June 22, 2014 9:10 am
It was time for some exercise given all the great food we have been eating. We read about two bicycle trails nearby that are becoming part of the Georgia Rail Trail so we thought we would check them out. These Rail Trails are all over the country and are basically old CSX railroad tracks converted to biking/walking trails. We have one near Ocala that runs from Dunnellon all the way to Floral City.
The first piece of the trail starts in Woodbine, about 15 miles north of St Marys. It starts at the river and runs south for 3 miles.
The City did a very nice job of converting this trail with historical markers and the Women’s Club is maintaining bird feeders all along the trail to encourage birds.
Gazebo along bike path with bird feeders
Unfortunately we saw more squirrels than birds at the feeders. There was even a marker talking about the hobos who rode the railways in the 18th and 19th centuries including one who frequented Woodbine on a regular basis. He was killed one year jumping off the train and the city fathers moved his grave to a spot near the trail in honor of his history.
The next piece of trail was longer, 3.5 miles each way and started in White Oak just north of Woodbine. From what we could see, White Oak consist of a Post Office
and some homes, which explains why their section of trail is nowhere near as good as Woodbine’s. It’s not even paved but only gravel, sand, and pot holes. We lasted about 1/2 mile and turned around fearful for our tires and fillings!
We drove back to St Marys hoping for crepes and scones at the Mad Hatter but they were closed so we settled for the Blue Goose instead. Check out this picture of Goosed Turkey sandwich on multi-grain bread with apple slices, Cheddar cheese, and peach mango tango preserves with an apple walnut salad with goat cheese, cranberries, bacon and orange maple dressing.
Not bad but it looked and sounded better than it tasted. The patio table was so pleasant though, we lingered longer than necessary.
Back to the RV and we finished with another ride through the Crooked River State Park. It’s amazing for such a lovely park, there are no people staying there. The campsites and cottages always look empty.
We ended the day with dinner at Shark Bites again. I had to have one of those wild caught ground gator burgers with provolone cheese and remoulade sauce. I chose collard greens as my side dish and they were some of the best I’ve ever had. There was to be music in the park on Saturday night but a storm came and it was cancelled.
We did see a rainbow after the storm giving us a perfect ending to our short stay in St Marys. Tomorrow we head back to Ocala and reality.
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Do you have to bike before you eat again? The bike trail looked pretty. Back again at shark bites, it must of been good. We will fly home Monday. Sent from my iPhone
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By Gary Ernst on June 22, 2014 at 2:38 pm