I'd Rather Be At The Beach

We stayed in our home town last weekend. Jeff attended his company picnic on Friday. We had two birthday parties that we were invited to attend and we visit the Ocmulgee National Monument for their annual Indian celebration as well. Jeff and I went there years ago B.C. (before children). We thought the girls might enjoy it on the heels of our trip to Cherokee, NC. They did like some aspects but it didn't take long for them to complain about the heat. Afterwards we had dinner at Jim Shaw's Seafood in Macon. As always, a great meal. The rest of the week was life as usual and getting prepared for our trip to the Georgia coast for the weekend of Sept 23rd.

There is so much to see and do on the Georgia coast: beaches, historic sites, parks, etc. We visited Savannah earlier this year so this is our 2nd trip to the coast but it's the first in our new RV and to King's Bay. For our previous trip, we stayed at Skidaway Island State Park, and visited the beach at Tybee Island, and toured Fort Pulaski National Monument.

We stayed at Eagle Hammock RV Park at the Kings Bay Submarine Base for this trip. We were torn between staying there or at Crooked River State Park which was nearby. In the end, we decided to stay at the Navy base. We were glad we did. The facilities were extremely nice. It included pads for parking and full hookup. Additionally, the comfort station was very clean and offered some additional amenities including free washer/dryers and a family room with internet service, games, TV, etc. And, this military base was very nice as well. I would highly recommend this place to anyone who can stay at military facilities.

We arrived around 5:30 on Friday evening. It only took a few minutes to set up so we decided to try a local place to eat for dinner. The camp host recommended a seafood place in Saint Mary’s so we thought we’d try that. He said the food was good there and to try the alligator. I know everyone jokingly says alligator tastes like chicken but it really does….it’s just a bit chewier. We didn’t tell the girls it was alligator…we told them it was chicken. They ate it and really enjoyed it. After they ate a few pieces, we told them what it was. Anna has now decided she likes alligator. We tried their peanut butter chocolate pie for dessert….it too was yummy.

Thought For The Day: We spotted a sign on a billboard in Saint Mary’s that caught our attention. We found it to be quite humorous. This is the sign for your amusement.





On Saturday, we thought we’d visit the historic area of Saint Mary’s and then head to the beach after lunch. Saint Mary’s is a quaint town and luckily for us…not busy in the least. We walked through the historic part and visited the Submarine Museum. I’ve never been in an actual submarine and I have to say that I’m in awe at the fact that people can actually live in these things for long periods of time. Our friends wonder how we can stand it in such a small space but I think we have it great…especially if compared to a submarine.
We ate lunch at Sterling’s Southern Café in the Saint Mary’s historic district. That, too, was a great choice for a meal. The crab bisque was wonderful! The thing that caught our eye about this restaurant was their window which stated “serving dinner and supper.” It wasn’t too long ago when Jeff and I had a debate with my Mom on the proper names for meal times. Jeff and I call our noon time meal “lunch;” and, the evening meal “dinner.” My Mom called the noon time meal “dinner” and the evening meal “supper.” We chalked it up to one of her typical unique ways of stating things. But, we were proved wrong in this instance. The menu in Sterling’s states “In gentler times the noon meal was always referred to as dinner.”
We wanted to go to Cumberland Island but thought that it might be a better trip just for Jeff and me without the children. We would definitely like to do that some time in the near future. We also did not have time to go to the Okefenokee Swamp…that’s another item we’ll have open for our next visit to this area.
We drove to Fernandina Beach, FL, for the afternoon. It was so nice. The weather was perfect and the beach was not crowded in the least. If we were surfers, the water would’ve been perfect as well. The waves were quite rough though. While we enjoyed the visit to this beach, you simply can’t beat the beauty of the gulf beaches. The water and the sand were so much prettier at Santa Rosa Beach when we visited there in July. We stayed at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, FL, and that, too, is a nice RV park. Nevertheless, we had a great time at this beach as well. A day at the beach is better than any day at home, right? Anna particularly loved sitting in the sand and letting the waves wash over her and push her along. She giggled nonstop. And, Rachel spent her time collecting shells. As I laid on the beach with the surf washing over me and the breeze blowing around me, I couldn’t help but think how much I did not miss our house. I loved the fact that we had the freedom to go wherever we wanted without the responsibilities of a fixed home to care for. We could have been at home mowing the lawn, cleaning, painting, etc. Instead, we were on the beach and loving every minute.

After a full afternoon at the beach, we headed back to the RV for a much needed shower. We decided to drive through Crooked River State Park on the way back to the Navy base to see if we’d rather stay there on our next visit to this area or not. It looked like a very nice state park as well. And, I would request site #11 if it was available as it had the best view of the water. I think Eagle Hammock was nicer in terms of amenities and camp sites though. If we come back to this area in the future, we will most likely stay at Eagle Hammock again.

There is only one negative about the Georgia coast that I have seen thus far…and that is the insects. The mosquitoes are huge and they are relentless. If you ever decide to visit this area, ensure you have lots of mosquito repellent. You’ll need it. Luckily, we didn’t encounter red bugs on this trip. We did experience these on a trip to Jekyll Island years ago. But, as long as you know about it and prepare for it, it can be manageable.