July 13 thru 20, 2012
Now that we have officially retired, traveling by RV has become our new avocation. Our first one week trip involving actually leaving Ocala was in July to St Mary, Georgia. Although it’s only some 200 miles away from home, it has the feel of a totally different lifestyle. As you would suspect, St. Mary is a small coastal town just north of the Florida/Georgia State line. Just off its coast is Cumberland Island once bought and owned by the Carnegie family and location of the oldest standing African Baptist Church (wedding site of John Kennedy Jr.). By the way, pulling off a wedding of this stature had to be a logistic nightmare given the island is only accessible by ferry for the common folks and boats and small planes for the more elite. Legend has it that because Carnegie was “new money” and not readily accepted by the “old money” on Jekyll Island, he bought Cumberland Island for his family and gave it to his wife Lucy for her birthday. They built a modest 55,000 square foot home for themselves and their friends and then build seven more of lesser grandeur for their children as they became of age. Quit a dynasty for brash new money! One of the 22,000 sq. ft. homes is still standing and very interesting to see. If history is not your thing, Cumberland Island also houses several herds of wild horses and some of the most beautiful secluded beaches on the east coast. You actually have to have a reservation to get on the island because they only allow 300 people per day to go to it. The horses are not assisted by the Park Service at all. They have to survive on their own but are also not harmed in any way, even though they are considered a nuisance. (Above picture is from a hill on Cumberland Island where spotters watched for submarines during WWII). Forgot to mention, the Carnegie’s gave the island to the National Park Service as one of its parks and as each owner has passed on, their individual pieces of property fall under the protection of the reserve. There are actually a few home sites still inhabited by owners.
While crossing over to the island on the ferry we suddenly saw a submarine go by (not your usual watercraft sighting, but totally normal because St Mary’s houses a submarine base as well. It is totally secured and top secret so no visitors are allowed. Still, it is not your common coastal town inhabitant. The ferry ride was even more interesting because we met a charming couple from Australia while on board. Hanna and Norman were avid backpackers several years ago and trekked across Europe. Hanna was amazed to hear about our RV since, as she put it “I could only carry 14 kilos and if I couldn’t carry it, it couldn’t go”. Norman actually retired from the office supply business so he and Jim had quite a bit in common.
We stayed in an RV camp just ½ mile from the entrance of the state park. We were able to ride our bikes through the park which is quite the place. They have nice looking cabins, a campground and even a miniature golf course! We didn’t stay in the campground because the sites are sand and no sewer hookups. You have to remember we are RVing, not “camping”. We prefer concrete slabs with landscaping and complete hookups including Internet and Cable TV. I’m convinced, once you have reached a certain age, creature comforts become more important. That must be why dorms are for college students and not retirement homes. Of course, everyone reaches “that certain age” at a different time in their life. I think for me it was around 35 years old.
It’s obvious the business community in St Mary’s has been feeling the impact of the economic downturn. There are empty stores and for sale signs everywhere. One of the largest employers, a paper mill, has closed down leaving many people without incomes or forced to move. If you have driven on I 95 I’m sure you have smelled the output of the paper mill sometime in the past. We did talk to a lot of very nice people, eat at some wonderful restaurants, and see some memorable things.
We finished our week’s visit with a trip to the Okeefenokee Swamp on a boat trip through the swamp with a third generation “swamper”. Beautiful scenery but absolutely fabulous stories about life in the swamp and how this land has been able to rejuvenate itself over the years to stay wild and beautiful. I never knew that in the early 1930’s the swamp was purchased with the intent to harvest all the lumber, drain the swamp and sell the land. Guess what. They harvested most of the trees but could never drain the swamp. The company went bankrupt and the trees all grew back preserving the habitat for the animals. There’s even an old home site preserved to give you a walk back in time to see what life was like. This was a fascinating look into the past and well worth the gas and time.
Our next trip is in August to Guntersville State Park in Alabama and looking forward to the next adventure.
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