Sharing St. Simons

Ron and Steve are out the door this morning and headed to Jekyll Island to enjoy this beautiful day (70+ degrees with full sunshine) by way of the beaches and the bike trails.  I have opted to enjoy my time and solitude here on the beaches of SSI.  Ah!

Our friend Steve arrived travel weary on Friday.  It was a long trip from Michigan and the tricky driving conditions did not help.  Steve had to negotiate a Michigan snowstorm on his way to Ohio and also had blinding snow as he worked his way through the mountains of West Virginia.  Once he had crossed the mountains in Virginia it was clear sailing the rest of the way.  Once Steve arrived, with a short break for hugs and lunch, Ron had him out the door to see the wonder of the tides of St. Simons.  Here's a picture of Steve as his feet hit the beach.  Looking pretty happy don't you think?

After a bit of exploration and relaxation we headed to our favorite place on the island for a shrimp dinner, Iguana's cafe.  It was shrimp all around.  Fried for Ron, grilled for Steve and blackened for me.  Anyway you have it, sweet white Georgian shrimp are the BEST!  We sampled each others and decided that the lightly battered were probably the best.

Saturday Ron and Steve headed out to explore the beautiful St. Simon's lighthouse (one of five surviving on the Georgia coast) and the Lightkeepers house.  They had a great time and were feeling proud and satisfied that they had made the climb to the top of the 104 foot brick structure to enjoy the outstanding views from the external walkway. 129 steps, but who's counting!

The 

above picture shows the downtown park by the pier.  There happened to be a 5K run that morning, which went right past our condo.  We were really impressed by all the runners, especially the contingent from the U.S. Coast Guard, in formation carrying their flags.  The run activities ended in Neptune Park with games and food.  Very nice!  

In the afternoon, I joined Ron and Steve for our visit to the Coast Guard Maritime Museum, East Beach and Goulds Point.  We also spent a little time touring the neighborhoods so that Steve could get a look at some of the local architecture to share with Maryann.  Here are a few of the homes he admired and suggested that Ron and I consider them for relocation from Pennsylvania. 

I suggested that the following property was probably more in our budget.  LOL!

We arrived at Gould's Point to enjoy some picture perfect moments.  I see a lot of Ron looking exactly like this, i.e., behind the camera lens. Thank goodness he is so willing to take pictures or where would my blog be!

We lingered by the point enjoying the beauty of the day and the sights.  It was low tide and because the tides are so dynamic, the beach changes quite a bit.  Spits of land and pools of water emerge that were hidden by the waves of the sea only a few hours ago.  We couldn't help but notice a wader off to our right, working with a net and great attention, to capture something swimming about in the small stream leading out to Gould's Point.  Aided with binoculars we decided that she was hunting for minnows or some type of bait in the waters. Whatever it was she had a jug full of them and the promise of a fishing excursion to come.

Here's a picture of the three of us enjoying this beautiful place.

Before heading back to the condo, one last stop to East Beach.  East Beach is probably the most expansive of all the beaches on the island.  The sand is hard packed on South Beach where are condo is located and becomes progressively looser as you walk northeast, crossing Massengale Beach, until you arrive at East Beach.  On East there is still plenty of hard packed sand to enjoy biking and walking but there is also soft sand to dig your wintering toes into.  Yes!  Here are a few pictures of East Beach as we headed back to the condo for dinner. 

This last picture is actually looking north from Gould's Point.  So pretty, I had to include it.  

I will end my post here, thinking about the fact that in 14 very short days we will begin our trip back home.  It will not be easy to leave this beautiful place but we look forward to seeing family and friends once again and sharing our memories and stories with them. 

Love and peace to all!

Preparing for a visit

Well we just returned from our favorite grocery store, Harris Teeter, where we stocked up on a few things in preparation for our friend Steve's arrival.  Steve left Michigan on Wednesday in the midst of a snow storm and has been dealing with challenging weather most of the trip.  He really, really wants to get away from winter!  We expect to see his smiling face somewhere around lunchtime tomorrow. We are looking forward to his visit and showing him around the island.  We will probably make it over to Jekyll Island as well.

Yesterday we decided to hang around the condo since the forecast was for rain most of the day with high winds.  As is typical, the rain moved in and out quickly.  The rest of the day was sunny but boy the high winds blew like crazy.  In fact, I walked the path down to the beach and almost got blown off the little boardwalk that you leads you to the sand!  The wind was howling off the water pretty fiercely.  That was enough for me!  I headed inland for a walk with Ron along the walk/bike path.  Still fairly windy but very nice and warm so I didn't mind so much.

I forgot to mention that Tuesday we took a trip to Darien GA.  A little town north of us on the mainland. We had a nice time but I think we were a little disappointed.  We had expected a cute historical hamlet (sort of like we had experienced in St. Marys) but what we found was a sprawling town along local Route 17.  We never managed to find the historic or quaintness we had hoped for.
We took a little side trip to Fort King George.  Always interested in learning the local history, we found the site gave us new information about the early days of Georgia prior to it becoming Georgia.

 Here are a few pictures.

 I know probably can't see the sign in the second picture, but right by the water's edge there was an ALLIGATOR warning!  Given my low regard for sharing space with wild life, I was a bit nervous while remaining ever alert to danger!  LOL!!

Here's a picture of me asking Ron where he put his big Gator Gun.  Ha, Ha!

After our tour of the fort we were more than ready for lunch.  We scrambled around town a bit looking for a place to eat without any success.  Nothing looked right.  We were just about ready to head back to SSI when we decided to see if the young lady at the Fort could point us in the right direction.  She was very eager to help us out and recommended a place called Skippers Fish Camp!  I mean, I had seen the signs for Skippers Fish Camp along the way, but I never thought that it would be a restaurant.  Really!  Fish Camp?  I'm picturing a place where people go to camp and fish not a bar and grill with a nice outside deck where you have yummy shrimp and a big glass of wine.  Am I right?  You don't have to answer that question.  It was just for effect. Just like the picture taken from the deck of the restaurant where we were happily ending our day eating yummy Georgian Shrimp.  It is the sweetest and best shrimp I have ever eaten.  Maine has the corner on lobster, but give it to Georgia for the shrimp!

I will end my post today with my wishes for Joy and Love shot straight out of a Fort King George canon to you!  Nancy

This and that

I couldn't believe, when I took a look at the blog, that I had not posted since Feb 17th.  Well I have certainly been remiss and now I need to catch up.  After our trips to Savannah and St. Marys, I hit a wall for a couple of days.  My fibromyalgia has been behaving for the most part, but it lets me know when I am getting outside my boundaries.  I kept things pretty quiet for a couple of days to allow myself recovery.
We are so thankful that we took the leap to come to St. Simons this winter.  We see why people love this island and why so many northerners are here during the winter months.  It's an island with a sense of community.  Very often islands are overtaken by resorts and you lose that sense of the small town.  Not the case on St. Simons.  Yes there are plenty of places to play golf and a few resorts but for the most part its a village with an ocean front.  Here's a picture of me taken on one of our 70 degree days.  Feet happily in the water, walking the shoreline.

Because there are so many returning snowbirds, they are all so very friendly and happy to share their recommendations with you.  We recently met a couple from Erie PA who have been coming to SSI for twelve years.  They suggested we try a little restaurant in nearby Brunswick for lunch.  We headed to Indigo Shanty Cafe and were pleasantly surprised.  It didn't look like much from the outside but the quality of the food is thankfully not dictated by the exterior.  We enjoyed our lunch Al Fresco under a huge live oak tree and watchful owl!

Here's me looking very satisfied after my yummy calypso salad, waiting to share Grilled Peach Pound cake ala mode with Ron.  Honest, I shared!

Ron has been wanting to go back to Jekyll Island but I keep putting him off.  Don't tell him.  Oh well, I'm sure he probably realizes by now.  LOL!  I really don't feel the need to head to the Jekyll Beaches.  I am perfectly content with the one right outside my door.  Instead of Jekyll we agreed to explore the northern end of SSI.  We headed back to the grounds of Christ Church only to discover that they were closed.  We did however walk a beautiful trail in the Wesleyan Memorial Gardens.  What a surprise!  The trail led to a garden area with a Celtic Cross as the centerpiece.  There were a few blooms but I am sure in another week or two it will be exploding with azaleas and rhododendrons.

.We were so happy to walk in this beautiful and peaceful place and plan on returning before we leave for home, sure that it will be covered in flowers.

 Here's Ron setting up his tripod to capture us on our walk.  He forgot his at home but managed to buy this one for $2.00 from Amazon!  And he loves it.

I have lost count of the number of gorgeous sunrise and sunset pictures that Ron has taken.  They are all so beautiful!  But let me leave you here with the rainbow that Ron captured yesterday.

Peace and love to all!

Day Trip to St. Marys Georgia

Yesterday was a beautiful day so we decided to head to St. Marys, Georgia (the last town before Florida) to see the sites and scope out the National Park Service to Cumberland Island, a trip we plan on taking at a later date.  What a cute little town with a neat little riverfront!  It's not big, but it is enough to make these two retirees happy.  We stopped at the visitors center to check things out and to get our bearings.  No problem since only two streets make up the main center of town.
We headed first to what is called the Orange House.  No, it is not orange.  It's white.  See.

Susie, the docent met us in the parlor where we chatted for a quite awhile and discovered that she had moved to St. Marys eleven years ago from Media PA.  Lo and behold!  Another Pennsylvanian who has moved to Georgia for it's milder, gentler climate.  Once Susie gave us the historic background of the house we roamed its rooms freely.  It was fun to see the basement rooms that were used by the Union Troops during the Civil War.  I loved the brick walls and the white washed rafters.

Our next stop was the historic Presbyterian Church, immediately across the street. The Orange House was in fact built to house the Pastor and his family.  Not your typical rectors home but it was built for the pastor and his new wife by the happy father-in-law.  Nice, huh!

We then headed to the riverfront where we decided to have lunch at the Riverside Cafe as recommended by Susie.

Surprisingly, it is a Greek/American restaurant.  Gyros, spanokopita, braised lamb shank, greek salad along with crab cakes, burgers and salads.  Ron had the crab cake and I opted for the spanokopita.  The portions were very generous and the food was good.  After seeing the dessert case we decided to come back later for our pick.

We walked the waterfront and went to the Information Center for the National Park Service where we got the low down for our Cumberland Island Trip, i.e., ferry schedule, what you can and can't bring, how to dress etc.  The island is completely wild so you need to be prepared for where you are going.  Here's a picture of the ferry that takes you across the St. Marys river to the island.

We took a stroll to a beautiful park along the river and spent time there just admiring the surrounding beauty and chatting with other friendly visitors.  We headed back to the Riverside Cafe to make good on our promise to return for dessert.  We sat outside on the porch overlooking the river side and enjoyed Ron's cheesecake and my Napoleon.  Decadent!

Peace and love to all!

28 Hours in Savannah

Ron and I decided to head into Savannah for an overnight stay this past Thursday and Friday.  Why not take advantage of our proximity to this historic and beautiful city while we are on St. Simons for the winter?  Needless to say, we are planners and we spent several days planning our visit and how we could enjoy, as well as, maximize our time in Savannah.  The days of keeping up a whirlwind pace are probably long gone for us, but that doesn't make the journey any less sweeter or enjoyable.  In fact, sometimes less is more!
We heard that Savannah has many fabulous restaurants so we planned for an early Valentine's Day celebration at one of these eateries.  Making a selection was not going to be easy with so many choices in the uncharted waters of the streets of Savannah.  We felt confident that we would figure it out.
The trip into Savannah from St. Simons is very easy.  You hop on I-95 and head north for an hour, then connect with I-16 East which brings you right into the downtown waterfront area.  Since our check in time at the hotel was 4pm, we had plenty of time to become familiar with some of Savannah's landmarks.  We decided to head to St. John the Baptist Cathedral on the corner of Harris and Abercorn Streets.  We had heard that parking on the streets of Savannah could be challenging, but low and behold there was a spot right outside one of the side doors.  Of course, having our disability tag allowed us to claim that spot legally!  The picture is the main entrance to the cathedral.  The building is so large that it takes up an entire city block.  You would have to stand back pretty far to be able to capture all the spires.

Our arrival time allowed us to attend noon mass and then tour the magnificent church.  I hope the following photos help to give you a sense of its color and beauty.  The two altars pictured are side altars.  I took a picture of the main altar but decided not to include it since it truly did not do it justice. 

 Once our tour was completed we decided to head to the Owens-Thomas House Museum which was in the neighborhood.  According to Fodor's or TripAdvisor (I can't remember which) if you only toured one house in Savannah this was the one to see, especially if you love architecture.  Well we do, so we did.  The house is located on Oglethorpe Square, one of the 22 beautiful squares located in the historic district.  The walk from the cathedral to the house was .3 challenging miles. "Not that far!" you say?  Savannah's sidewalks are not for the fainthearted or unsteady and forget those four inch heels unless you have ankles of steel and the balance of a circus performer.  Okay, I exaggerate but only a little bit!  Many stretches of sidewalk in this area of town are made of brick, which has shifted and swayed over the years, making for a very mindful walk.  You have got to keep you eyes open if you don't want to twist an ankle or trip on an errant brick.  Lucky for me, I had the arm of my husband to hang onto and my sneakers on my feet.  

The tour of the Owens-Thomas House was very interesting and the 90 minutes went by quickly.  The guide was very friendly and knowledgeable.  You are not allowed to take pictures inside but you are allowed to take as many as you want of the exterior and the garden area.  The following are pictures of the back of the house and the formal garden.  The house was designed in the Regency style by William Jay for a man named Richard Richardson.  Richardson had a dark cloud over his head and did not live there for very long before moving to New Orleans where the dark clouds continue to gather.  Poor guy.  Owens bought the house in 1830 and held onto it until the early 1900's.  The remains of the cistern systems in the house were fascinating as well as the upstairs bridge that served as a hallway!  That hallway became William Jay's calling card and helped to launch his career as an architect of some renown. 

As we left the house, it was well past lunchtime, so we asked for a recommendation at the Museum gift shop and headed to the District Cafe.  Lunch was delicious and social.  A women dining there with her two adult sons, struck up a conversation with us.  Conversation is always seems to be about where you are from etc.  It turned out that she was living in Savannah with her military husband and had a lot of local opinion and information especially about where to eat.  We filed that information away for our evening plans.  We walked back to the cathedral and headed to our hotel.  We were looking forward to checking in and settling our evening plans. 

The rooms at the Best Western Plus Hotel were very nice (recently updated) but I would not stay there again.  Why?  The hotel is on the outer fringe of the historic district at a very busy intersection.  Noisy!  We managed however to sleep through the night without much of a problem but I would have preferred a quieter, calmer location. 

Our original dinner reservations, required that we get back in the car and head to a different section of town.  No way so we canceled our reservations.  There were too many fine options in our location that we could walk to.  We were able to get reservations for 6:15 at Vic's on the River.  It was a beautiful location on the river with a stylish interior and fabulous food and service.  Don't you think piano music always adds to the ambiance?  Ron had the scallops and I had the crab cakes for our main courses.  We managed to eek in a dessert to share - apple, fig, walnut turnover with vanilla ice cream and salted caramel sauce.  Yum!  Good thing we got to walk back to the hotel!

We began day 2 with the complimentary breakfast which was pretty much your standard fare at one of the chain hotels.  After last evenings meal, we really weren't looking for much.  Checked out of the hotel and headed over to the Savannah Welcome Center.  We had planned to take a 90 minute tour of the historic district by tram.  We knew it would be the most efficient way to see as much as we could in our little time, especially with so much to see.  

The 10:30 tram was full and this is the off season!  We met quite a few PA snowbirds who were touring with us.  We thoroughly enjoyed the sites and the tour guide's chatter as he explained the scenery going by.  It was warm enough to roll up the vinyl windows and enjoy the view and the warm morning sun.  Here are a few snaps of the beautiful buildings we saw along the way. 

And these are just a drop in the bucket!  The city's beautiful homes are innumerable.  Sherman did not burn Savannah during the Civil War and so we have these homes that help us to stay connected to a different time and way of life.  Four times during the tour, we were joined by an actor who would portray a character from the city's past.  It was very well done and added to our fun.  Here are two of the characters.  A civil war rebel and a drunken pirate. 

 Our tour complete, we headed back to Bull Street to enjoy this beautiful area filled with gorgeous homes, shops and restaurants.  The street ends at Forsythe Park and its fantastic fountain.  Once our walking tour was done we had a delicious lunch at The Public Bar and Kitchen.  We enjoyed eating at an outdoor table and watching the people go by.  I will end with a couple of pictures of the fountain which is so beautiful pictures do not do it justice. 

We were back on St. Simons in time to enjoy the 72 degrees on the warm beach sands before the sun set.  Ahhh!

Peace and Love to all!

Wind Swept Beach Day

It's really amazing to be so close to the beach and to be aware of the weather, winds and changing character of the beaches.  Since we decided to become 'snowbirds' for the first time, I decided to watch and record the temperature profile of St. Simons Island (SSI) while we're here.  The graph below compares the temperature that we have been experiencing at SSI for the month of February (the black line).  I have been comparing the current data to the historical data the last time there was a strong El Nino winter, i.e., 1998.  The blue, red and green lines represent the high, average and low for February 1998.  We were above average until the 6th; but the last two days we've been below average.

I have also been recording the daily high temperature at SSI and some occasional other data. Displayed below is my Excel spreadsheet where I have been chronicling the daily temperature.

This urge to track and record the data is in my engineering DNA.  It also reflects the joy and freedom to do whatever the heck I want to do as a snowbird-retiree!  Data does not lie or deceive, unlike the plethora of accusations and innuendos that are currently saturating the media in this political primary-race season.  To paraphrase a time tested expression, "You can take the engineer out of ..."

We have also noted the effect of the large tide changes on the beach topography.  One way that we have observed is how the sand accumulates at different times at the base of the steps by us that lead down to the beach.  Embedded below are views of the steps on two different days (Feb. 7th & Feb. 9th) that show significant change of the sand accumulation at the base of the steps.  The picture below is from Feb. 7th and shows 11 steps.

The following picture shows the same place on Feb. 9th, but here there are only 10 steps.

The very large tidal changes along with very strong winds moves massive amounts of sand around the beach.  We saw more dramatic changes in the beach topography yesterday as we walked northward on the beach from these steps at low tide.  About a half-mile up the beach we could see where the tides and winds had produced a large depression in the sand that was smooth beach yesterday, but was now a gully of several thousand square feet that was 10 feet lower than the same location yesterday!  Very impressive demonstration of Nature's power.

Even though the current temperatures are unseasonably low, it is still very nice to be able to go out for a long walk in the bright sunshine even if it's only 50°.  Don't mean to rub it in for all you Yankees, but as the gunslinger character Walter Brennan used to play on a TV Western said, "No brag - just fact."