The Super Bowl and more

Sunday was a very good day.

Laundry was done, we went for a walk on the beach and saw a dolphin.
I got to sit in the sun and read.

And we had our own Super Bowl Party.
It was the first (of many we hope) that we spent
watching the game and the campfire.
It was low 50’s and a perfect night.
Bob had quite a set up.
He had the campfire going in half the fireplace
so we could try again with the dutch oven in the other half.
Bob also had his computer with EYE TV for watching the game. And he had two stoves going to cook the chicken fingers (very mild for me and very spicy for him)



We made sourdough bread (Knead Not Sourdough-Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2008

Show: Good EatsEpisode: Going Dutch) and it came out great! The stones we found for the legs of the dutch oven did the trick and Bob added coals to keep it hot for the 45 minute baking time.

The chicken was good and I even watched a lot of the game.

What a Mess!!

First a little history- We like using cast iron cookware. One night recently on Food Network, Alton Brown was cooking – baking actually -in a dutch oven. Of course we wanted one for the camper. We found one when shopping.

So, we tried the pineapple upside down cake that was in the cookbook . We followed the directions carefully and after the proper amount of time we removed the top and checked- it appeared to be done. Serving this cake requires putting a plate on top and flipping the pan (in this case very heavy oven) over. It wasn’t done and halfway over there was a hot gooey mess running off the plate, down the cupboard, stove, and onto the floor. Bob turned it back over before the entire mess slid onto the floor and we cleaned up the mess.
Here’s what went wrong (we think) : Bob said he cleaned a spot off in the fireplace and placed the coals as directed. But he said the weight of the dutch oven pushed it into the ground and when he lifted the whole thing off the coals underneath were out- so the bottom didn’t cook.
Before we try again we have to find some rocks to put under the legs of the dutch oven. We won’t get old as long as we keep trying new things right ?

Why Jekyll Island Campground

Jekyll Island Campground at first look made us feel like we were in the Adirondacks. The pine trees, the roomy sites, the raccoons, the birds, …..The Spanish Moss on the trees reminded us we weren’t in the mountains in August. The sunsets, the ocean, the ships all add to the atmosphere here at Jekyll Island. But what really makes this place different is the community atmosphere. There are weekly covered dish dinners, golf outings, trips to restaurants,and area attractions. There are men’s get togethers and weekly ladies crafting afternoons. There are monthly pancake breakfasts. The other night we experienced our first campfire/hotdog roast. It rained but that didn’t stop anything- people just went over to the tent to eat and then came back when the rain let up for the bonfire. There was entertainment as well - three men with guitars and a banjo (and a singing wife) played for hours. (They’d been practicing at the campsite next door so we recognized a couple of the country western tunes.)
The problem is the campground is practically full. We’re hoping to come back next winter but time will tell if there’s a place not already reserved.

Boats, Dolphins, and more

The ferryboat ride back to St. Marys was right on time and most people rode inside. We chose about the same place as before- outside (the rain was over), downstairs toward the front. There was a mother and daughter (early 20’s) standing near us. I was, as always watching the water for dolphins- I saw one and pointed it out to Bob; we watched as it swam in front of the boat and thought it was gone. A couple minutes later the mother and daughter called us to look over the side of the boat. The dolphin was swimming right next to the bow of the boat (riding the wake someone said). That dolphin was soon joined by another and then a third. We watched them swimming along with us. They’d swim, roll on their sides and take turns being closest to the boat and take turns skimming the surface of the water. (My camera was packed away) Then when the boat turned a little the dolphins went to the back of the boat for a while. We could still see other dolphins in the distance for quite a while- one was playing in front of a sailboat . It made a great ride back.
The pilings along the dock in St. Marys were all topped with pelicans. One puffed up nicely for the girl with the camera.

When we got to our car the PeaceMobile was parked just a couple spaces away.

Altogether it was quite a day!!

Cumberland Island

Cumberland Island is the largest Georgia Barrier Island and it is the most Southern.
90% of the island is a National Seashore, but it has only been a national park for about 40 years.

To get to the island you can go by private boat or take the ferry from St. Marys, GA. The ferry is people only and everything you carry in you carry out. There are campsites so we traveled over with a boy scout troop and lots of other people (ages ranged from about 10 to mid 70’s)

The island is a mixture of historical sites and nature. Much of the island has been allowed to return to nature.
We stayed at the southern end of Cumberland. We, and more than half of our fellow passengers, went on the ranger led hike. Our tour took us from the boat landing to the ruins of Dungeness. There were two estates- 100 years apart,- at the same place and both named Dungeness. The ruins we saw are the ruins of Thomas and Lucy Carnegie’s home. There are still parts of the estate around the island – some owned by the park system, some privately owned. The ranger explained about the dirt road we were on, the trees and bushes we saw and how they were used over time by the different people who lived on the island, and the animals we might see.
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There are, and we saw, wild horses on Cumberland. Lucy Carnegie wanted her 60 some horses allowed to go free with the wild horses on the island at her death. The ranger explained to us that because the Park System is still fairly new to the area they don’t have policies about many of the issues that they are and will be facing. Two issues she discussed were the horses and the buildings. Anytime they start to discuss a policy the newspapers hear and then all sides of the issue get very vocal. First the horses-there are 150-200 horses on the island and currently the park system does nothing to help manage the herd or herds (she said there’s a small herd in the northern part of the island that appear to be part Arabian) so they really don’t know if these horses are special to the island (like the ponies on Oracoke), they believe that all the horses were left to be wild like Lucy Carnegies. We saw several horses and they seem to be pretty use to people- as long as we didn’t get to close they let us watch them graze.

Our park ranger also talked with us about the issue of preservation. She said there are some people who believe the island should be allowed to revert back to nature and no attempts to preserve the structures should be made. She feels, and I have to agree, that part of history is in the buildings and they should be preserved. It will be interesting to see what Cumberland Island National Seashore Park is like 10 years from now. Our guide did tell us that within the next two years the park service will be offering trips to the northern part of the island and that they’ve discovered where forts were located.

After our tour the ranger told us how to get to various parts of the island and she made sure everyone was clear on the directions, and how and when to be back at the dock. We had to be back at the dock because the ferry leaves at 4:45 PM and if you are not there you will be spending the night!

We headed for the beach with a side trip to a cemetery where we had the added benefit of our closet uninterrupted view of a horse. It was a 15 minute walk from the cemetery to the beach – lots of different areas- wild and beautiful. The beach was almost empty when we got there. We found a place to sit and had our lunch then looked for shells and watched the clouds get closer. We found some great shells (those are the only things you may take off the island) We decided to walk back the way we came because I wanted to see more of the Dungeness Ruins (without kids and soccer balls in the picture). We made it back to the tree covered road way before it started to rain. I chose to stay under cover rather than in the pouring rain for some other pictures- so we only have a couple of the entry to the estate to add to the pictures of the ruins we already had.(next trip I’ll try for some of the grounds and views).

On our walk from the ruins back to the covered boat dock we saw armadillos and deer.

It was a great day and I’m already anxious to return. And in a couple years Grandma and BobBob will watch the kids so Anna and Dave can relive some of their past and go wilderness camping on Cumberland Island (there was a couple on the boat ride home who made us think of you two).

The Train Funnel

Today we went to Folkston, Ga. The pamphlet says it’s the ‘Train Watchers Paradise’-up to 70 trains a day go through. They have a Train Watchers Platform complete with a radio monitor for the CSX. In addition to the platform there are picnic tables and a barbeque. We went to the restored depot museum (Bob was shocked to find calendars from the 1960’s labeled antiques). Then we walked over to the train watchers platform. A train had been through when we were in the museum so we figured we had some time and we walked around the corner to get some coffee. It was a little gift/coffee shop. There was a small group of women having coffee and a meeting (later I saw their Relay for Life folders). We ordered our coffee and looked around. As we were waiting someone asked us where we were from. To each answer we gave they wanted more specifics- of the group of six two of them were also from Northern NY! We got our coffee, chatted a little bit and went back to the train platform. While we were waiting for a train to go through people drove by and waved, one stopped and talked to us a little and gave us advice about where to camp and some things to see. In the hour we were there 3 trains went through and we heard one as we were leaving.
Folkston is southwest of Jekyll and just north of the Florida border. The drive there took us past miles of pine forests. The pine trees here are extremely tall and straight. We saw a few areas that had been clear cut but we also saw many fields of pines and each field was a different height. We saw a couple of trucks filled with cut trees and ready for pickup and we met several empty trucks returning.

Driftwood Beach

Wow!

We followed a trail to the beach today. It was just a couple miles from the campground. The pictures tell it all.