Lucy III - Marc, Sue, Sara & Stephanie

Thursday, March 3, 2022

Return to Brunswick shipyard and St. Simons Island...

3 March 2022

Blythe Island Regional Park Campground, Blythe Island, Georgia

Marc- We set out to revisit the Brunswick waterfront to find a World War II memorial dedicated to the builders and sailors of the Liberty ships built here during the War. We also found the old Shipyard ways where the ships were actually built and launched. This is important to me since my father served on board several of these ships while in the US Merchant Marine during World War II and the Korean War.

Scale model of a Liberty Ship

Brunswick Shipyard where 99 Liberty Ships were built.

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Then we visited St. Simons Island again. Traffic was heavy as we toured around the Island. The highlight today was seeing Christ Church itself. A docent gave us a description of the origins of the Church and the builder of current building. The Church has beautiful stained glass windows.

Rear window of the Christ Church and a marble sculpture of the builder when he was a young boy. His mother seems to have known an Italian like Michelangelo.

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We stopped for a walk in a roadside park on St. Simons Island. An information board noted that live oak was harvested here for construction of the USS Constitution, still afloat in Boston.

The USS Constitution is still a USN Commissioned ship.

Turtle

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Giant bridge that allows the car-carrying ships to pass under.

South Brunswick river marsh.

A ship in a marsh?

A shipload of cars.

Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Guided Tour of Jekyll Island...

2 March 2022

Blythe Island Regional Park Campground, Blythe Island, Georgia

Marc- Today we took it easy and did the Georgia State Park Guided Tour of the historic village of the Jekyll Island Club. Our Guide was excellent, describing the various "Cottages" of the 19th Century American rich and how the Jekyll Island Club owned and operated this pleasure island. She noted that it was used only during the traditional winter months of January to March for wealthy Americans from mainly the Northeast. There was a central Clubhouse used for meeting and meals. Most of the cottages did not have kitchens even though some had 21 rooms. We toured these cottages and a very beautiful Episcopal Chapel. The Tiffany Stained glass windows are very beautiful. The State of Georgia made the entire island into a State Park in 1947. Anyone can stay in the cottages or the clubhouse (for a price). There is also a campground. There is a private marina that we stayed at coming and going on our boat trip last year.

We passed a car carrier on our way to Jekyll Island. Brunswick has an enormous freight terminal for importation of cars by ship. Major highways and rail links are nearby.

The back of the Clubhouse where we enjoyed a coffee break.

Faith Chapel

Camellias

Tiffany stained glass above the alter.

Tiffany stained glass above the entrance to the Chapel.

More Chapel flowers.

A period car from the Clubhouse entrance.

A large bottle brush tree near the Clubhouse.

A spiraling live oak branch. We learned from our guide that 100 year old live oaks have limbs that climb, 200 year old live oaks have limbs that spread horizontally, and 300 year old live oaks have descending limbs.

Sue makes a friend back at the campground.

A campground duck.

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Return to Jekyll Island part II...

1 March 2022

Blythe Island Regional Park Campground, Blythe Island, Georgia

Marc- Today we had sunny skies and light winds out of the North. It was an excellent day for bicycle touring on Jekyll Island and its extensive bike paths. Entry to the Island is controlled by a toll booth collecting $8.00 per car. The booth is adjacent to the Georgia State Police Barracks on the causeway to the Jekyll Island bridge. Our first stop was the marina where we stayed twice during our 2020-2021 trip aboard Lucy III. The staff had been very helpful and I had seen two motorsailers there that interested me. The motorsailers were still there but they looked dated. I spoke with one owner whose boat needed repairs. It's not a model we're interested in. The other is one we have interest in, a Gulf Star, but this particular boat is too old There was some excitement at the docks as some staff were assisting an injured pelican. The trick was to throw a sweatshirt over his head and then hold his beak while they raised him with a hand under his belly.

We parked our truck over at the historic village and toured all of the shops. Sue made a picnic lunch so we set off on the bikes to explore the Western and Northern parts of the Island. The bike paths led us along the Intracoastal Waterway amid towering live oaks for most of the ride. We had lunch on a bench looking at the Intracoastal. We visited the Island's Campground. It was similar to the county campground we're in. Spacious sites and a lot of trees. I saw a horse rental business that takes people for rides on the beaches. There is a large fishing pier. Georgia has provided excellent facilities for the public here. At the pier we went off the main bike path taking a spur that led over a bridge and through a salt water marsh area. All was well until we had to pass through a bit of standing water and then some soft sand. The venture was well worth it since this spur brought us to a Northern Atlantic beach filled with live oaks that had once thrived there. The Atlantic Ocean is slowly reshaping this island by taking sand from the northern end of the island and moving it to the southern end. This beautiful beach also has a view of the Southern end of St. Simons Island and its lighthouse. The last spot we stopped at was Horton's Pond where large grass eating carp live with turtles and alligators.