Girls Weekend at Fernandina 2/24/23 - 2/16/23 (no camping)

The three of us worked together for around 25+ years. Marty retired & moved home to IL w/her husband Joe who had developed Parkinsons. Ellen left the company a couple of years later & I retired in 2015. The last time the three of us were together was when Ellen & I visited Marty in Oct. 2021, not long after Joe passed. 

Here is a pic of the spread that she put out for the three of us on our first night visiting. Nothing unusual for her. It is her style.

We have kept it touch occasionally since then. Marty recently sent Ellen & I text that she NEEDED some warm weather & to talk w/friends that 'understood' her current situation. 

We agreed on a date & Fernandina as the place & she flew into Jax on a Friday. I picked her up from the airport & we had a lovely lunch at Down Under, a great local restaurant on the Intracoastal waterway.

We went to the local grocery store (Harris Teeter) where Marty, as usual, bought too much for us to ever consume in a two day period. Finally got the code to check into our condo at Ketch Cove Courtyard. Had a glass of wine & then met Ellen at Sliders Seaside Grill, another local restaurant (on the beach), for dinner before heading back to the condo.

Had a great conversation & Marty told us all about her 'new' life. She's a member of a good church where she has met a great guy & they have started a relationship. Who knows where that will go but God bless them for finding each other & heading down that path.

Got up the next morning, drank coffe while watching a beautiful sunrise on Saturday morning. Ellen ''finally'' woke up then cooked us a wonderful breakfast. We then went to down to the beach for a couple of hours, for salt & sunshine therapy (I'll spare those pics).

Came back to the condo, took showers & went to downtown Fernandina, strolled the shops & had happy hour drinks & shared a small flatbread pizza at The Patio.

Then we had a lovely dinner at Espana, a Spanish themed restaurant with a big focus on Tapas.

Weird note: Needed to know what one of the dishes was - calamari 'steak'. Asked the hostess to let us know if anyone ordered it so we would know what it looked like. She saw one on a nearby table & asked the lady if she could remove it & bring it over for us to see ... the lady said "sure". One of the strangest things that has ever happened to us at a restaurant. 

We ordered several small plates to share (including the calamari).

Woke the next morning to another beautiful sunrise.

.... why Ellen doesn't get up for these, we'll never know. 

Decided to head back to Sliders for brunch. Had a bloody mary & one of the best brunches I have ever had. Must have been the company...

Said goodbye to Ellen, then Marty & I did a little more shopping in Fernandina & I took her to the airport for her flight back to cold IL & her new 'friend'. 

Could not have asked for better weather. The company, companionsip & friendship sealed the whole weekend.

Stephen C. Foster 11/22/22 - 11/26/22 (#16)

Last Camping trip of 2022. When we left Evans County we headed to FL instead of back to our house in GA. We stored the camper at my sister's house which is about an hour west of where we live in FL. We picked it up on Tuesday before Thanksfiving & headed to Stephen C. Foster SP, about an hour north of her house. The CG is located in the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge & in the middle of NOWHERE. It is 17 miles off of US 441 & the only thing in Fargo, GA is a Dollar General. Closest grocery stores are over 40 miles away.

Stayed in site #42, W/E & directly across from the bathhouse. It was a tight fit but there was plenty of privacy between sites. 

Had this weird picnic table. Originally thought it was for handicapped since we had to stay on an ADA site but looking around we saw they were like this at most all sites.

On Wednesday we just hung around & walked the campground. On Thursday, we went to my sister's for Thanksgiving & had a very nice meal & got to spend time with her, BIL, Niece & her husband & of course Natalie. Gosh we love that child.

This was her first Thanksgiving (she'll be One in January) & our first with my side of the family in about 10 years. My Dad had hosted for many years & we always declined his invite because Greg's parents are getting old & we felt like 'this could be the last one w/them'. I regret not going to my Dad's. We should have been rotating every other year.

After eating, our plan was to get back to the CG before dark & we made it with the last light of day. Didn't want to be on those dark roads at night. Note: The speed limit sign on the road heading in was 45 during the day & 25 at night. Lots of wildlife roam those roads at night.

We decided to go on the Okefenokee Swamp tour the next day. It was a bit misty & cloudy but we knew it would be fine once we were on the water. A family had cancelled so we had the boat (w/tour guide) to ourselves. It was supposed to be an hour and a half long but our guide wasn't the best time manager & we left 15 mintues late. And, as it turns out the family decided to go ahead & keep their reservation for an hour later. So, we came back 15 minutes early. It was ok though. The guide, while knowledgable wasn't the best presenter so an hour was plenty. We saw a few gators, turtles & of course plenty of birds. Here are a couple shots of 2 of the gators:

4' Mama w/2 babies near the entrance

About an 8 or 9 footer in the swamp

Here are a few shots along the Swamp:

Not sure if we'll be back. Definitely wouldn't go there in the summer because the bugs would be horrendous. We MAY take one more trip in December but it's doubtful because we are trying to schedule surgery for Greg for his shoulder & would like to get that done in December if at all possible.

So, the next scheduled trip won't be until March of 2023. In the meantime there is Christmas & New Year's to celebrate. Hope everyone has a blessed rest of the year & a good start to 2023.

Evans County2 (PFA) 11/2/22 - 11/5/22 (#15)

We visited Evans County in early November. 

New sign

This is our 2nd time at this small CG (1st trip to Evans County) & our first repeat of a CG. It's located in Claxton, GA & has several lakes for fishing. We stayed on site #9 (again) which is a large site at the end of the road going in & has the best views of the lake.

We really enjoyed this park the 1st time & since we needed to get our camper to FL for Thanksgiving camping we decided to try it again. We went for the solitude this time. Didn't fish & only walked down to the dock once. Weather was perfect but it just wasn't the same w/o Nelly.

Our host was a very nice lady named Joy. She is living her best life being a campground host. Her rescue pup's name was Bella. Very sweet dog. Rescues are the best in our opinion.

We met Sue & Dave from Statesboro, GA with a cute full size beagle name Daisy. Also met another couple, Raymond & Mimi from Richmond Hill, who had 2 full size french bulldogs - Stella & Balboa. Cute but a little too active for our taste in pups.

We went to Cowart's restaurant & bought a few fruitcakes. Other than that, it was a quiet & relaxing time.

One more trip to go this year. Until then ...

Foscue Creek (COE) 10/6/22 - 10/10/22 (#14) - Part 4

 

Left Hernando Point on Thursday, headed to Demopolis AL (SW Montgomery) / 4.5 hour drive. Foscue was our favorite on this trip. The site (#49) was right on the river, private, level, etc. We were asked if this was our first time at this CG (yes) & were escorted to our site. ALL the camp hosts we met were very personable. The park was immaculate! Gravel was raked & not a speck of trash anywhere.

Almost all sites are on water & FHU (1-13 not). Only four are directly on the river (Black Warrier/Tombigbee) / 49-52.

The big draw to being on the river was watching boats & barges go by. Just down from the CG, there is a lock & dam they go through. It drops them 40' to continue on their journey. I think I read that the river is 185 miles long & goes all the way to Mobile, AL. One day we watched a fleet (6 or 7) of large private vessels go down & enter the lock together. I suspect there is a charge & if a group go in, they split the costs. Spillway Falls-Lower Pool is where you go to watch them come out of the lock.

Going by our Site

Coming out the other side.

The Barges were HUGE.

Going by Campsite

Coming out the other side.

The one above took forever to go through. I had walked down from the viewing area to get this pic & Greg said he could hear it scraping as it came through. Think the wind got is going sideways & pilot had to maneuver it a bit.

Hauling rock, going into lock

I have lots more on file, there were on average 2-3 that came each day & 1 or 2 during the middle of the night.

We decided to be tourists the next day & visited the small town of Demopolis & ate at a Mexican restaurant (La Montanita).

Civil War Monument to all who served (not just 1 person in particular)

Fountain in the town square

We then went on a tour of the Historic Gaineswood Plantation. We met another couple that were also camping at Foscue (Trey & Kristi from AL) & had an excellent young tour guide - Elias Smith. The house started out at a 3 room cabin & was added on over many years. They did an excellent job with the additions & the family donated all the original furniture, clothing, etc. when it was added to the Historical Registry. A few pics:

Base is the same fountain from the town center

Ladies Parlor

Ladies Parlor

Mens Parlor

We then stopped at Bluff Hall, another historic house but didn't tour. We wanted to get a pics of the White Bluffs of Demopolis. Located along the shore of the river where the house sits.

Overall we enjoyed our visit here & agreed that if we ever head west, this would be another stop as it is an easy access from US Hwy 80. We both felt that Nelly would have liked this one the best, as well. Would have loved to see & hear her reaction to the barges....

We headed back to the farm on Monday the 10th (stopped at Sweet Creek Market outside of Montgomery for lunch). The drive home was an easy one (US Hwy 82) but LONG. It took us almost 7 hours to get home .... way too long. We agree that 5 hours is our max.

I'll end w/a few of the carvings spread throughout the park (mostly done w/Black Walnut & Chestnut):

Note: I did meet two pups on one of my morning walks ... Lilly a fat terrier that had escaped from her camper & was guarding the culdesac they were on. Also Rascal, Jack Russel/Bulldog mix, 17 years old.