St. Simon Island

St. Simon Island Lighthouse

We drove over to explore St. Simon Island today. It is another barrier island in the Atlantic off the Georgia coast. What a gorgeous place! Beautiful, huge live oak trees draped with Spanish moss are everywhere. It is much more commercialized and affluent than Jekyll Island with many lovely old homes. We took a trolley tour to get the history of the area and then had lunch at a "famous" BBQ joint - "Soul Food." Very good - but, a rub vs a spicy sauce like we are used to in Texas..

We heard the story of what made the difference between Jekyll and St. Simon Islands today. Two families settled Jekyll Island with land grants then their heirs sold the land to the Jekyll Island Club - an exclusive resort. It was eventually sold to the state. Recently, the government provided a grant to the State of Georgia to build a convention center on Jekyll Island but once it was done "they" realized there is not enough hotels/housing for people attending a conference. No private enterprise is interested because the land is owned and governed by the state of Georgia. Plus, since Jekyll Island is a State Park you pay a daily rate to get on the island! So, the white elephant sits empty on Jekyll Island and all the shops and restaurants are on St. Simon Island. Another exclusive resort, Sea Palms, with a private golf course is on St. Simon Island - on land that was once a 1,000 acre cotton plantation. 



"White Elephant" convention center on Jekyll Island



Oak tree on St. Simon Island



 







An Unwanted Guest

I saw what looked like mouse droppings a few days ago so we figured we had picked up a "hitch-hiker." Roger could only find one mouse trap so he put some cheese on it and set it between the wall and the driver's seat. When we go up the next morning the trap wasn't there! Roger got the flashlight out and looked all around under the seat, by all the pedals, under the passenger seat - finally found it behind the love seat on the opposite side of the motorhome! Cheese gone - no mouse! Hmmmm......crafty little bugger!

So he went to the hardware store and bought 5 more traps: 1 "old fashioned" one, 2 "box" types, and 2 "sticky" pads. Figured the mouse couldn't be smart enough to allude all of them!

Well, he was right and the next morning he had caught the culprit but, he decided to leave the other traps out for a couple more days just in case the mouse's family had moved in too!

Soooo........the next day we were getting ready to go golfing and Roger asked me to grab the GPS - it was mounted on the dashboard of the motorhome on the drivers side - I went to detach it, dropped it and guess where it landed?! In the sticky trap! So, I try to get it out and in the process get the sticky glue on my fingers, on the cord, seemingly everywhere!! Roger comes to help and by the time we are done everything is stuck to this damn trap except the mouse!!!! We got to laughing - how dumb can we be??? We tried nail polish remover, acetone and finally charcoal lighter fluid to get it off! Hint - don't use cotton balls - because then you have a fuzzy, sticky mess!

I said "I feel so stupid!" and Roger responded "It's not your fault, it's just the natural progression of dying brain cells." That's supposed to make me feel better??!!!

Jekyll Island

We are spending a few days on Jekyll Island on the coast of Georgia. It is a popular resort area with beaches, golf courses, restaurants and bike trail all around and through the island. There is a canopy of old oak trees, festooned with Spanish moss, everywhere you go. It was like threading a needle to get the motorhome into our campsite!
Roger gets up early every morning and rides his bike for exercise but, I'm not an "early bird" so I rarely go with him. I'm glad to have so many trails to explore without having to ride on the roads. Rain is predicted this week so we are playing golf this afternoon. Life is good!

Okefenokee Swamp

We spent 2 days at Stephen Foster State Park in Okefenokee Swamp - not exactly a bustling place - just us and the critters! We took a ranger guided boat tour through the swamp and saw many different birds; turtles; trees; vines; wild iris; yellow and white lily pads and of course alligators. The water was like glass and we thought about getting our kayak out but when the ranger talked about 5 different venomous snakes plus the 'gators we decided NOT!



Fargo, Georgia is the closest "city" to the swamp - loose use of the term "city" since the nearest grocery store is 50 miles away! We played golf at Swanee River Golf Course and then had lunch at Swanee River Cafe on our way out. That's about all there is to do in Fargo!

The golf course is a long 9 hole course with little tiny greens that made it pretty challenging. It was in much better shape than we anticipated but, we had the place all to ourselves. It is all on the honor system - you put your money in an envelope, stick it in the box and go unplug your golf cart! Needless to say - no restrooms or "beer babe."

It was very interesting but.....Roger says "some places are on our 'do over' list and some are not!" Frankly, I say - I'm glad to see the swamp in our rear view mirror!

Castillo De Marcos National Monument

 

 

 



This monument is actually a fort in St. Augustine, Florida. It was built by the Spanish in 1672 - well before Jamestown. It is so well designed that it has never been captured by enemy forces - it has only changed "hands" by treaties - primarily between Spain and Great Britain.



We spent a nice afternoon walking around St. Augustine and ate at a well known Cuban restaurant called "The Colombian." They make their specialty salad and sangria at your table and have delicious Cuban sandwiches.

On our way to Okefenokee Swamp this morning. At first - a bird the size of a chicken flew into the motorhome windshield! Didn't hurt our window but not sure about the bird - he did fly away!

Cocoa Beach, Florida

 

Life is a "beach" at Cocoa Beach!

We are staying at Jetty Park in Port Canaveral for a truly relaxing week. The park is located on a jetty with the ocean on one side and a man made canal on the other. The canal allows cruise ships to enter/leave the port. We couldn't have a better site - right on the point - just a short walk to the beach or along the canal and fishing pier.

Cape Canaveral property is across the canal - pretty quiet around there nowdays.

They rent 2 chairs with cushions and an umbrella for $15 per day. We rode our bikes around the area in the morning and then I spent the whole day on the beach! Walking, reading, napping, watching the dolphins and boats - glorious!

We watched the Carnival Pride leave port last evening - a huge cruise ship that takes up most of the canal. A "port pilot" is required to "drive" the ship out to sea so there is a small escort boat that leads the ship out of the canal and then picks up the pilot and brings him back.

We are golfing today - such a tough life we lead!

A cute Emily story: They were eating chicken for dinner and Emily asked why Heather "always makes chicken" - Heather asked her what her favorite food is so she could make it sometime - Emily answered "rice" - Heather said you can't just eat rice, Emily, what is your second favorite food? Emily thought for a moment and said "frosting!"

We were on SKYPE with the girls last night - early morning in KL - Heather was fixing their hair before school - Emily told Samantha she looked "fabulous!"

Royal Palm, Everglades

We drove south of Miami and out to another Everglades visitor center today - saw a movie about the Everglades and then explored Royal Palm. There is a boardwalk loop trail that provides a wonderful tour of the ecosystem. The area is "teeming" with wildlife - birds, alligators, turtles, snakes, fish, insects and plants. Spring is a great time to be here because there are no bugs - yet! It is mating season for the alligators and we could hear them "bellowing" through out the swamp. On our way out of the park we saw a car parked along the side of the road with people taking pictures - we had to stop and see what the attraction was - a mother alligator and about 30 baby alligators in a shallow pool!
They have a huge problem with python snakes in the Everglades and south Florida. Apparently, someone let a pet python into the swamp and they have multiplied rapidly. The ranger told us the females lay 100-150 eggs at a time. Florida had a month long "open season" for hunting them - gave out 800 permits and only 67 were captured/killed. I say they pay a bounty and let anyone interested hunt them anytime for money!!
Believe it or not, you can take a 14 day canoe trip through the Everglades and camp out along the way! Or, you can go "slogging" with a ranger - this is hiking in the swamp - for those "adventurous individuals who don't mind walking through mud and water." Didn't hurry to sign up for either of those outdoor activities! Viewing it from the safety of the walkway was close enough for me!

Not sure whether they peck the cars or poop on them!!

A

An "Anhinga" - they dive and spear fish with their sharp beak then they spread their wings to dry them so they can fly.

We watched this turtle lay some eggs and then cover them with dirt using her hind legs.

We laughed at this sign - a little different than the 7,000 feet passes out west!

Momma alligator and her babies

An "airplant" in full bloom

Miami, Florida

We drove to Miami for the last day LaPoints were with us. The guys went golfing again while Ann and shopped. "South Beach" clothing is not exactly designed for women my age that live in trailer parks!! We took a boat tour of the harbor and "Millionaire's Row," and ate more seafood last night and then took them to the airport early this morning. Poor Gary has to go back to work tomorrow! We are glad they came to visit - we had a great time!

 

A typical home along the harbor - this one is owned by the president of a large pharmecutical company - no wonder our medications are so expensive!



This private yacht belongs to the president of Carnival Cruise line - looks like he cruises in style!

Speaking of Carnival - the "Liberty" leaving port

Fisher Island - a private island in the harbor accessed by private ferry, yacht or helicopter. It costs $270,000/year "dues" to belong to the homeowners association and condos are in the millions. But, Oprah or Tom Cruise could be your neighbor!

Key West

We drove across the state to Long Key State Park after touring the Everglades. Our campsite is right on the Atlantic Ocean! It was so windy on Thursday we could not enjoy the beach so we drove to Key West for the day. The Conch Trolley Tour was a great way to see the island and get the history.
Of course we ate seafood at the wharf (saw a fishing boat named "The High Class Hooker") and then went to Mallory Square to watch the sunset. The square is full of street performers, vendors and tourists - a wonderful place to people watch!

Hemingway's home in Key West.

A street performer did a tumbling act, ran and jumped through the small hoola hoop her boyfriend held on her back!

 

 

Key West sunset

 

Our last day at Long Key State Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Everglades

What great fun we had riding an airboat through the Everglades and the Mangrove forests! Roger was disappointed that we did not see any manatees - this is not the best season to see them - but we saw several alligators, turtles and birds.

Sanibel Island

Our friends, Ann and Gary, joined us in Naples and we are having a fun week exploring south Florida. The guys played golf while Ann and I checked out the downtown Naples shopping on Monday. Here we are after lunch at a the Mucky Duck on Sanibel Island yesterday. The island is known for the millions of seashells that wash up with each wave. It reminded us of the Caribbean - beautiful aqua blue water and some gorgeous homes on the waterfront!