's photographs are divided into two groups; the first being various sites around the island, including some of the 'cottages' that we had missed during our first visit and the second being turtles. One of the primary missions of the State Park on Jekyll is the preservation of the Sea Turtle community and this includes a turtle hospital where turtles that are ill or injured or otherwise not fit to survive on their own in the wild are nursed to a condition that would allow them to be returned to their natural habitat. Today's challenge (a bit more on the difficult side) is to identify the little turtles that you will see in the pictures with numbers painted on their backs. As a clue, these are not sea turtles but they live in the salt marsh areas. Much smaller than the others pictured in this album, the largest of this variety (the females are larger than the males) is on record at only 8 inches. The largest variety of sea turtles, on the other hand, can grow to a size of 8 feet and weigh in at a ton.

The day ended with dinner at the GA Pig. Ah, but that's another story.

Jekyll Reprise Photos

Turtle Photos

The Diamondback Terrapin is a species of turtle restricted to the North American continent from Massachusetts to Texas, found in salt marsh and mangrove habitats. Of the more than 350 species of turtles in the world, there is only one species of terrapin though the species is divided into seven sub-species, five of which can be found here in Georga.

Where Did the Day Go? (Update)

Moon Over Folkston - Wandering Through the Milky Way [Update...see comment below]

A question we've asked ourselves may times since this journey started...where did the day go? It happened again today as we both noticed that the sun was beginning to set - seemingly much earlier than it should have. It is a remarkable phenomenon. The days seem to pass so quickly and it does not seem to matter if we are off and visiting the swamp, some island, somewhere, anywhere, or nowhere in particular. Before we know it, the day is at an end and this is pretty much to the contrary of what I expected in retirement. We are both so glad that we've chosen this course - the days may go flying by, but I'm sure it is mostly because of all the enjoyment.

The plan for tomorrow is a return to Jekyll Island and I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures to share from there. For today, just a few local shots that were taken on a walk around some of the area immediately surrounding the Okefenokee RV Park.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=1443i1v0.8zm3i38&Uy=z4dowc&Ux=0

Small World Update - Cotton

Answer is Cotton as reported by many...see comments at the end of the blog.

Bert has grown quite fond of a class of trailer that you may not have seen before; it is known as a teardrop. Although I doubt that Bert would every buy one (especially considering that his thoughts have taken him in another direction recently) they are still interesting to look at. Not quite as small is the other camper pictured above, one that stayed here at the Okefenokee RV Park for several days. This was particularly interesting when I saw it depart this morning and the trailer was only slightly longer than the vehicle that was towing it.

The Sunday after Tanksgiving start out as attempt to see a 'Hometown Christmas' that was reportedly (according to the Folkston site on the internet) to be held at the Train Depot in town, but evidently they forgot to do it and instead we took a quiet drive South to a point somewhat beyond the end of the swamp. I know I've mentioned the extent of wilderness in this area before, but I continue to be astounded. Our travels today (about 100 miles or so) was at least 90% wilderness with one stretch of road where we saw no intersecting road for about 25 to 30 miles.

Just a few pictures to view today (I'm sure everyone has had enough of trees and sub-tropical underbrush by now) so...just some shots taken along US1 on our return trip and an easy question - the response will probably have more to do with speed than any lengthy investigation. No, the three shots of some fields do NOT have snow in them. What is it? As revealed in comments below, Tracy was first to respond with Cotton - Standings: Vickie (4), Steve (1), Terry (1), Linda (1), Mike (1), Chris (1) and Tracy (1)

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=1443i1v0.ztn23g4&Uy=dr55hj&Ux=0

A Barnum and Bailey World

Two days ago we were surprised to see a train pass by that was composed entirely of cars belonging to the circus. We've since learned that it was one of several Ringling Brothers trains that transport the equipment, personnel and animals all around the country. The trains are over a mile long and are known as the "Town Without a Zip Code" - logging more than 25,000 miles a year. For more information, go to: http://www.ringling.com/explore/history/legend/trains.aspx

Thanksgiving in Flordia

Amelia Island Inn and House

Ok, so we are camped in Georga, why would we have Thanksgiving in Florida? Why indeed! For one, the Florida border is only four miles South, but that had little to do with us having our Thanksgiving dinner on Amelia Island. Since we have no turkey 'on board' for one, and have yet to try using the oven for another, we decided it would be a good idea to have dinner out somewhere and off we went. Fully not expecting to find anything open in Folkston this day, we were quite surprised to see that McDonalds was indeed open but we were both of the opinion that a Double Cheeseburger from the Dollar Menu was really not an appropriate Thanksgiving meal. We suspected (hoped) that we could drive about 10 miles South into Hilliard, Florida and find something open. Keep in mind that we are in the Bible Belt and we were not really not disappointed to find anything open in this small town either. Next attempt; travel 20+ miles East to Yulee where we knew about a number of larger chain eateries (after all, Yulee even has a Starbucks!).

We suspected we were in trouble when we found nothing open in Yulee except (again) a McDonalds, a Huddle House and a Waffle House (that might have been open). We continued on to Amelia Island (having now traveled around 55 to 60 miles) since we knew that one of the first places we would encounter on the island would be a Sonny's. Indeed, Sonny's was likely in use sometime earlier in the day since there was a sign saying "Reserved for a Private Party Today" - ugh!

It was now approaching 4:30pm and we suspected our luck was quickly running out and we'd soon be returning to Folkston and our RV for some Turkey Noodle Soup.

Since we were nearly at the Historic District of Amilia Island (actually in the Fernando Beach area) we thought we'd take one last chance near the waterfront and were supremely disappointed to find a few folks walking down the shop-lined street but there was absolutely nothing open. Reluctantly, Deb turned around at the warf and on a whim took a right turn off the main drag and there, surprisingly, almost every parking spot was occupied surrounding an inn that was actually open and serving a Thanksgiving Buffet. We nearly had the 'big one' when we saw the price, but the food was quite delicious and the setting very attactive and comfortable.

Word to the wise: Should you ever decide to adopt the Nomad life-style, be prepared to prepare your own feast for Thanksgiving if you are not inclined to go searching for many miles or go hungry or (worse) settle on McDonalds.

Two Bug Winners?!

Detail of Walkingsticks

Well...there were two bugs, so why not two winners?

The Twostriped Walkingstick [Anisomorpha Buprestoides (Pseudophasmatidae)] was properly identified - first by Chris, then by Michael (see comments attached to the earlier blog entry); however, neither of them initially responded to the second part of the problem. Chris was declared the winner of the first part and Michael has since reported that they (yes, there are two as you can see in the detail above) are mating. The male is much smaller than the female and this is the common 'position' for this activity.

Standings: Vickie (4), Steve (1), Terry (1), Linda (1), Chris (1), Michael (1)

Name That Bug!

The folks from Nova Scotia, John and Emily were first to spot this bug a few days ago and based on their description of an insect they had never seen before, Deb and I both thought it to be some sort of 'walkingstick' - rather unusual in PA, at least in my experience, since I can remember seeing only a very few in my lifetime and Deb reports the same. When I spotted this critter today, sitting on a small tree right next to our water connection, I was rather surprised to see the difference between what is pictured above and what I remember as a walkingstick; however, it is indeed another variety of the insect and your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to identify the exact variety (it IS clear from the picture) and to explain what it is doing.

Good luck!

November 20th in GA - Update

St. Marys Gets Ready for Christmas Mystery Material Identified (see below)

Another most beautiful day, but it does seem that there have been many such days since we started this adventure. We've had only one morning of a bit of rain, several days of relatively high winds and a number of chilly nights, but mostly the days could not have been better (sorry about all the snow, rain, etc. those of you in PA have been 'enjoying' lately).

Today's travels took us from Folkston (well, perhaps it is really Hometown, but that's another story) to Kingston to Kings Bay to Crooked River and finally a third trip to St. Marys before returning. The 20 miles between Folkston and Kingston along GA 40, a road we have traveled a number of times now, is mostly wilderness like most of the area that surrounds us; however, it seems to us (although we've not actually made a count) that there is an inordinate number of churches, of many denominations, more churches, it seems, than houses. We've seen this in other areas as well. They are mostly quite small, but in good condition and obviously well attended as shown by the number of cars in the parking lots on a Sunday morning. Evidently we are on the Eastern end of the 'Bible Belt' and it appears to be alive and well.

Our visits today included the Kings Bay Submarine Base - well, not actually on the base but just outside the fence. It is obviously a very secure area since I was (not quite politely) told "NO Pictures" by the guards at one of the main gates as I prepared to take a shot of just the name of the place. The best we were able to accomplish was to visit and photograph a memorial that was erected outside of the fence. The conning tower you will see is from a decommissioned Triton sub.

Our next stop was at Crooked River State Park, another really nice preserve with camping spots, very nice cabins, trails, boat dock, etc. that you will see in the pictures. There seems to be no shortage of nice places to visit throughout this region. In our trip South and East from the River (which empties into Kings Bay) we stop to see the ruins of a sugar mill before proceeding to our third visit to St. Marys which has become one of our favorite spots in this area. St. Marys is a small, sea shore type town at the mouth of the St. Marys River which flows into the intercoastal waterways that seperate the mainland from the various off-shore islands that we've been visiting.

As the sun began to approach the horizon, we enjoyed a dinner of fish and chips on an outdoor balcony overlooking several marinas. As we watched boats come and go as well as pellicans preening and listened to the gulls screeching, it seemed the perfect end of another grand day.

Oh yes, there is another problem to be solved. Can you identify the material that was used in building the walls of the sugar mill? The material is TABBY - see comments below.

For the pictures, go to:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=1443i1v0.173ufobg&Uy=-lokemu&Ux=0

Sacred Harp

See comments applied to the 'Waycross' blog for responses from Vickie and Terry. I offer the following supplement:

Why is it called “Sacred Harp”?
Technically, the style of singing is “shape note singing” because the musical notation uses note heads in 4 distinct shapes to aid in sight-reading, but it is often called “Sacred Harp” singing because the books that most singers use today are called “The Sacred Harp,” with the most prominent of these being the 1991 Denson edition. The term “sacred harp” refers to the human voice — that is, the musical instrument you were given at birth.

The tradition is carried forward in this area, primarily centered around Hoboken, GA.

A note on the various mysteries and contest questions. The winner is determined by the first correct response that I receive - be it by commenting to the blog, eMail, phone, telepathy, etc. For instance, in this case, Terry was actually first to send a response; however, due to some failure by his eMail server or some such, Vickie's response had arrived and was posted well before Terry's.

Standings: Vickie (3), Steve (1), Terry (1) and Linda (1).

Waycross, GA

Waycross got its name from the multitude of railroads that cross in all directions at this location. You've seen railroads as a centerpiece of an earlier blog (about Folkston) and there is no doubt that rail transportation dominates this region. There were not less than three sets of tracks paralleling our entire drive today. A large portion of the freight is car carriers - hard to believe the size of the automobile market to our South (Florida is only 4 miles away) - absolutely thousands of cars being delivered just through this area every single day.

...then there's the wilderness. For all the stories that we hear of diminishing wildnerness areas, I can assure you that the wildnerness is alive and well in this part of GA. In the 40 or so mile drive from Folkston (a County Seat) to Waycross (the next County Seat) there is NOTHING but wilderness - not one town, very few isolated buildings - mostly lots of trees with sub-tropical undergrowth and some marsh/swamp scattered here and there.

Another beautiful day, although a bit cool and tonight is to be even cooler, possibly down to freezing - the earliest frost in 10 years for the area.

Todays photos include shots of a few of the RV's in our campground. One is close to beeing the largest we've seen, another is probably the smallest Class A and the Fifth-Wheel belongs to the folks from Nova Scotia that we've been chatting with from time to time. In Waycross we visited a small 'Heritage' museum that included some information and items from local history including American Indian artifacts, items that belonged to the city founders, the oldest house, and (of course) an old steam engine and rail cars. There was also a display of some printing equipment that was still in use by the local 'rag' as recently as 1951. Oh, and of course there is a question...can anyone tell me what "Sacred Harp" is??

Photos:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=1443i1v0.vmhjujo&Uy=-9hsy8w&Ux=0

Up to Our Knees

Cypress Trees have Knees!

Linda comes in first on the KNEES...please see comments following the 1-866-THE-SWAMP blog. An honorable mention to Vickie as well, correct, but 2 hours late.

The Standings:

Vickie: 2

Steve: 1

Terry: 1

Linda: 1

1-866-THE-SWAMP

No Doubt in My Mind!

Welcome to the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge.

There is much more to the Okefenokee than just the SWAMP. The primary mission of the Rangers and other employees here is not as much conservation of the swamp as it is protection of the wildlife that lives here. As a matter of fact, most of the area is not swamp at all. Most of the refuge is dry land, while the next largest area is marsh land, which can vary greatly in size depending on just how much water is present. The water level can change at very dramatic rates...as much as an inch or two per hour. The condidtion of the swamp, forrest and marsh is left completely to the forces of nature. If there is a fire, there is no attempt to stop it, and the water is not controlled by dams or draining or any other artificial means. Likewise, there is nothing done to actually control the wildlife, just that the area is proteced from what otherwise might be done by external forces (like us). There is nothing added and nothing taken away.

Many years ago (before the establishment of the refuge) there was an attempt by a logging company to drain the swamp via the construction of a canal but it ended in failure. The remains of the canal was the primary water-way that you will observe in the pictures as we went on a 90 minute boat tour of this sector (East) of the refuge. The unusually vivid reflections in the water are due to the 'black' water throughout (actually a deep orange) that is a result of the huge amount of decomposition.

You will see a couple of photos that are nothing but reflections, looking like the work of some impressionist artist and be sure to look out for the 'gators and Steve, be sure to look out for your knees! [For our contest item today (excluding Steve) - just what the heck do I mean by that??]

Enjoy the photos and feel free to ask questions:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=1443i1v0.hoaj5lg&Uy=-kevgif&Ux=0

Winner of the Boat Contest

Shrimp Boat

Yes, we have a winner - probably before many of you even had a chance to see the blog. No, the mission was NOT attracting a variety of sea birds!

Today's contest winner is Terry Reagan. For those of you who don't recognize the name, I first worked with Terry (too many) years ago at Impaco when it was still located in Nazareth & later worked with him again while at one of the 'Fuller' companies (Fuller Bulk Handling) for a while until Terry moved on to greener pastures. We've been in touch off and on through the years, mostly via eMail, but had a recent face-to-face upon the death of our great mutual friend Ernie Laudenslager in September.

Nice (quick) job Terry - hoping this will encourage others to participate.

For those who are keeping score, it is now:

Vickie - 2

Steve - 1

Terry - 1

Work Break (That's a Break??)

After our not so great Casino Experience, we decided upon some self-inflicted punishment - two days of getting some chores completed. Things like laundry, washing the exterior of our home (back an right side one day; front and left side the next), some interior rearranging by Deb, some touch-up painting of our 'toad' by me and a host of other minor items. Of course, this was not accomplished without some well-deserved breaks along the way, such as a couple hours of conversation and Long Island Teas with a couple from Nova Scotia who are staying here for a while, but will have to return to Canada in a couple of weeks.

Thanks to some very nice and warm days so far this week, the RV washing went nicely - not even a problem when we managed to get sprayed with water from time to time. Tomorrow (Wednesday) is forecast to be the warmest of the days and the plan at this point is to travel more deeply into the Okefenokee Swamp with hopes to get some photos of 'gators, but trying NOT to get any closer than that!

Today's photos are mostly of our home as it is today - per a request from Tracy and Jeff who wanted to see our actual living conditions, rather than the 'pristine' condition of the Bounder that we had circulated earlier. There are a few shots from our Casino trip in the beginning of the Album as well.

Today's Mystery (by popular request...an easier one so you'd better jump on it quickly before someone else beats you to it): There is a boat that was photographed twice from aboard the Emerald Princess II. The question...what was the boat's mission?

Photos:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=1443i1v0.182vwodg&Uy=tvemy&Ux=0

Not Quite What We Expected

Certainly Not Fit for a Princess

We spent a good part of Sunday abord the Emerald Princess II which departed from near Jekyll Island for a 5 hour cruise. As those of you who know us best might have already surmised, it was more for the gambling than the cruise - intended as Deb's birthday celebration; however, this has proven to be absolutley the only negative choice we've made since starting on this adventure two weeks ago. The ship, although nice enough I suppose as these things go, was filled mostly with games in which we had little/no interest and to make matters worse, the sea was really quite rough when we reached unprotected waters and before too long, Deb was not feeling at all well and even though I did not get ill, I found the nearly constant rocking and rolling to be quite annoying. This, for us, was a lesson learned and something we are not likely to repeat.

The Mystery Bird and a New Problem to Solve - Updates Posted

Bird Mystery Resolved
Update - 10 November - Vickie has correctly Identified Haematopus Palliatus or the American Oystercatcher. This impressive bird reaches a height of 17 to 21 inches, with a 35-inch wingspan. Other distinguishing characteristics include an orange bill 3 to 4 inches long, thick pink legs, bright yellow eyes with red rings around them, black or dark brown backs with black heads and necks, and white bellies and breasts and white stripes on their wings. Great job Vic! We're trying to decide if you are (1) very astute or (2) very competitive or (3) have more time on your hands these days or (4) all of the above.

Greetings All - We are still looking for a solution to the great bird mystery. As a clue, this is primarly a shorline resident who is indeed 'great' in the sense that it is quite large, particularly when compared to the 'swarm' of shore birds who were pictured elsewhere in the same (Cumberland Island) album.

...and Vickie also hits a home run on the fort question. Her response was 1864. Great goin' Vic. I guess we'll have to dig a bit deeper on future contests! No, we'll keep it fun and not TOO difficult, but no 'giveaways' either!

The new problem? You know that the fort pictured in the Amelia Island Album was primarily a Civil War Era fortress, used mainly by Union forces. From the pictures of the fort and contents, what year(s) are depicted? Difficult, but not impossible.

Amelia Island, Florida and Fort Clinch State Park

...Never Saw THIS Sign Before!

About 90% of Amelia Island is 180 degrees removed from what we enjoyed at Cumberland Island just two days ago. This island, just to the South of Cumberland which is just to the South of Jekyll is now the third 'barrier' island we've visited and is undoubtedly the most 'developed' of them all; including all manner of businesses, industry, chain eateries, roads, vehicles, commercial docks, individual dwellings to large hotels (among other turist traps), etc.; however, the prize of the island is the 10% at the North end which is the State Park. Here, except for the area occupied by the Civil War era fort, is a preserved area that is very similar in appearance, flora and fauna to Cumberland Island.

We spent a good amount of time exploring the fort, part of which included a 'guided' description of one of the buildings and its content by a quite "stern" but very humorous Sgt. in the Union Army. For more information see http://www.floridastateparks.org/fortclinch/

On our drive South along the beach area we spotted a couple of unusual beach homes which are shown in today's album (no, they are NOT real light houses). We ended the day in the 'historic' section of town where we enjoyed some excellent seafood for dinner. Please enjoy our photographs at: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=1443i1v0.19lutnj0&Uy=-3gd1bg&Ux=0

A Visit to Cumberland Island

Just One of the Smallest of These We Saw

Cumberland Island National Seashore is described in the brochure as published by the National Park Service as "Forrests so quite that you can hear yourself breathe, sunlight filtered and diffused through over-arching trees and vines, sounds of small animals scurrying in the underbrush (etc.)...Georgia's largest and southernmost barrier island..." We enjoyed all this and much more.

This description and the photos that you'll find by going to the link below do much more than we could possibly put in to words to describe the beauty of this place. We traveled to the island via a 45 minute ferry ride and proceed to take about a 5 mile hike (exhausting, in points) around just one small portion of the island - seeing wild horses, wild turkeys, ruins of a bygone era (when the Carnegie family owned 90% of the island), stoping for lunch on a huge and uncluttered beach and generally just enjoying a perfect day in a perfect setting.

Oh, BTW, I guess I (not Deb) am now officially a Senior Citizen since our entry to Cumberland Island was via a pass we purchased for $10 that allows me unlimited lifetime access (including up to 3 guests) to all areas that are run by the National Park Service and also provides huge discounts for such things as camp sites.

Oh, for today's mystery - can you identify the bird with the orange bill?

Photos:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=1443i1v0.14b1bhfw&Uy=n0782&Ux=0

St. Marys, GA

A Point Along the St. Marys (Black Water [Really is Black]) River

In preparation for tomorrow's trip to Cumberland Island where we will visit a relatively large and unspoiled/protected barrier island with wild horses and other points of interest, we took a trip today to St. Marys, GA, where we spent a bit of time walking around the town and gardens and made reservations for our spots on the ferry since the only access to the island is by water. The town looked very much like some points along the NJ shore, particularly like parts of Cape May.

Not a whole lot of photos today, but here are a few to give you some idea of another lovely area:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=1443i1v0.z2tw0ng&Uy=-vhnxkg&Ux=0

We Have a Winner!

Mystery Pic Resolved

If you remember the 'Mystery Pic' from a few days back, Steve correctly identified the bridge and provided the following information.

The I-295 Varina-Enon Bridge at Dutch Gap was opened to traffic in July 1990. It has six lanes (three lanes each way) with full right and left shoulders, and is a cable-stayed bridge with 150 feet of vertical navigational clearance and 630 feet of horizontal navigational clearance. The bridge crosses the James River, and the shipping channel that leads to the Richmond Marine Terminal. The overall bridge length is 4,680 feet.

Thanx for the info Steve and thanx to everyone that responded. You can look for more mysteries to be solved in the future.

Greetings from the Swamp

Not exactly IN the Okefenokee Swamp but we are very close (6 miles or so) and we ARE situated in the land between two railroads.

Today was spent in (1) a trip to 'Main Street USA', (2) seeing trains 'Up Close and Personal', (3) on the Edge of the Swamp and (4) a trip through the 60's.

Folkston, GA, is indeed like the small town you've always pictured in your mind and the photos you'll see were really taken on Main Street; including the County Courthouse which looks nothing like what these places have become, even in Northampton and Lehigh counties.

The railroads that surround our campground merge in the "Folkston Funnel" and people come from near and far to spend the better part of a day watching the trains go by. None of the streets in town go either over or under the rails so there are more railroad crossings here than I've ever seen in such a limited space and even though some of these trains are quite long, and sometimes one following another in very short succession, no one seems to mind waiting for the trains to go by - seems to just be part of the culture of this one small town.

We ventured South to just the Eastern edge of the Okefenokee Swamp with plans to return sometime later in the month. It was a beautiful drive through part of the Wildlife Refuge - no 'gators yet, but did bump into one of Deb's least favorite reptiles (see the photos).

To end the day, we took a short drive down US 1. The Florida border is only four miles South of us and I had visions of all the folks that probably used this route in fleeing the North for Florida back in the 50's/60's before the days of the Interstate Highway System. A very nice highway, recently resurfaced, is dotted with 60's era motels and other structures, both open and long since closed that cause the traveler to feel somewhat in a time warp. There is a good chance that we will go further along this road when we migrate to our Florida location in December.

A really fine day and we enjoyed every minute & hope you enjoy the pics.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?&mode=fromsite&collid=87319039212.87392475812.1194139398728&conn_speed=1

A Better Place in GA

The Okefenokee Swamp is a Major Location for UFO Sightings - this is NOT a UFO!

There are so many great aspects of this adventure. For this particular entry: If you don't like where you are...just move. After a very nice camping experience on Jekyll Island, we were very disappointed with the site we had chosen to spend November. We found much of the location and facilities to be substandard so Deb was on a mission this morning to find new digs. It is a decision that is not made lightly since there is a good deal of work involved with our setup having been more than just the day to day traveling type. An excellent alternative was located at the Okefenokee RV Campground near Folkston, GA, home of the "Folkston Tunnel" - see http://www.folkston.com/trains/trains.htm - which would be a really big hit with Ben.

Just a few shots from our new location for you to enjoy (below) and tomorrow we'll be off to exploring some of this area (and undoubtedly there will be pics to share).

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?&mode=fromsite&collid=87319039212.12173755812.1194050593790&conn_speed=1

Day One in Kingsland

We were somewhat sad to leave Jekyll Island, but we will return. The visit to Jekyll turned out to be such a nice surprise and we've already decided to visit another day while we are in GA. On the trip South along the sea as we were departing, the white caps were visible to the horizon as the storm continues to approach the area. It was just a short 30 or 40 miles to Kingsland, GA, where we will be keeping our base of operations for the month of November [JAX NORTH/KINGSLAND KOA]. Today was mostly spent in preparing our home for more than just an over night stay and although there are still some things to be done, Deb has done a fine job in making things more convenient and comfortable as I was mostly taking care of the outdoor duties. The plan for tomorrow is to start exploring the area and we'll continue to report about all our discoveries.