The Island of Time Past

Well, I just got back from Cumberland Island and the weather was absolutely fantastic. This place was all and more than I expected. Bill and I left on Wed. night around 11pm and got to St. Mary's around 6am on Thurs. morning. Enough time to catch a quick wink and a bite to eat before we hopped on the ferry.
To some extent, this was an escape from the cold and to some semblance of warmth. Thursday morning it was a frosty 26 degree's in downtown St. Mary's. Thankfully, it finally warmed up on Friday and was in the 70's Sat, Sun, and Mon. When we left on Wed, I had 4" of snow on the ground and the lows were plunging into the single digits, with 35+ winds. Needless to say, it was time to go to the beach.
I'm not even going to pretend that I can describe this place with words. I'm not even sure the photo's will really do it justice. So.... not a lot of words, but a bunch of photos! Enjoy....

St. Marys River

Campsite at Stafford Beach
























Hiking the Main Road Horse and Coon Tracks
























Gotta Bring Jack! Trail Through the Dunes

More Dunes

And More Dunes!

Driftwood on Beach

Plum Orchard Plum Orchard

Plum Orchard BaySide
Bill at Sunrise
Horses on Beach at Sunrise
Sunrise
Sunset


So there it is. A small grouping of the 394 photos I took in 5 days. This place just screams to be photographed. There were horses, armadillos, coons, birds, etc. everywhere. Hear a tank coming through the palmetto at camp, fret not, just a horse wandering through looking for a snack. want to be alone on the beach, just go for a walk. 16.6 miles of beach and only 300 people allowed on the island makes for a strong feeling of being alone. If you look at the beach shots, you'll notice the lack of other people. People tended to congregate near the camp areas, which left miles and miles of beach and interior empty.

On the downside, neither the island nor the rangers are very dog friendly. Ya'll know how we take Adicus almost everywhere. This won't be a place he'll ever get to go to. Bugs! On the warmer days the no-seeums came out in force on the bay side. I pulled 2 ticks off of me, so I can't really imagine how bad it can be in August! Be prepared to walk or pay a small ransom for a bike. We walked over 40 miles in 5 days. Bike rentals were $20 a day, ridiculous.

My overall thoughts on the island. WOW!! I'm not a beach person, but wow! SeaCamp, the main park service campground is phenomenal. Probably one of the best NPS campground I've been to. It was kept very private, they didn't try to cram in as many people as possible. Shells! Bill and I picked up over a 1 dozen and a 1/2 sandollars in one walk. I have a small cooler full of sweet shells for Cat. Not crappy bi valves, but the "spirally" type. Needless to say, she was happy with her shells! 5 types of habitats, all kinds of critters, including horses. Ruins of houses built during the Gilded Era, some restored. I give this place two thumbs up with a strong recommendation of visiting when you get a chance.

On a side note, you'll notice there are no fish photos. No rods accompanied me on this trip. It was more about being warm and hiking. When I return, there WILL be rods with me. I hoping to take Cat there in the fall, so hopefully I'll be able to post some fishing reports from there.
Hope ya'll enjoyed the virtual vacation.