Georgia - Peach State
Since Florida and Georgia are contiguous, we had another opportunity to see the two states with just one plane flight to the East Coast. We flew from Miami to Savannah, starting our trip there. We have friends who lived in The Landings, a golf course community on the outskirts of Savannah, so we stayed with them for two nights while they showed us the highlights of this hauntingly beautiful city. I had read the novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt, which made me eager to see the moss-covered oaks and the distinctive shaded squares. Savannah also has a reputation for delicious southern food and it more than lived up to our expectations. We just happened to be there on St. Patrick’s Day, which is a big, raucous event in Savannah, and that made it all the more fun.
When we started planning our trip to Georgia, we were captivated by a bicycle trip with a company we had used before called Backroads. The trip included a stay at Little St. Simon’s Island, one of the Sea Islands off the Georgia coast, which promised an exciting adventure. We were disappointed when the trip was canceled due to an insufficient number of participants, so we decided to go on our own and spend a couple of nights at The Lodge on Little St. Simon’s Island. This was one of the highlights not only of our visit to Georgia, but of ALL the states. No cars are allowed on the island, so we left ours on the mainland and were picked up by boat and transported to the island.
The Lodge has an all-inclusive tariff which includes all meals (delicious), activities (adventuresome), and use of recreational gear like bicycles, canoes, and kayaks. The Lodge accommodated no more than 30 guests and I think there were fewer than that during our time there. Meals were taken together, allowing us to get to know the other guests. Each morning over breakfast, we chose from a list of activities what we wanted to do that day. One day we took a guided tour of the island and were introduced to alligators and the Eastern rattlesnake, reportedly more dangerous than the ones we have in the West. That afternoon, we rode bikes with a few others to a pond where there were baby alligators with their mom nearby. We were warned not to get too close, or the mother would come charging after us. We kept our distance and marveled at all the little eyes floating on the pond.
The next day, we went on a guided canoe and kayak trip in the waters surrounding the island. Andy and I were last (the difference in our height makes us not the most efficient canoe rowers), paddling along beside the guide. Suddenly we heard a loud noise, almost like a roar, and saw a huge alligator on land coming fast into the water. The guide shouted to us, “Don’t go into the water!” It makes me laugh to remember that, because that was the last thing we wanted to do at that moment. I was terrified that the alligator would come underneath us and dump us into the water, but he didn’t. Surprisingly, Andy and I seemed to find our rhythm and quickly and smoothly caught up with our group, our guide close behind us. Whew! My heart pounds just remembering that experience.
Most of the other guests were from the south, although one other couple was from the Bay Area. We saw them several times after that so we could all relive our time on the island. One southern gentleman – I can’t remember exactly where he was from – asked us at dinner if we had ever been to Mendocino in northern California. We told him that we had celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary there and had a special fondness for Mendocino. He enthusiastically informed us, and others at our table, that he loved Mendocino because he could sleep under a down comforter even in the summertime! We had to laugh because we had learned from our visits to other southern states that it gets very hot and humid in the summer months. Many of us in northern California complain about foggy summers, so we enjoyed hearing this man’s perspective on our weather.
Our next adventure was visiting the Okefenokee Swamp, spending two nights in one of the swamp gateway cities, Folkston. We stayed at a charming B&B called The Inn at Folkston where we met a fellow guest who was a young Georgia Park Ranger. He joined us for dinner one evening and told us about his work as he educated us about this amazing wilderness preserve. On our way to a restaurant, we passed a train platform labeled Folkston where several people were sitting at a table, eating from a potluck buffet. We went over to find out what was going on and learned that we had stumbled upon The Folkston Funnel. This is not a train stop or station – no trains stop there. Instead, it is a viewing platform for rail fans. Visitors can see trains passing on their way to and from Jacksonville, FL, on the south and Savannah on the north. The people we met that night were from all over the country and they told us that 50 to 60 trains passed by each day. They convinced us to stay until the Tropicana Express went by because, as one man said with a look of wonder, “It’s the most beautiful train you will ever see!” Well, it was very pretty, white with bright oranges painted on the side. When we walked back to our Inn after dinner, there were still several people on the platform waiting for more trains to pass. Most of them spent their summers traveling in motor homes around the country, visiting train viewing platforms. Who knew?
The next day we drove to the entrance of the swamp and rented bikes for half a day. We were given a map and set off, only to be thoroughly surprised when we saw alligators along both sides of the road! They didn’t pay much attention to us, so we just continued down the road, but we felt somewhat vulnerable on our bicycles. At the end of the road was a 1-mile-long boardwalk out into the swamp. The color of the water was fascinating: yellowish black is the best way I know to describe it. The water at the end of the boardwalk was three to four-feet deep and beautiful swamp irises were everywhere. We saw several alligators snoozing among the irises, partially hidden by the large leaves.
We brought the bikes back and had planned to rent a boat for the afternoon to cruise around the swamp. The man who rented boats asked if we had been there before and were familiar with the area. When we answered in the negative, he said, “Then you will get lost!” That didn’t sound encouraging so we hired a guide – a naturalist named Howard – to take us out on his boat. That turned out to be a great idea. Once we were out in the middle of the Okefenokee Swamp, we realized we would never have been able to find our way back. Howard took us to places where there were birds, more alligators, and gorgeous flowers growing in that murky but beautiful yellowish black water. It was a perfect ending to our Georgia trip.
One last thing. At the Inn at Folkston, there were beautiful terrycloth robes in the closet of each room for guests to wear. We liked them so much, we asked the hosts where they had gotten them. They had ordered them from a store in San Francisco called Telegraph Hill, which was located very near my office. What a coincidence! That Christmas, my husband bought one for each of us and we wear them to this day.