We had an amazing time down on Cumberland Island. Despite the soaring temperatures and lack of hygiene, we could have stayed another night! Here is a brief look at how we spent our vacation:
Day One: Drive down to St. Mary's (aprox. 6 hours), checked into hotel, then dinner at Captain Seagle's. We all highly recommend this restaurant and I will be writing a full review on my food blog!
Day Two: Caught the 9AM ferry over to Cumberland. The ferry takes about an hour - we arrived, unloaded our stuff, and waited to listen to the ranger's camping orientation. We were warned about rip tides, alligators, sharks, snakes, raccoons taking your food, how not to anger a feral horse, and dehydration. It was very informative, and a bit scary!
We then set up camp, ate our picnic lunch, changed into our swimsuits and hit the beach! After a relaxing time cooling off in the ocean water and building sandcastles, we headed back to camp to prepare our dinner. We ate very well on the island - expect to see some of that action on my food blog as well. We enjoyed the cold showers and late into the evening hours we turned in.
Day Three: This was our one full day on the island. We spent it hiking around. We took the kids to see the ruins at Dungeness. A lot of wild horses like to hang out there and it was really neat for all of us to watch them. We ate our picnic near Dungeness and hiked back to Sea Camp.
The afternoon was spent at the beach but we were eventually chased in by a thunderstorm. It was surprisingly fun to sit in a hot tent and play cards while it rained outside. Baxter and I enjoyed a glass of boxed wine and the kids just thought everything was more fun in a tent. After dinner and another cold shower, we took a late stroll on the beach at sunset. We were excited to see a deer on the sand dunes walking back. It was a majestic setting, full of surprises. We ended up taking the rainfly off of the tent for the night. It was a bit risky but well worth the fresh air inside. Next year, we will definitely invest in some tent fans!
Day Four: Baxter and I were up early making breakfast when we heard a loud commotion in the brush. We looked up and saw a horse coming straight towards our campsite! I tip-toed to the tent and woke up the kids just in time for them to open their eyes and watch the horse walk right by the tent. I was so happy that the rainfly was off so they could watch the whole thing!
After a disastrous breakfast of cold and chewy rice pudding (which you should apparently never freeze), we packed up our campsite and headed for the dock. Our ferry ride back was nice and we were glad to be leaving with a record-setting 101 high temperature and heat index of 119 headed our way. We all took "hobo baths" in the public restroom and headed to Lang's for one last seafood meal. While not as good as Seagle's, Lang's does offer some of the best fried, fresh-caught shrimp you'll ever have. Plus, the ice-cold drinks were just fabulous (as was the air conditioning). We made one more stop for ice cream at the general store and started a new tradition of buying a Christmas ornament on vacation. After several moves, we need a few more ornaments.
We made it back in time for dinner in Smyrna. All in all, it was a great little trip - not too costly and full of new sights, sounds and adventure. The kids were sad to leave and can't wait to go back.
A word to the wise - an ounce of planning is worth a pound of cure. I did a very good job planning and packing for the family. It took a 7 hour shopping trip, a list 4 pages long, and a lot of hair-pulling and google-searching but it was well worth it. We needed most of what I packed and only added 4 items to the packing list when we got back. Those 4 things were a red flashlight so we can watch the sea turtles laying eggs in the dunes at night (no white lights are allowed out there at night), tent fans, a large tarp, and dry ice instead of regular ice for the cooler. There is no store or way of getting provisions of any kind on the island. What you pack in is what you have access to - that's it. So planning is everything if you want to make a trip to Cumberland. There was a family down there by the name of Rentz who has had their family reunion on Cumberland Island for over 25 years. This year, there were 4 generations camping, including a baby under 1 year. With good planning, anyone can enjoy this beautiful example of a sub-tropical Georgia ecosystem. For information on planning your visit, here are a few good places to start:
http://www.stmaryswelcome.com/ (St. Mary's, Ga official page)
http://www.nps.gov/cuis/index.htm (Cumberland Island Info from The National Park Service)
http://www.campingblogger.net/ (one of many blogs where I found useful info to help me plan our trip)
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