Cumberland Island - Day 3

After the long nights sleep we got up about 7am. The humidity was already terrible. I just went ahead and put back on my wet clothes. The wet clothes had been hanging on our line all night and were still just as wet as the night before. We ate some breakfast. We had the Date Nut Bulgar from Enertia. I don't think I would purchase that one again. I didn't like it but Stuart did. After eating we decided to rearrange our tarp we had strung up between the trees. That was aggravating to say the least. We did get it setup a bit differently to try to cover the tent better for when the rains came again. Yes, the mosquito's were out in force as soon as we got out of the tent for the morning. About 10:30 we headed out on our hike. We hiked from our campground, Stafford, to Plum Orchard mansion. That was via the beach and the Duck House trail. The walk on the beach was awesome. I don't think the Duck House trail is used very much. It was well worn but was hard to find right off the beach. It was hidden by the bushes. That trail went through a couple of swampy areas that made us both nervous (we were thinking about gators and snakes but never saw any). We were also concerned about it being hot but there was a nice breeze most of the way down this trail. I started feeling light-headed during this portion of the hike. Could have been I wasn't drinking enough water or just the heat. Right before arriving at Plum Orchard we crossed the Main Road. A car with a Maryland tag met us. It was a strange site to meet a car on the Island. Just after that a couple of men came toward us coming from the Plum Orchard area. I asked them if it was much further and they said 10 minutes. They also said that the house was open when they were up there. When we rounded the corner to the house a park service truck was leaving. I bet the guy just closed the house. It would have nice if he would have asked us if we wanted to go in the house but he didn't even say boo to us. The house is an amazing site to see, especially being on this island. We walked around the house for a minute or two. Went behind to figure out where the supposed drinkable water might be. We looked at the water sources for a couple of minutes and decided to come back in a few minutes. There were quite a number of picnic tables under the gorgeous trees. We sat on one and ate snacks for a little bit. It started to rain so we sat on the porch of the house on what appeared to be a swinging bed. We sat around for quite a while resting, snacking, and drinking water. We filtered some water from the water hose out of a ziploc bag. The water had no bad taste or ill affects. We were at the house for probably 1.5 hours. Back towards the campground we went. Took us about the same time to get back. During this entire hike we saw two boar and two armadillos. The closer we got back to the campground the more it started to rain. By the time we got back it was full on downpour. It was about 5 or 6pm. Stuart wanted to get in the ocean and wait out the rain. It was lightning quite a bit so I convinced him to wait for that to stop. After 15 minutes or so it did and we both went to the ocean. The wind was blowing and made it a bit cool. The rain was still coming down. The waves were up. We just hung out in the shallows, waist deep, for 1.5 hours. I just had enough so we went back towards the campground. We decided to fix supper on the porch of the bathroom house. During that time it finally stopped raining and also go full on dark. After eating we both showered and put on our dry clothes and we were down for the night. I didn't go directly to sleep like the previous night but it didn't take long to go out.

Cumberland Island - Day 2

We got to the dock/pier area about 4am. There is a very nice park there right next to the visitors center. We walked around looking at the park. Walked out on the pier. We sat down on some swings and benches that were right next to the water. Stuart was laying down on the bench when a policemen walked up. I thought it might be some trouble but as it turned out everything was OK. He was a very nice guy. He just wouldn't stop talking. At one point I asked him if it would be OK if we got our pads out and laid down to sleep a bit. He said he didn't care. After he finally stopped talking that is what we did. That was about 5am. I laid down for maybe 30 minutes. I might have slept for about 1 minute. Around 6am we loaded up and headed down to the Hardees. It was nice to have a place to sit for a while and eat breakfast. We filled our water bottles in the Hardees. We were back at the dock around 8am. We started getting our stuff ready. It didn't take a few seconds before a swarm of some kind of gnats got all on us. At first they were just walking on our skin then they started biting. It was painful but like a burning sensation. The visitor center opened at 8am. We went in to check in and browse their little store. Didn't know they would have a store. It was nice and cool inside. It was already very humid and hot outside. We were all checked in and waiting for 8:45 for a little orientation. There were more people going over than I expected for a Thursday. The orientation was a little bit about the island and wildlife. After this we loaded the boat. Right on time we left at 9:15am (Eastern). The ride over was uneventful and peaceful. It was a 45 minute ride. Off the ferry we had to go to another orientation for campers at the rangers station. We got more information on dangers (animals, heat) and information concerning the campgrounds. Up the Parallel trail we went. Then to the Pratts trail and then arriving at Stafford Beach. It was about 1.5 hour trip. VERY hot and humid! We setup camp and got some lunch started. About 1pm it started raining and did not stop until about 7pm. During the afternoon Stuart laid down in the tent and caught a bit of a nap. I went to do that myself but it was so humid in the tent I couldn't stay. We went to the ocean and played in the water for quite a while. Back to camp for some supper. About 7pm we started getting ready for sleep. After being up for about 36 straight hours it was about time. Stafford campground has a bath house; toilet, sink and shower. It's not the Courtyard. It's not even a Motel 6 but it is very good for back-country camping. A cold shower feels great when you've been the heat all day. I showered first and was in the tent by 8pm. Stuart did the same. By the time he was back from the shower I was already out. That was the best nights sleep. I had to get up one time for a bathroom visit. Didn't wake up too much. Overall slept for 11 hours. Created on 08/17/2009

Cumberland Island - Day 1 (Really Day .5)

Stuart and I left Athens about 1pm. I stopped by Jiffy to grab me a chicken snack for lunch and we were on our way. Next stop Atlanta and the REI store. We go to the REI store at exit #91, just off I-85, about 6pm. We didn't have much time to look. Well, not the usual 2 hours but it was enough time. I found another pair of those Nike running shorts I like so much (#320821) on their clearance rack. REI clearance rack is not the same as other stores. The prices are marked down very much. We left there to head toward the Embry Hills church on Chamblee-Tucker which wasn't very far at all. Got to the church building about 7:15 for 7:30 service. There were already lots of folks going into the building. I parked out towards the end so I could put on my pants. We walked into the building and the man standing up front preparing for the class came back to introduce himself. He knew Stuart and I remember the family name. It was Wes Gossett from ABS and Athens. Service was over and the lady behind us spoke to me. It was Kristiana(sp) Burke(sp) whom Genoa knows. We left there and headed Northeast on Chamblee-Tucker. Didn't realize it but I-285 was right there near the building. We found a Arby's to eat supper (late for me). We probably left there about 9:30pm. Off down I-285 we headed. Wow, even at 9:30 at night I-285 had a lot of traffic. Note to any person that will ever drive on I-16: there is almost nothing on that stretch of interstate. Late at night there was nothing open. It was a good thing we had filled up there in Atlanta. The road is straight and lifeless. We made it to I-95 about 1am. Made a gas stop and bathroom break. I let Stuart drive us at this point. I had driven all the way up till this point. Then to Exit #3 on I-95 we made it. That was 2:30 or 3am, I don't remember. We stopped in a McDonalds to see if we could pick up some free WiFi. No luck there. We pulled across to the other side of the road to check again. No luck, all of them were secured, even the ones that had no WEP/WPA. While we were playing with that there was a police car that kept circling the main road. We just knew he was going to come over and question us but never did. We headed down the road and found the Walmart. We walked around there for a little bit and used the bathroom. I'm pretty sure we were the only customers in the store and I'm guessing security cameras were being watched. After that we headed to the dock/pier area. Continued on Day 2 posting..... Created on 08/17/2009