6 June 2018. Well we have been traveling several days now. There was a storm going up the east coast but it seems that it has stayed ahead of us. There were a couple days that the area we were in had some downpours BUT it did not affect us as for some reason the downpours happed just as we finished an outing or were headed back to the hotel! We have our car and Kelly’s van. Molly is the designated co-piglet.....I meant co-pilot riding with Granddad! She is also the designated Official Tour Guide.. These titles were given as she is safe to ride in the front seat!! Samantha and Kirsten have the back seats of the van to themselves.. I ride with Kelly! Molly has information and warnings etc. that she explains to us each day and before and after we make a stop on our sightseeing adventure. One day Samantha and Kirsten wanted to watch a movie so Kelly and i had the van to ourselves. During the rides they have readings, homework etc. each day that Kelly gives them to complete. Electronic devic can be only used one hour a day. I also play a car card travel game with them. THERE is never a dull moment in or out of the car/van! So nice to have these days to make such memories.
The first day we just traveled about 2 hours to Jacksonville, Florida and went to the Sweet Pete’s Candy Factory in downtown Jacksonville. It is a 3 story candy factory, candy store and restaurant. The girls had fun checking out all the candies. Of course Kelly let them each buy a small container of various candies that they picked to take on our trip. Some ate their candy quickly and others had their candy for 2 days or more.
We traveled just an hour or so up the coast to Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base near St. Mary’s on the coast near the town of St. Mary’s which is a city that is the gateway to the Cumberland Island National Seashore...the largest of the Georgia Coast Barrier Islands. We spent 2 nights at Kings Bay. We spent the morning walking about the historic town of St. Mary’s and toured the St. Mary’s Submarine Museum. They had a really nice little park on the waterfront that we walked about. Just as we were getting in the car we had some rain drops and dark sky’s. As we drove along the coast we stopped at The Crooked River State Park where we walked “The Everliving Trail/Sempervirens Nature Trail.” The girls went into the visitor’s center and A very nice gentleman showed them a couple snakes and turtles that he took out of their cages and let them touch while he told them all about them. We also saw a full skeleton of a snake. We walked thru the park and marsh area seeing lots of different mushrooms, hundreds of baby crabs on the pathway,flowers and different types of trees. We took the River Trail that went to the Marsh and not after we arrived, there was a huge black cloud forming. Earlier we had talked to a couple of rangers and they told us about a short cut on the way back....so we started on that trail. They decided to come back to see if we were on the right trail....of course we were not so they redirected us. How nice of them to think that maybe we misunderstood so came back to find us. If we had continued on the trail we were on, we would have been drenched from the large black cloud opened up with a torrential rain just as we got back to the car!..
We traveled just an hour or so up the coast to Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base near St. Mary’s on the coast near the town of St. Mary’s which is a city that is the gateway to the Cumberland Island National Seashore...the largest of the Georgia Coast Barrier Islands. We spent 2 nights at Kings Bay. We spent the morning walking about the historic town of St. Mary’s and toured the St. Mary’s Submarine Museum. They had a really nice little park on the waterfront that we walked about. Just as we were getting in the car we had some rain drops and dark sky’s. As we drove along the coast we stopped at The Crooked River State Park where we walked “The Everliving Trail/Sempervirens Nature Trail.” The girls went into the visitor’s center and A very nice gentleman showed them a couple snakes and turtles that he took out of their cages and let them touch while he told them all about them. We also saw a full skeleton of a snake. We walked thru the park and marsh area seeing lots of different mushrooms, hundreds of baby crabs on the pathway,flowers and different types of trees. We took the River Trail that went to the Marsh and not after we arrived, there was a huge black cloud forming. Earlier we had talked to a couple of rangers and they told us about a short cut on the way back....so we started on that trail. They decided to come back to see if we were on the right trail....of course we were not so they redirected us. How nice of them to think that maybe we misunderstood so came back to find us. If we had continued on the trail we were on, we would have been drenched from the large black cloud opened up with a torrential rain just as we got back to the car!..
When I woke up on the next day, I discovered that had picked up two ticks THAT were imbedded in my side and arm AND were still alive! Must have picked up on the walk the day before. OF COURSE then we needed to calmly tell the kids (and let out that the ticks were still alive when I found them) and had to check all. With their long hair took awhile to look over their heads! We left King’s Bay on the 1st of June and headed to Savannah, Georgia where we stayed at Hunter Army Airfield. First we went to downtown Savannah as Kelly wanted to have the girls tour the Juliet Gordon House (who began the Girl Scout’s in 1912). We also went and walked around one of the “reportedly” haunted cemeteries in Savannah. Before we left we stopped by the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Catholic Cathedral and attended mass. The church was dedicated in 1876 but in 1898 much of the structure was destroyed in a fire. The Cathedral was rebuilt and opened in 1900. The Cathedral is on the top historic sites to visit in the United States. The statues and paintings etc. were beautiful and felt so peaceful in the cathedral. We also spent time walking through the Colonial Park Cemmetery. More than 700 victims of the 1820 yellow Fever epidemic are buried here along with many of the graves were looted and desecrated by the Federal Troops. It is a popular stop for Ghost Tours as there is a history of ghost sightings in this cemetery. We left Savannah and headed to Tybee Island. It is a barrier island east of Savannah. Kelly and the girls went to the Tybee Island Lighthouse. They walked up the 179 steps to the top. Kelly made it to the top but she did not go out on the pad to look around and Kirsten had to just look form the doors as Kelly thought she might fall off the lookout pad! Did I mention that Kelly does not like high places?? Molly and Samantha went out and took a look around. Once again the rain down pour did not start until we were ready to leave!! We drove back to Savannah and had a late lunch at a restaurant on the Historic Riverfront Plaza. Then we walked down the cobblestone street to the River Street Sweets Candy Store. We tried samples of their famous Pecan Pralines. Of course we bought some candy to go too! While we were in Savannah, Kelly had discovered a Oakland Island Wildlife Center that is owned and ran by a local school district. We attended a 40 minute “show and tell” given by two employees of the center. They gave excellent information about and gave an opportunity for everyone to gently touch an alligator, snake, armadillo and screech owl. YES, some of our group were brave enough to take part in the hands on touching!
The next day was time to leave Savannah and go toward Charleston. On our way we took a side trip to check out the Angel Oak Tree which is on Angel Oak Road in Johns Island, South Carolina. This tree is estimated to be in excess of 400-500 years old and stand 66-5 feet tall and 28 feet is circumference and produces shade that covers 17,200 square feet . From tip to tip it’s longest branch branch distance is 187 feet. What an amazing site. We could have stayed there forever just walking around and looking at this unique tree. It is on a back road and you would never know it was there if did not have the GPS address.
We stopped in Charleston to check out Fort Sumter National Monument. Traffic in Charleston is very heavy. We had reservations for the 4 PM ferry to go over to Ft. Sumter....but arrived in Charleston earlier so found a parking garage and ran over to the the dock where can catch the ferry to see if we could get an earlier ferry.....WE DID!
The boat was just leaving so we JUST made it to walk onto the boat before it was scheduled to leave Charleston Harbor to go to the fort. It was a beautiful sunny day so the ride across the harbor was perfect. The ferry and touring the island took us about 2.5 hours. A fun adventure!! Molly had already told us what she learned about Ft. Sumter in school. We spent the night in Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in Jacksonville, North Carolina. The next day we headed to Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point, North Carolina where we would be for the next the four nights.
I am finally getting another blog done and published.... it seems that I would rather play games with the girls in the evenings or afternoons so our blogs will continue to be behind.
“WE DIDN’T REALIZE WE WERE MAKING MEMORIES, WE JUST KNEW WE WERE HAVING FUN~~
We are keeping you all in thought and prayer.
We appreciate you keeping us all in your daily prayers for safe travels.
God Bless You All,
Tom and Maryann
The next day was time to leave Savannah and go toward Charleston. On our way we took a side trip to check out the Angel Oak Tree which is on Angel Oak Road in Johns Island, South Carolina. This tree is estimated to be in excess of 400-500 years old and stand 66-5 feet tall and 28 feet is circumference and produces shade that covers 17,200 square feet . From tip to tip it’s longest branch branch distance is 187 feet. What an amazing site. We could have stayed there forever just walking around and looking at this unique tree. It is on a back road and you would never know it was there if did not have the GPS address.
We stopped in Charleston to check out Fort Sumter National Monument. Traffic in Charleston is very heavy. We had reservations for the 4 PM ferry to go over to Ft. Sumter....but arrived in Charleston earlier so found a parking garage and ran over to the the dock where can catch the ferry to see if we could get an earlier ferry.....WE DID!
The boat was just leaving so we JUST made it to walk onto the boat before it was scheduled to leave Charleston Harbor to go to the fort. It was a beautiful sunny day so the ride across the harbor was perfect. The ferry and touring the island took us about 2.5 hours. A fun adventure!! Molly had already told us what she learned about Ft. Sumter in school. We spent the night in Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in Jacksonville, North Carolina. The next day we headed to Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point, North Carolina where we would be for the next the four nights.
I am finally getting another blog done and published.... it seems that I would rather play games with the girls in the evenings or afternoons so our blogs will continue to be behind.
“WE DIDN’T REALIZE WE WERE MAKING MEMORIES, WE JUST KNEW WE WERE HAVING FUN~~
We are keeping you all in thought and prayer.
We appreciate you keeping us all in your daily prayers for safe travels.
God Bless You All,
Tom and Maryann
No comments:
Post a Comment