Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia

On Tuesday, Nov. 19th we had a grand adventure on Cumberland Island.  Much of the island is a National Park.  We thought the island was uninhabited, but that's not completely true.  There is still some privately owned and inhabited property on the island.  The only way to get to the island is by ferry, and visitors can only come to the island on foot.  The Cumberland Island Ferry is pricey, $30/person round trip.  The ferry leaves from St. Mary's Visitor's Center.   

The Cumberland Queen II Ferry

Carol taking in the beautiful view on the ferry.

Kelly and Carol - the only ones riding on the outer upper deck. 

The ferry service is separate from the National Park Service so there is also a $10/person park fee.  You can camp on the island if you want to carry all your gear to the campground... we were happy to explore by renting bikes ($16/day/bike) and walking on the paths where bikes were prohibited.  Our ferry landed at 12:30 pm and we had to be back at the dock at 4:30pm. 

Starting off down the "Main Road" on the island by bike.

Yup, that's me 😃

We had heard about the wild horses on the island, the only truly feral horses (receiving no food, veterinary care or human intervention) on the east coast.  We were really excited to see several horses during our adventure.

The island has rich history dating back centuries.  In the late 1700's Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene and his wife Catherine built a large home and named it Dungeness.  In 1884 Thomas and Lucy Carnegie built a new home on the Dungeness foundations.  The ruins of their mansion remain today.  In the 1970's the Carnegie family donated the property to the National Park Foundation.

Dungeness ruins from the side, looking at the front of the home.

Looking at the front of Dungeness ruins from the shore.

View from Dungeness ruins looking towards the shore.

Old photograph of Dungeness from the 1950's prior to falling into disrepair.

The oldest standing structure on Cumberland Island.  Built for the Greene's gardener around 1800.  
A tabby house.  Tabby – made from a combination of shells, sand, water, and lime.

There are several old service buildings on the island.  This is the laundry house. 
We were able to view inside the building because it now is used for public restrooms and water fountain.

When we had finished exploring the ruins and surrounding property, we decided to hike to the beach.  The distance from where we had to leave our bikes to the shore was about a 1 mile walk.  There is a wooden boardwalk part of the way.  It's a gorgeous place to explore!

Inter-dune boardwalk

I wasn't moving quite as fast as Carol 

Magnificent blue sky

Looking north up the pristine beach.

Hoof prints on the beach.

Returning on the Dungeness Trail from the Atlantic Ocean

Walking back from the beach we saw our first armadillo!

It was an amazing day.  We met a couple waiting for the ferry, from the state of Washington, who are visiting all 50 states in their RV to celebrate their 50th anniversary.  Such a cool idea and sweet couple.  I did over 11,000 steps, a major milestone for me. We spent a glorious day on a magnificent island fully enjoying an awe-inspiring explore. 

Kelly and Carol on the steps of Dungeness ruins.

Setting sun from the return ferry

Edisto Island, SC

Our second stop in South Carolina was Edisto Island to stay at Edisto Beach State Park.  We arrived on Tuesday, November 12th.  It was a beautiful day, high 70's and as we started to unhook and set up at our campsite there was a warm rain.  The temperature started to drop and went down to 30 degrees overnight.  The next day was cool and clear and sunny.  I did get outside to explore the campground.  Unfortunately Carol got a viscous stomach bug and slept that entire day, missing the one day of sunshine during our visit.

The view from our camper door.

This view of our site gives a glimpse of how close the path to the ocean is, steps away from the site.

This is the closest to the ocean beach we've ever camped.  I absolutely loved that about this campground!  We could actually walk out the door and be on the beach in less than one minute!

The short path to the ocean.

View from the top of the path.

Looking north up the beach.

After Wednesday of sunny and 50's, the rest of the week was non-stop rain, wind and cold.  We barely left the campsite, let alone the campground.  Carol was recovering from her stomach virus and the weather was brutal, so we hunkered down and read, did crossword puzzles, read some more, did some craft projects, watched TV and kept hoping for a break in the weather.  The one adventure we took was to King's Farm Market.  Fellow full-timer Eileen G. told us that while on Edisto Island we MUST get a key lime pie from King's.  On our last day before departure, when Carol was finally feeling well enough to eat more than toast, crackers or rice we headed to the farm market.  OMG are we glad we did!  The key lime pie was the bright spot in an otherwise very gloomy week.

Sunshine in a box!

Edisto Beach State Park has two separate campgrounds.  We stayed at the Beach Campground but there is also another Live Oaks Campground.  We stopped at the Live Oaks Campground to check in, but didn't see much of that part of the park.  The bathroom and shower building was very close to our site, and was clean, warm and had plenty of hot water.  😀 

Edisto Beach State Park Beach Campground

Beach Campground

The Town of Edisto Beach a very minimally developed area.  There is a small Bi-Lo grocery store, a few gas stations/convenience stores, a Subway and a few small businesses.  We were able to get propane refilled at the Edistonian General Store but to do laundry I had to drive 45 minutes off the island to the outskirts of Charleston, SC.  You won't find your typical beach touristy overdevelopment here.  This is one of those rare places that maintains a total small town vibe.  

I'm disappointed we didn't get to enjoy much of this unique beach town this time.  But we will absolutely return because this is the kind of gem that we are always hoping to find on our travels.  

Year 2 Begins

Our campsite sign. My brother Scott made this for us years ago and recently gave it a touch up.  

We're on the road again; starting our second year Living the Full-time Dream.  We left the Adirondack's on October 31st and headed to a Harvest Host site in PA.  Harvest Hosts is a membership club that provides members with a list of breweries, farms, vineyards, museums, golf courses, etc. that offer a free overnight spot to park.  It's a great way to discover and patronize a variety of small businesses and have a unique place to stay for a night - an all around Win-Win!  We had a spacious parking lot on the edge of a field all to ourselves. 

Our spot in Kutztown, PA

View from the camper door

We arrived in Frederick, MD on the 1st and stayed with my brother and sister-in-law for the weekend and had our usual grand time and great adventures.  We cherish our visits with them and love that they bookend our trip; beginning and end.

Scott, Karen, Carol and Kelly at Surelocked In Wild Wild Quest Escape Room

We stayed at another Harvest Host location, a vineyard in NC.

We arrived at Huntington Beach State Park, South Carolina on Nov. 5th and are here for a week.  We stayed here for a few days last year and loved it!  Our friends John and Gina live nearby and we enjoyed catching up with them and manging on John's homemade meat sauce and pasta this week.  John gave us free passes to Brookgreen Gardens.  We had been considering visiting but having the tickets sealed the deal.  It was 72 degrees on Thursday, making it a perfect day to visit and enjoy the gardens.

Our site - backside view

Before I describe Brookgreen Gardens, I want to share a little bit of the history of the area.  Huntington Beach State Park is named in honor of Archer and Anna Huntington who donated the land that houses Brookgreen Gardens, which includes the campground property which is leased to the state for public use.  Archer Huntington was the son of Collis Huntington who, among other things, built the first transcontinental railroad.  Archer was a poet, philanthropist and conservationist.  His wife Anna was an artist and sculptor.  Brookgreen Gardens was built with three goals: to collect, exhibit and preserve American figurative sculpture, (including Anna's), as well as to collect, exhibit and preserve southeastern plants and animals.  The result is the largest public outdoor sculpture garden in the US, containing over 2000 pieces located within magnificent botanical gardens showcasing both native SC plants as well as other exotic species.  Additionally on the property there is a  Lowcountry Zoo of native animals that live in the woods, swamps and waters of the area.  We never made it to visit the zoo.  This is a small sampling of the magnificent sculpture we saw.

Young Diana by Anna Hyatt Huntington in Bronze - 1924

Brown Bears by Anna Hyatt Huntington in Bronze - 1935 

Don Quixote by Anna Hyatt Huntington in Aluminum - 1947

The Visionaries by Anna Hyatt Huntington - 1955

Amphitrite by Wheeler Williams in Lead - 1939

 Child of Peace by Edward Fenno Hoffman III in Bronze - 1962

Peacocks by Dan Ostermiller in Bronze - 2004

Dionysus by Edward Francis McCartan in Gilt Bronze - 1923

As we visited in November, the gardens were not full of flowers as they would be other times of the year.  However, we still saw some stunning flora and fauna.

Inside the courtyard of Atalaya

The Huntington's came to South Carolina from NYC in 1930 because Anna was curing from tuberculosis.  They purchased land that had previously been 4 rice plantations.  After the Civil War, these plantations were unable to continue to grow rice with out slaves and the property was being sold for use as a hunting camp.  The Huntington's built a unique winter home - Atalaya which is located on the Huntington Beach State Park property.  The home is built along the perimeter of a large inner courtyard. The home feature large indoor and outdoor sculpture studios as well as barns and pens for the many animals that Anna used as inspiration for her sculpture. 

Kelly and Carol inside the courtyard of Atalaya

Covered walkway in the center of the courtyard of Atalaya

Huntington Beach State Park is a 5 star campground!  There is ample green space.  The sites are well spaced.  The bathrooms are clean and the showers are hot! :-) There are a walkways to the beach, making the surf and sand a brief walk away.  We have enjoyed riding our bikes and exploring the park.  There are various marsh walks, nature viewing spots and a causeway which provide opportunities to view all kinds of water fowl. 

It's great to be on new adventures.  Some of you asked if I was on hiatus this summer, as I didn't post for months.  It was great to be back in the Adirondacks, and close to family.  My parents needed a good deal of our time and attention this summer and fortunately we were there to help.  Blogging took a back seat to other responsibilities.  However, I'm back and glad to have you here reading along.  Please leave a comment and let me know you're here.  👋