Friday, August 17, 2012  Cave Spring, Georgia The Town

After our strenuous workout yesterday, we thought we would do something more age appropriate and scope out the town.  Cave Spring is a one traffic light town born because of the spring, (you guessed it), found in a cave.  This spring supplies the water to this entire area and is crystal clear with no help from technology or humans.  In fact, people go to the spring with empty bottles and fill up to take home with them.    We had attended a bible study class in Rome on Wednesday night and one of the members encouraged us to visit this picturesque town.  She told us about a hardware store with so much “stuff” she was sure the owner had no idea what was in there.  I immediately thought of Toffaletti’s Hardware in Ocala.  She also encouraged us to visit their little museum.  That was an absolute treasure.  The building is simply a small house converted into various exhibits dating back to 1832 when the town was established.  Inside we found a charming older gentleman who was raised in Cave Spring and attended school in the modest school house.  They have dedicated one of the rooms to recreate the school room complete with tables that served as desks and blackboard that spelled out the starting curriculum each day.  He promised us the singing of America, pledge of allegiance, and bible reading and prayer were an everyday occurrence.  Such a shame we have become so enlightened and don’t permit those things in the class room anymore.  While we were there we also met the daughter of the school’s principal.  She is heading up an effort to refurbish the old school building and invited us to attend their fund raising luncheon on Sunday.

Cave Spring is very interested in preserving its history.  There is an old building in town that had been recently sold and was being renovated.  When they pulled off the siding, they found the original log cabin constructed in the early 1800’s before the town was incorporated.  This house was originally built as a private home, used as a hotel, converted to a feed store and now being saved as an historical building.

There is now a huge campaign to “Save the Cabin” with signs all over town and a great deal of community pride.

The town consists of one block of stores in the four directions of the intersection.  I counted three antique shops and four restaurants one of which seemed more crowded than the others.  At this “nothing fancy” restaurant we had lunch of broasted chicken, collard green, fried green tomatoes and cornbread and we were still not hungry at 7pm that night.  Of course after lunch we went to see Cave Spring, the actually spring.  There the Army Corp had erected a rock building surrounding the cave and the town had set up a $1.00 fee to go inside.  What a deal!  I don’t know what I expected to see, but what I did see was a cave with a few drops of water dripping from the roof and rock formations.  In the middle of the cave was an out of place green door sheltering the pipes coming out of the ground.  Was it worth $1.00? I don’t know but all the people we encountered were extremely friendly and interesting to talk to.  This day turned out to be a step back in time with the actual inhabitants.

AT CEDAR CREEK RV PARK IN CAVE SPRING GEORGIA

The first thing I noticed was the wide, level, packed gravel campsites backed up to a fast moving creek.  After our last location this looked like a piece of paradise to me.   The setting was not nearly as beautiful as the park but certainly in better shape and more civilized.  We backed our fifth wheel into a site which put the creek right into the view from our back window.  Most of the rigs in this park were older and we later found out that the park actually maintains several travel trailers and fifth wheels that they can rent to folks who want to camp but don’t own one.  The Cedar Creek RV and Kayak Center also offers kayaking and tubing on the creek.  This is a quiet place probably because it appears most of the people here are working during the week and gone most of day.  After yesterday’s marathon driving and chaotic set up experience, I could use a quiet day with no activity.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

We spent most of yesterday mapping out our BIG TRIP and making reservations.  Today we decided to take advantage of the kayaking offered at this campground.  They drove us 6 miles up the creek and dropped us off with kayaks, oars, and life jackets.  The only instructions I heard was look for the V in the shoals. I had never kayaked in a fast moving creek with shoals before, and in fact I had no idea what shoals were.  The “fast moving” part was great because the current did most of the work.  You just needed to keep the kayak in the middle of the creek heading in the right direction. Not too long into the run, we came upon our first shoal.  By the way, for any readers not schooled in the ways of creeks and such, a shoal is shallow water area and I found out from experience, filled with large rocks!  Of course I plowed right into an embankment and immediately heard in my mind the departing words of the clerk, “Our policy is if you break it you buy it”.

Over the next four hours I really tested that policy but there was one spot in the trip where worrying about the price of the kayak was the least of my worries.  We had been told that two members of the crew were going down the creek in a canoe at the same time because there was a fallen tree across the creek that had to be cut and removed.  The men stopped to cut up a tree which we naturally thought was their goal and gave it no further thought.  Suddenly I noticed just in front of what sounded like a section of shoal with really fast moving water (what we city kids would call “rapids”) was a huge tree about three feet in circumference and much too high to go over.  The water was rushing with speed and force unlike those we had already gone over. I was trying to slow or stop my kayak with no success and ran right into this tree harder than I realized.  It swung my kayak around and put me in a parallel position to the tree with the water rushing into the kayak.  I frantically climbed out onto the tree only to have the water fill the kayak almost taking me down with it.  My big concern was not getting my eyes wet because of my recent cataract surgery and the doctor’s instructions of no swimming.  If he was worried about chlorinated swimming pool water causing an infection, I can’t imagine what he would think of this green-brown looking stuff!  Just in the nick of time, here comes my knight in shining armor to save the day.  Jim got out of his kayak and instructed me to hold it while he tried to grab my kayak.  The rushing water was powerful and kept pushing the kayak under the tree.  It was upside down now and filled with water being wedged under this tree.  Suddenly I realized my leg was caught between the tree and the kayak and being pushed in a direction God did not intend it to go.  To make matters worse, it was my bad leg with the plates and screws holding it together.  I had to get my leg out of this trap without falling off this tree and I honestly can’t tell you how I did it, but I did.  Together Jim and I got the kayak to a perpendicular position to the tree and were able to take the pressure off.  Once that happened, we could empty it and move on. No matter what happened after that, it was much easier.  Kind of like life itself!  Once the hard stuff is over, the rest gets easier.  During all this, my water bottle washed out of the kayak and I was concerned about littering the creek.  Low and behold, just on the other side of the shoal was my water bottle stuck in the high weeds at the bank’s edge.  Kayak, mankind, and nature were all returned to their former state.

We had lots of fun and I laughed so hard at one point I could not stop and thought I would tip over.  Jim had gotten out of his canoe to help me again, but this time he stepped into a hole and was slipping and sliding around the rocks with his arms in the water and almost looked like a wild bear fishing.  Every time Jim had to get back into his kayak I heard this involuntary yell because he has a bad knee and he would have to bend it farther than it liked.  His kayak was longer making it harder to see what was ahead and he displaced more water than I, so he got stuck more often.  His poor knee got a real workout today.  The final act of humbling from the creek was just as we reached the bank. Jim was getting out to pull his kayak out of the water and almost slipped and fell into the water.  Of course, I laughed at his expense even though he had caught his balance and made it out OK.  Then with that silly smile on my face I started to get out and did slip sitting in 10 inches of water completely soaked.  Luckily we were only yards away from our RV and clean dry clothes.  Another fun adventure to add to our memory book.

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.