After a windy and bumpy night at anchor off Cumberland Island on the Georgia/Florida border, we went south of the mythical "hurricane zone line" on the first day we could--Nov. 2. The afternoon of Nov. 1 we arrived at the Cumberland Island anchorage early and took the dogs to shore. We saw no wild horses on the walk, but the dogs REALLY wanted to go catch the 2 armadillos they scared off into the underbrush! The next morning we came into Jacksonville Beach with no problem--although we saw at least one sailboat that had gone aground at (unfortunately!) high water. I wonder if he is still there. And going under the Atlantic Blvd. Bridge was interesting--there the current was at least 5mph--we slowed from 7mph to .5 mph, and the standing waves were almost 5 feet tall. That short episode made the currents in the St. John River in New Brunswick look tame. Here's a photo of Elixir coming into the marina here--where we plan to stay for several days while we stock up and do laundry.
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Since we are moving along so fast, we decided to take time and visit Brunswick, GA since we have never stopped here before. The marina is very nice, right downtown. Clearly the city demolished some old warehouses along the river and put in a lovely park and marina facility that is within easy walking distance of downtown which has a number of nice shops and restaurants. It was rather quiet today because every REAL Georgian was home getting ready for the Florida-Georgia football game which is a real BIG deal around these parts. We went for a walk and found an absolutely gorgeous big city park, full of amazing huge oak trees and this (almost required) statue of a Confederate soldier.
By the way, I've now added several more pictures to the Gallery, which you can access from the regular page. Check them out--now I am no longer limited to one photo per day. I also understand I can add videos (per Leslie's request) so as soon as I figure that out, I'll let you know.
Happy Halloween!
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The Kilkenny Marina has been a stop for us on our trips north and south on the ICW before. The people are very helpful, the protection is better than most other spots in this area of the waterway, and it is...quaint. Wooden docks that haven't changed in years, no amenities (but there now is a very good restaurant nearby that was crowded on a Thursday night), gorgeous setting with big oak trees that have to be at least 300 years old, and quiet (except when the fishing boats go by!)
We love this spot. Here is a photo of the shrimp boat that docked next door at the restaurant---and probably brought the shrimp we ate for dinner.
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Last night we stayed just north of Beaufort, SC at Dataw Island Marina. We've stayed there before and thought someone needed to take over management of the marina. It had great buildings and grounds, but obviously the management company wasn't doing any managing. This time the restaurant and marina were up and crowded and busy--a nice change. We'll stay there again.
We left in time to make the 9am bridge openning in Beaufort. We've stayed there before, but wanted to go further so we kept going. We considered stopping at Hilton Head Island, but, heck, it is really just another big resort island and we've stayed at plenty of them. So I started surfing the net to see what other options we had, and I found Freeport Marina on Daufuskie Island, just south of Hilton Head. And here we are and we are so pleased to have skipped Hilton Head. Daufuskie has a fascinating history, Ten thousand years ago there were Indians called the Yamacaw who named the island. In the 1500's the Spanish arrived when Florida was part of Spain. Plantations were started in the 1600's by English settlers who planted indigo until cotton took over around 1800. The Union took control of the island in the first year of the Civil War and freed the slaves, and when the war ended, the island was inhabited mainly by those free slaves. The island's isolation kept the culture alive, and it is on Daufuskie that many of the Gullah speaking black South Carolinians still live. Gullah was originally a tribe of Africans that came from around Angola but has come to mean the descendants of slaves that didn't join the mainland communities. Gullah is today a unique language, still spoken on many of the SC barrier islands. We love this marina, which reminds us of the Bahamas. After a couple of hours touring the island by golf cart from the marina, we know we'll stop back again.
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Walking around Charleston and gazing at all the beautiful old homes seems to be required of all tourists--and so we did it. As soon as I figure out how to set up a gallery of multiple photos, I'll put more Charleston homes on it. But for now, here is one of my favorites--and there is something here that is very common in Charleston but that I've never seen anywhere before. Look at the door in the photo on the first floor with the number above it. It looks like a regular front door--but behind it is a porch. The door is leading to a porch from the street, but there must be another door on the porch that leads into the house.
Tomorrow we must wait for a bridge to open at 9am, and then down the waterway we will go. Good thing, we've been eating our way through Charleston; dinner last night at Magnolia's (which we love) and lunch today at SNOB (Slightly North of Broad). Yum! Great shrimp and grits, grilled filet covered with pimento cheese, pecan pie--need I say more.
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