Today we made the pilgrimage to the fabled Cumberland Island and I will tell you all about it with some photos but before we get there I must finish with some pictures of our night at Fernandina Beach with Casey and John.
Leaving Ortega we passed Jacksonville Landing again and there parked at the Hyatt Hotel was Kismet. No, not our Kismet, but a really big one which I believe belongs to the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team. His name is Shah Khan. Who else could afford one of these?
Along the St. John’s leaving JAX is much commerce including Southeast Toyota where all Toyotas sold east of the Mississippi used to be off loaded. But now most are built in the US so only certain models come in by ship today.
Some of these ships are so huge that 18 wheelers just drive inside and hook up a load. The trucks look like toys going inside the ship.
Once we got into the marshland there were a few nice homes though nothing to compare with what we saw in south Florida.
Arriving at Amelia Island looked easy until we discovered the wind was going to push us off the dock and they wanted us parallel parked between two boats. Jan was working the gear shifts and I was scrambling to throw lines to two guys. It was an inch by inch deal to get to the side.
After exchanging out a vacuum cleaner at the local Sears, Casey and John took us to many places including the site of the old city, a skateboard park, and strolling up and down the main drag. We so enjoyed just being with them on this unexpected visit.
This morning we departed for the short trip to Cumberland Island where wild horses roam. We had both been there before but never together. We had to anchor in the Dungeness-Greyfield Channel and dinghy in to the ferry dock. We packed a lunch and drinks and left old Cbay to float on her own.
Now truthfully everyone seems to love this island but me. It is hot, bug infested and requires a great deal of walking which is rough on my deformed hip. Unless one of the grandchildren grows up to demand a trip there I doubt I would ever go back.
There are ruins of Dungeness, a Carnegie mansion, hulks of cars that have wasted away and decendents of the wild horses are what is left of the heyday of the rich and famous. All wealth is fleeting. I remember my daddy often saying, “I’ve never seen a Brinks truck following a hearse.” Think about it.
One of the things I hate is the yellow flies or deer flies. They look sort of like a housefly but they are not harmless. They light on you near a blood vessel and their saliva has both an anesthetic and an anti-coagulant in it so that you will not feel the bite and your blood will not clot while they drink their fill like tiny vampires. Afterwards the bites hurt like blazes and itch like crazy. I have been allergic to them in the past. The worst was on a trip to the Okeefenokee Swamp with my daughter Kelly. A large one bit me on the back of my right hand and it started swelling up like a softball. I bought some Benedryl and an ice bag and we drove on into Florida. I was worried sick I might get worse but did not want to alarm Kelly. Well today even with two types of spray one got me on top of my foot. By the time I realized it my shoe was filling with blood. You see between the saliva’s anticoagulant and the Plavix I take, this thing had punched a hole in a vessel and I was leaking like water. Don’t believe me? Here’s the proof and this was taken over two hours later after I had showered and put a bandaid on. I finally used a styptic pencil to stop it.
We left Cumberland and went to St. Mary’s where we visited the Submarine Museum. We are in Georgia now and glad to be here.
Dinner at the Riverside Cafe where the desserts are fab. At least this little girl thought so.
