Newfoundland In Summer

We're giving some serious thought to making the trip north to Newfoundland this summer. 

Wonder if any of our fellow RV'ers have an interest in taking the trip and putting together a few rendezvous points. 

If that's something any of our blog readers might consider, take a look at   http://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/ and let us hear from you.

Invading Downtown Charleston

Charleston's City Market

one of the oldest in the country, is significant enough to be part of a permanent exhibit entitled “Life in Coastal South Carolina c. 1840” at the American History Museum of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC.

The City Market is a fabulous place. Nancy, Ken, Wayne and I went there today to browse and possibly buy some of the wares.

Three hoodlums roaming the walkways looking for trouble... er... I mean bargains.

History Has It...

that in 1788, a man named Charles Pinckney gave the land where the Market stands to the City of Charleston. Mr. Pinckney included a stipulation with the land gift that required a public market be built and that it remain a public market into perpetuity.

Wayne and Ken had to be pulled away from the candy counter in the Market.

The buildings from Market Hall to the waterfront were built between 1804 and the 1830's.  In the early days, the market housed vendors of meat, vegetables and fish. The spaces rented for $1 to $2 -- the more expensive being spaces that had a marble slab for fish or meat.


The "Charleston Eagles"

In the earliest days of Charleston's Market, butchers threw scraps of meat into the streets. After a time, so many buzzards frequented the area, they were given the nickname "Charleston Eagles".


And so, we finished our tour of the Market with only one purchase: Ken bought a Charleston T-Shirt. Nancy and I intended to buy (1) dry flower art, (2) a battery operated acupuncture apparatus, (3) magnet bracelet, (4) cotton tablecloth, and (5) a piece of silver jewelry. We never did. We are stingy.

The Confederate Museum

At one end of Charleston Market, this beautiful old building stands behind the ornate wrought-iron stair rail. It is a Confederate Museum. It houses memorabilia of the Civil War and is owned and operated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.  Because our time was so limited, we didn't go in but it's one more thing we'll see when we return to Charleston... and we will return.

If only I'd had a hoop skirt...

At the base of the steps to the Confederate Museum (and many other places in the Market) women sat quietly weaving baskets.  More about that in the next post.

Roaming The City Streets

Unable to find any real trouble to get four old people into, we stopped in at a downtown Five and Dime just to roam the store, laugh at the goods and take pictures.  Of course, we bought nothing, but played with all the toys.

Nancy and Ken standing in the doorway to the "Five and Dime"
This is more our price range.

Shoot 'em up, Space Cadet.

And Then To Lunch

We ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.  The bench where Ken and Nancy are seated bears a plaque that states, "I'm Forrest, Forrest Gump.  People call me Forrest Gump".  It's a statement by Forrest Gump 1994 -- says so right there on the plaque.

Ken and Wayne had shrimp poboys, Nancy ordered a salad of some kind and I had a very good bowl of She Crab Bisque.  We ate light because we're saving room for "you know what"...

And then there was a candy store -- with ice cream!   The four of us, especially as a group, cannot pass ice cream.  This little corner store had some kind of wonderful concoction... I think it was actually Italian Ice. Whatever it was, it could only be described as delicious! 

Look at the expression on Ken's face in this picture. 

Two happy kids in a candy store.

It would have been a wise move for us to take a long walk after eating lunch and ice cream.  But no, we drove the car the 4-6 blocks down to the waterway, where we parked the car and stepped across the street to take a few pictures of ourselves with nice houses in the background.

Ken and Nancy standing in front of their summer home.

Wayne and me in front of the same summer home.
Notice my carriage is approaching. 

Nap time was drawing near so we retreated to the campground.  But late in the afternoon we left again to play putt-putt. I think it's politically correct these days to call this game "Miniature Golf" but to me it's still putt-putt.  Once again, Nancy won with the low score.  Wayne's game improved since our outing in Fort Myers -- he came in second.  Ken had a bad night and I, of course, had the highest score.  At least I'm a good sport about my poor play.  Next time, I'll beat their brains out though!

There's just one more day with Nancy and Ken. Tomorrow we're going to see a real working Charleston plantation!

Dinner At See Wee

Late in the day after touring Fort Sumter, Ken, Nancy, Wayne and I rode six miles out Highway 17 from our Mount Pleasant campground to a tiny spec of a town named Awendaw, SC.  We wanted to eat at See Wee Restaurant.  It was highly recommended by the folks who manage the KOA Campground.

This is the outside patio at See Wee Restaurant. It is a dusty area in front of the sandy parking lot.  We ate inside.

See Wee Restaurant is not a fancy place by any stretch of imagination. It's in an old general store.  In fact, I read that the general store opened in 1920 and remained a store until the building was sold to become a restaurant in 1993. There's no "theme" to the decor other than "real old"...

Our server was a treat... cute and funny. 

The restaurant's motto is "Simply Good Food". We were greeted, seated and presented with a basket of hushpuppies to nibble on while we looked over the bill-of-fare. 

That's Ken holding the basket of hushpuppies while Wayne looks up at the menu posted on the wall behind me.

The name “See Wee” comes from an Indian tribe who, in the late 1600's lived in this part of South Carolina. Many of the See Wee were sold into slavery in the West Indies. By 1715, there were fewer than 57 See Wee Indian souls remaining here. None exist today, I've read.



In the end, I ordered whole fried catfish with fried green tomatoes, sweet potato fries and yellow squash. Wayne had shrimp. For the life of me, I can't remember what Ken or Nancy ordered but I think at least one of them ordered shrimp too.

Fried pickles.

Turned out we all left See Wee a little disappointed... I can't put my finger on why exactly. The hushpuppies were good as were the fried pickle appetizer. My catfish was cooked to perfection and my side dishes met my expectation.   I think Wayne felt as though he had been coerced into ordering a larger meal than he really wanted and maybe Ken did too. Nancy's dinner was good, I think, but not outstanding.

After the meal, we ordered two desserts that were extremely disappointing: bread pudding that was cold and dry and banana pudding that arrived absent the bananas or vanilla wafers that make it banana pudding. 

A larger-than-planned dinner tab after an unpleasant dessert experience just doesn't sit well, I guess.

Tomorrow we're going to the famous Charleston Market Place.

Nothin' Could Be Finer Than To Be In Carolina

We're at the KOA campground in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. That's just across Charleston Harbor from James Island. Last Saturday, we managed to secure what seemed to be the only  campsite in the county. 

What we didn't know then was that the April 7th Cajun Festival crowd at James Island was surely about to be "outdone" by the 36th Annual Cooper River Bridge Run on April 6th. I think it was wildly successful. We heard later in the week that the Cajun Festival at James Island had a record breaking attendance... (minus two).

But Sunday afternoon most of the campers (and runners) were nearly all gone and there were plenty camping spaces available.  Being easy-going folks, Ken and Nancy canceled their reservation at James Island Campground and joined us here at the KOA. While we didn't want to foul their plan at James Island, we were thrilled to have them join us.

This was just after Ken and Nancy arrived in early afternoon on Sunday.
They are in a campsite beside us.  (If I try real hard, I can see into their windows!)

Ken is such a nice guy. Smiling all the while he's heaving those plants again.
(I think I heard him curse under his breath)

Within minutes, Ken and Nancy's campsite looked inviting enough to welcome guests... so we went over for a visit!
(I took these pictures hanging my upper torso out our bedroom window.  I'm surprised they didn't throw something at me.)

Because eating is such an important part of socializing for the West Side Trailerhood (and this is a small part of that fine group), we immediately made a plan to eat dinner tonight at nearby Carrabbas. 

Dinner at Carrabbas was superb, as usual.
Sadly, no food photos this time.  I forgot.

With only three days to spend together, we had to carefully choose our Charleston sightseeing activities. The first day we'd take the boat ride out into Charleston Harbor to see where the Civil War began: Fort Sumter.

The tour of Fort Sumter begins at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant.
The USS Yorktown is a National Historic Landmark and museum ship at Patriots Point. That's her behind us.
The USS Yorktown is one of 24 Essex class aircraft carriers built during WWII. 
She earned eleven battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation.
The USS Yorktown served as a recovery vessel for the Apollo 8 space mission
 and was used in the movie "Tora! Tora! Tora!"
 

 

We didn't tour the Yorktown today because our time is so limited. We added it to our list of the many nice things to see and do in and around this area.  Nancy and I agree we must return to Charleston for more than just a few days.

 

This is the view of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge from Patriots Point.
It just so happened a huge, loaded cargo freighter was making it's way under the bridge
while we were at Patriots Point.

Aboard the vessel that would take us to Ft Sumter, we got some terrific views, including other  Navy vessels, the marina near Patriots Point and Fort Moultrie.  The Charleston skyline was pretty nice too.

 

Charleston is known as the "Holy City" because of the number of church steeples.

  

Fort Moultrie on Sullivan Island dates to 1776
This is another "must see" for a return trip to Charleston.

Fort Sumter History (In A Nutshell)

South Carolina seceded from the Union, yet Union forces still occupied Fort Sumter at the entrance of Charleston Harbor. The South demanded Fort Sumter be vacated but the North refused. Finally, on April 12, 1861, South Carolina Confederate troops fired on the fort -- the start of a two day bombardment that resulted in the surrender of Fort Sumter by the Union.

 

With the North's withdrawal, the South held Fort Sumter until it was finally evacuated on February 17, 1865. During that time, the fort experienced one of the longest sieges in modern warfare. For almost two years, 46,000 shells were fired at Fort Sumter. For those reason and more, Fort Sumter remains one of the most significant historic monuments in the United States.

 

Fort Sumter from a distance on boat.
During the Civil War, the fort was three stories high.
Today the two upper levels are gone, leaving just a single level of history.

 

Wayne and me, Ken and Nancy at the entrance to Ft Sumter

 

Our visit to Fort Sumter lasted a total of two hours:  1/2 hour each way on the boat and one hour to tour Fort Sumter itself.  Today's weather was what I consider perfect -- low 70's with a full compliment of sunshine.  We strolled the grounds, listed to the National Park Ranger talks and looked through the museum. It was a fine day for a history lesson.

 

 

 

 

About That South Carolina Flag...

Since we've been here I've been asking around about the design of South Carolina's state flag:  A crescent moon and a palm tree on a solid blue background. What's that all about?  Today, I learned about it.

 

 

The General Assembly adopted South Carolina’s flag on January 28, 1861. This version added the Palmetto tree to the original design by Colonel William Moultrie in 1775 for use by South Carolina troops during the Revolutionary War. Colonel Moultrie chose a blue color which matched the color of their uniforms and a crescent which reproduced the silver emblem worn on the front of their caps.

The palmetto tree symbolized Colonel Moultrie's heroic defense of the palmetto-log fort on Sullivan's Island against the attack of the British fleet on June 28, 1776. By statute the flag shall be displayed "upon the inside of every public school building in this State so that all school children shall be instructed in proper respect for the flag," and daily except in rainy weather, from a staff upon the State House and from a staff upon each County Courthouse. The State Flag is also to be displayed in accordance with rules set by the State Superintendent of Education, on the grounds of educational institutions supported in whole or part, by funds derived from the State. It is also prescribed that any person who mutilates, injures or desecrates the State Flag, wherever displayed, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than $100 or by imprisonment for not more than 30 days or both. I especially like that last part -- the one that punishes anyone who mutilates, injures or desecrates the State Flag. Too bad that's not true for Old Glory, the flag of the United States of America. South Carolina's original Palmetto Guard Flag is on display at Fort Sumter With the entry of the victorious Confederate troops into Fort Sumter, Private John S. Byrd, hung the militia unit banner of the Palmetto Guard over the wall facing Charleston. The original is now on display at Fort Sumter having stayed in Byrd's family until it was donated to the National Park Service in 1979.

Returning to Patriots Point, we got still more great views of the USS Yorktown

Wayne looks onto the USS Yorktown bow

Returning to Patriots Point, of course we spent lots of time and no money in the gift shop.  This is where I first saw a Poo-Pourri display.  Yes, it is what you think it is.  Janie told me about it, but I was seeing it for sale here for the first time. 

Nancy looking to make a big purchase.

With our tourist duties officially concluded for the day, it would be important to get in a nap, so Ken does just that. 

Resting up for dinner.

We're headed out to a "unique little restaurant" called See Wee. It's a suggested restaurant by the campground.  We'll give it our taste test later this afternoon.

Goin' To The Lowcountry

And on the sixteenth day, we left our comfortable campsite at peaceful little Country Oaks Campground in Kingsland, Georgia.  It was such a pleasant place we promised ourselves and the managers we'd return for another visit.  At the office, I bought one last half-dozen brown country eggs that I'll share with friends next week and I might share some of our delicious Wainwright's Sausage with them too.  We'll see.....

Because rain was forecast ,we stowed the outdoor chairs, the dogs' playpen and all but one of the outside doormats yesterday.  That was a good idea because the rumble of distant thunder could be heard at 5 a.m. and by 6 the first of several storms moved into the area.

Before the rain even started, Ozzie jumped onto the bed and began trembling. Little Lexie, who is afraid of everything and everybody, continued to sleep soundly in her bed. She knows no fear of weather.  However, one of my hats hanging on the bedroom wall caused her to bark wildly two nights ago... Never know what's going on in that little white head.  Anyway, we put Ozzie's new Thundershirt on but it didn't seem to help.  He shook until the storm stopped.

Rain showers, but luckily no more thunderstorms, were persistent all morning while we got the rig ready to roll.  Lexie and Ozzie were both successful in getting their outside chores done between showers.  The last outside rugs were drenched, however, and we ended up having to stow them in plastic bags.

Today's destination would be James Island County Park Campground in Charleston, South Carolina where we plan to rendezvous with friends from Seminole Campground in North Fort Myers.  Ken and Nancy will arrive Sunday -- the day of the Cajun Festival at James Island County Park.

We drove north on I-95 along with about a million other people in motorhomes, towing campers, fifth-wheels and cars filled to the brims -- all leaving the warm Florida winter. Several times traffic snarled and came to a complete standstill for no apparent reason. We passed a few spinouts too. I-95 needs a makeover real bad.

The temperature fell all morning and finally stopped at 51 degrees. I wondered why in the world we were all going north.  At our lunch stop we turned the heater on for awhile. The rainy, breezy day made us feel chilled to the bone.

Finally we reached our exit and began the last 50-something mile drive eastward to Charleston. Simultaneously, the temperatures began climbing and some breaks in the clouds gave way to sunshine every now and then. The outside temperature got to 58 at last check but the sun remained fickle finally giving in to clouds at the end of the day.

Lavender colored wisteria clumps hanging from trees and long stretches of bright red clover adorned the roadside.  I think I saw some white dogwood blossoms in a few places too.  There were no forsythia in bright yellow blooms or little yellow daffodils I usually see first in spring in the south. Maybe they don't grow here...

It was really hard to catch a photo of the wisteria but a little can be seen in this picture.
Some pink azaleas too. This was through the windshield.

Azaleas are in bloom!

We're still in the lands of great live oak draped in Spanish moss and tall pine trees with just a tuft of green on top. Some of the live oak branches were lush with resurrection fern still green from recent rain. We passed bands of red sage and rows of azalea bushes in bloom too. 

We passed two Carolina Cider and Pie stores and were tempted to stop but didn't as the road's shoulder didn't look inviting enough for our huge rig.

I also noticed several small stands advertising "boiled peanuts".  As much as I love peanuts, I do not eat them boiled.  At least not yet.  I'm liable to try some this week though.

We're going into Carolina Low country -- a name that can mean either a geographic or a social identifier for a part of South Carolina that includes the four southern-most counties  bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and on the west by the Savannah River and the state of Georgia.

The Carolina Low country is famous for resort communities including Hilton Head Island.  For me, the interest is the area's natural beauty and the history of this place. The beaches, streams, marshes, wetlands, plantations and the history of the area are fascinating to me. 

We pressed on and I snapped a few more pictures of stuff I deemed "photo-worthy" and that can be almost anything, depending on my mood for the day.

Crossing a bridge ... but what is the river name? 
I didn't notice. 

The last stretch of road to James Island County Park was narrow and difficult for driving the rig but the scenery was nice.  Most of my photos are through the windshield or from hanging one arm out the window of the coach. I always remove the screen so I can throw the window open quickly.

A scene along River Road near Charleston

Upon arrival at James Island County Park Campground we checked in and paid for our six night stay.  Unfortunately, we must change campsites three times during our stay. Oh no, this is bad. But we'll make it work. 

We made our way to our first of the three campsites. In route we dodged a half-dozen pop-up campers being pulled by parents driving vans full of squealing children.  Uh oh. Around the first turn we were met head on by racing bicycles being ridden by red faced kids, exhausted from fast peddling and now nearly smashed into the front of the coach.  Oh my... it's getting scary.  I heard only "Follow me -- I know a shortcut!" from one of the boys.

At the campsite, Wayne positioned the coach for backing and I stood deep in the site to guide him into position. Another pop-up, this one towed by a pick-up truck, was stopped and the driver anxiously waited for his path be cleared.  A big load of firewood was in the bed of the truck. These people were on a mission. The only thing going faster than the racing bikes on the campground roadways were the vehicles.  We're in trouble.

Our campsite is muddy from this morning's rain.  There is no grass on the site. Wayne backed the rig into the site. We surveyed the situation and noted that we're parked "off center".  If we correct our position, and if it rains again, we'll step out of the coach into a mud hole.  We leave the coach parked cockeyed. The site was level and so we didn't use the jacks.

Nearly every campsite contained multiple families, loads of children of all ages and bicycles for every one.

Walking Lexie and Ozzie was thrilling... for us, not for Lexie and Ozzie. We devised a game of picking them up just before something whizzed by. There were skateboards, bicycles, razors, roller skates, motorized toddler vehicles and those hard molded plastic things that are pushed with a handle.  The clacking sound of training wheels seemed especially loud. In minutes we realized we were carrying the dogs more than they were walking.

I walked to the office and asked about the refund policy.  The clerk gave me a warm, apologetic smile when I told her that we felt we were just here at the wrong time.  She assured me that if I thought today was bad, it would only be worse tomorrow and worse still on Sunday.

Our payment was refunded, less the fee for tonight and we'll pull out tomorrow morning. I was relieved and thrilled.

Leaving the office on the sidewalk going back to the campground, flailing arms swung wildly by me as a girl on roller blades came past. She was on a wing and a prayer. Good thing she has on a helmet and knee pads. 

Our next decision is what to do about our planned Charleston rendezvous with Ken and Nancy....

This Bed Can't Hold All Of Us

Something's going on with Ozzie, one of our two puppy mill rescue Maltese dogs.

Lexie and Ozzie sleep in individual beds on a shelf just below our mattress on my side of the bed. They've been sleeping in this arrangement for many months without incident.  Early every morning, they wake up and jump up onto the bed with us for a little head scratching and play before our morning walk.

But a few weeks ago, while we were still in North Fort Myers, Ozzie had a episode of night time trembling.  It started less than an hour after we all were tucked snugly into our beds. He awakened and began looking around the bedroom with his ears up.  Only the flickering light from the television was on. The volume was low. Wayne had just dozed off while watching a movie. We thought it might be the flashing light in the dark room. Wayne turned the TV off.

Within a few minutes, Ozzie jumped up onto our bed and I could feel his whole body shaking. I held him close, stroked him and tried to get him calmed. Nothing was working.  We got out of bed and took both he and Lexie for a walk.  No emergencies there. 

That was the first of many more trembling episodes.  The next one occurred in the early morning a few days later. This time the television had not been on. Once again, it's easy to see he's scared; trembling hard and constant. 

For two nights this week, Ozzie has slept on the bed.  He wants to get on the pillow but I manage to keep him down around my chest.  He always does fall asleep and the trembling stops.  One night he woke up and got back into his bed.  Another night he stayed beside me all through the night. 

We've tried to determine the source of Ozzie's strange behaviour, but to this point, we've not found any real possibilities.  We've kept the television off, we've turned on a light with (and without) the television being on.  We've tried opening the windows and closing them. 

Last week we took our little guy to see a veterinarian -- a visit he detests.   He got an examination,  complete blood count and his electrolytes were checked.  We came away knowing just that he has no chronic health issue or hidden disease that blood work would show.  From my explanation, the vet ruled out White Dog Shaking Syndrome too.  In a nutshell, we know more about what it isn't than what it is. 

Yesterday, Ozzie got a Thundershirt.  That's the expensive dog sweater that's suppose to calm dogs.  Following the maker's instructions, I've been putting in on and taking it off for a few minutes at a time, getting him use to it.  He gets a treat every time we put it on.  It's suppose to give Ozzie the sensation of being cuddled.  The ads say it's proven and vets recommend it.
.

The photo's blurry, but you get the idea.

Of course, like children, we think Lexie must have something new if Ozzie gets something new. So today, Lexie got a new, bigger pink bed.  She might like it, but didn't seem to care that Ozzie jumped into it as soon as we put it in the back seat of the car. 

Ozzie thinks he looks real good in Lexie's new pink bed.

For those who know Lexie and Ozzie, you might have noticed Lexie has a new, real short haircut.  She thinks it looks real cute and it's cool for those hot summer months of traveling.

We'll update this post if/when we see some change in Ozzie's sleep with the Thundershirt.  Keep your fingers crossed 'cause that big ole king sized bed seems small when we're all in it together.

Twins On The Way!

Wayne's son and his wife are expecting twins.

This news we learned last fall while we were at Auburn. We were on our way to the Auburn / Texas A&M pep-rally when the call came. How thrilling!

These will increase the total number of grandchildren to five!

Of course it's best not to get too excited in the beginning so we just held our news close to our hearts and waited.

The soon-to-be proud parents took their time in getting 'round to growing their family; married nearly seven years, both well into their 30's. But that's a good thing. They'll be ready for a double load of parenting. Anyway, the time has come to start feeling the excitement as the delivery date will be set this week.

We rarely make a retirement travel schedule as we generally just roll along in whatever direction we please. This year, however, we made a plan to attend three rallies -- none of which would be within 100 miles of where the twins will be born. Dilemma.

Resolution to Dilemma: Once we know the exact delivery date.... I suppose we'll just stop everything and go!

I borrowed the ultrasound image posted on Facebook to add to our retirement travel scrapbook (aka the blog).

Some of the first photos of twins, Barbara and Jude
Named for her mother and his very good friend

Our Visit To Fort Frederica, St Simons Lighthouse and Brunswick, Georgia

Fort Frederica National Monument

-- This post is the second of a two-part post from, Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013 --

As mentioned in the first part of this post, our Easter holiday day trip took us to out to the Golden Isles of Georgia from Country Oaks Campground in Kingsland just for something to do.


We didn't know anything about Fort Frederica or why there would be a National Monument to it at St Simons Island, Georgia.


We didn't do any real research before heading this way. But we arrived, went into the Visitors Center and learned more in two minutes, from a very knowledgeable National Park Ranger, than I could have gleaned from reading all morning.

I love the National Parks Service....

It's no wonder I didn't know anything about Fort Frederica or the battles fought here on St Simons. The British were fighting the Spaniards! And the Brits won! Twice!

In A Nutshell...

Georgia's fate was decided in 1742 when Spanish and British forces clashed on St. Simons Island. Fort Frederica's troops defeated the Spanish, ensuring Georgia's future as a British colony. Today, the archaeological remnants of Frederica are protected by the National Park Service.

Fort Frederica's military town lived, flourished even, for only about about 50 years.  The ruins that remain are an important part of the history and struggle for this part of America.

During this particular period of time, Spain and England were both eager to claim the stretch of coast from Charleston, SC to St Augustine, FL. Spain's power was waning while Great Britain was growing ever stronger.  Great Britain had built an empire from Maine to Carolina that had begun the  colony system.  Georgia would be the last of the original 13 colonies.

Turns out a prominent English citizen, James Oglethorpe, soldier and politician, petitioned the British Crown for a land grant south of the Savannah River. The government agreed. Oglethorpe got along well with the local Indians who were living in this area and in the end, the Indians would fight alongside the British against Spain.

 

"The World Is My Parish"
Accompanying Gen James Oglethorpe to this island in 1736 were John and Charles Wesley,
Leaders in the Evangelical movement and Founders of the Methodist Church
Their faith and fidelity are known throughout the world.



Along the walkway into the grounds and ruins of old town and Fort Frederica.
Perhaps my new favorite photograph.
The photographer must surely be a genius.... or a professional at the very least.
That would be me.  

As nice as this monument is, it was made even nicer as we could take Lexie and Ozzie all over the grounds with us.  They didn't have to stay in the stroller either.  The Park Ranger explained that as long as they were under our control they could be on the ground.  For a few minutes we let them both out to stretch their legs.

The fort itself, flanked by cannon.

Once we had walked all the way out to the water to the actual fort and munitions area, the sea breeze became pretty strong, adding just a little coolness to a sunny, pleasant day.  We couldn't have asked for better weather.  It was ideal.

A nice woman took this picture.   

Walking the grounds of Fort Frederica took less than an hour. Just long enough for us to work up a lunch appetite.

We drove back into St Simons Island to find ourselves bumper-to-bumper with Easter Break families on rental bicycles and golf carts. They were everywhere! Parking places were not to be had.


My Chocolate Cherry Love
And a DQ Blizzard too.



Dairy Queen

To our surprise the DQ was not overwhelmed like the street cafes. We stopped in for a burger and ended with two, yes, two DQ Blizzards. The first one was my favorite, Butterfinger.

The second was Chocolate Cherry Love.

At least they were both small sizes.

St Simons Lighthouse

The St Simons Lighthouse was a natural next stop. It was just a few blocks from the DQ and we certainly needed to walk off a few of those Dairy Queen Blizzard calories.

St Simons Island Lighthouse and Museum was recently restored by Coastal Georgia Historical Society.

The lighthouse construction began in 1807. It was built of tabby, a material similar to concrete, made of crushed oyster shells, sand, lime and water.  The light was first illuminated in 1811. The initial lighthouse really didn't much look like the one you see here today.

St Simons Lighthouse property sits adjacent to a public beach area, complete with a nice cobblestone walkway and several wooden walkways across the rocky shoreline to the beach.  It was much too cool and windy for Wayne and me to go to the waters edge.  We did walk Lexie and Ozzie around on the sidewalk and the grass, near the water, though. 

This St Simons Lighthouse view is from the ocean side.
The first illumination of the lighthouse was done with oil lamps suspended by chains.
There are plenty of steps to reach the top of the lighthouse and, for a price, you can climb every step. We did not.

Among the big rocks around St Simons Lighthouse, we found these two mourning doves who seemed to be protecting a nest.  We watched them for just a few moments... no point in causing the little birds unnecessary angst.

Marine Center and Historic Coast Guard Station

This property was originally known as East Beach Station.  The station had it's "First Watch" on April 1, 1937 -- exactly 106 years ago. When the station was first opened, the beach was just a few feet from the front door. Since then, sand has filled in the area.

In 1942, WWII came to the coast of Georgia when, On April 8, a German submarine sank two merchant ships, the SS Oklahoma and the Esso Baton Rouge, off the coast of St. Simons Island. Twenty-two men died. The surviving crew members and the ship's mascot, a dog, were brought here, to the Coast Guard station.

Five recovered bodies of the incident could not be identified. The bodies were buried together in Brunswick's Palmetto Cemetery. The grave marker was marked simply, "Unknown Seamen 1942". Later, one of the bodies was identified and sent home for burial.

Today while poring over various news items, I ran across a clip, dated today, April 1st, that refers to a sequel to the comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy being scheduled for production at St Simons Island, a good deal of it on and around this property.   Click here if you'd like to read the news article.

Feeling pretty awesome about our luck in finding good stuff here on St Simons Island today, we turned the car toward home.  But alas!  What did we see sitting on the tarmac of St Simon's airport?   

Two Miami Dolphins jets were loaded and ready to take off.

Fearing we'd be caught gawking at the Dolphins' jet, we stayed just a moment before returning to the main road to Brunswick. 

Brunswick

Wayne's area factoids continued as he told me what he knew about Liberty Ships being built here.  These vital ships supplied Allied troops around the world. They are a very important part of Brunswick's history.

A replica Liberty Ship as a memorial near the docks in Brunswick.

Being Easter Sunday, downtown Brunswick was deserted and quiet.  We made a quick pass through and I snapped the picture below.

Brunswick, Georgia

Going back across Sidney Lanier Bridge, we looked down to see the unusual sight in the photo below. Wayne guessed this might have been the location of launching the newly built Liberty Ships in the 1940's.  Turned out he was right...  This place on the north side of the bridge will become Liberty Ship Park and will honor the men and women who worked in Brunswick's shipyards building Liberty Ships. 

 

Future location of Liberty Ship Park,  Brunswick, Georgia
The row of brown rails provided the "slide" for launching the Liberty Ships.

In the end our Easter 2013 was as pleasant as we could have hoped.  Thanks to everybody who shared in what we saw today.