15 Years! Our Coastal Georgia Celebration

June 16-20 Monica I were able to get away for our 15th wedding anniversary celebration.  Our anniversary is actually May 13, but lining up schedules and securing childcare for our 5 children took a little time to set up.  We are thankful for both sets of grandparents who were able to watch the children during our time away.  Josiah and Ezra went with my parents on a camping trip to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Monica's parents help down the fort at our home with the girls, Gabriela, Emily, and Ezra.  Without there help we could have never planned and made our trip.  We were overdue for some time away as a couple.  Six years ago we went on a cruise together for 5 nights. Five years ago we had a night away at Fountain Blue State Park in Mandeville, Louisiana (5 miles from our home at that time).  And since then, only evening out for dinner occasionally.  We enjoy our children and are never looking to "escape."  Where we go we expect them to go with us.  But some occasionally time away to refresh our relationship with one another is valued.

Our first night we spent at a beautiful bed and breakfast in Savannah, Georgia.  The Confederate House Inn on Drayton Street was the location.  Colleen, the owner and caretaker, showed us around.  We checked into the room and them went down to River Street to explore the market.  The city reminded us so much of New Orleans where our honeymoon started 15 years ago and where we lived for 2 years. The live oak trees covered with Spanish moss were a familiar site.  The cobblestone streets, tall stone stairways, and river views were beautiful.  We enjoyed everything about the downtown area except the New Orleans type smells.  For dinner we traveled our to Tybee Island where we discovered A.J.'s Dockside restaurant.  The setting and food were amazing.  This was Monica's first time on the Georgia coastline.  She immediately loved the Tybee Island feel and decided that we would return there for the night on Friday.

We left Savannah early Wednesday morning to travel to St. Mary's Georgia to board the ferry for Cumberland Island National Seashore.  After purchasing a sack lunch we boarded the ferry with our backpacks loaded with what we would need for the 2 night stay primitive camping on Cumberland.  When we docked at the first port on Cumberland we saw our first wild horse.  We thought at that time that we would see these everywhere on them island.  Actually this was the only horse we saw until we prepared to leave the Island on Friday.  At the second port on Cumberland, Sea Camp, we disembarked the ferry and met with the park ranger to receive our back country camping permits.  We filled our 24 oz. water bottles at the ranger station and began the 5 mile hike toward Hickory Hill, our home for the next two nights.

We took several breaks along the trail to rest our backs and legs.  It was extremely hot and humid.  The sites along the way included more live oak trees, saw palmettos, and lots of bird activity.  After 3 miles or so we reached the Stafford Beach camping area where 4-5 groups were camping.  At the Stafford Beach bathhouse we filled all our water containers and secured our filters for drinking (all water from this point had to be treated/boiled). This would be the last time we would see a flushing toilet and shower facility for two days.  Upon leaving Stafford Beach we took a right on a trail in which we should have took a left.  We ended up on the beach. Although we knew this was not the way we intended to travel, the sight of the ocean and white sand was a welcome surprise.  We encountered a family who lives on the Island.  The gentleman was very kind to check on us to make sure we had everything we needed and were feeling well. We dropped our backs down to the sand, ripped the shoes off our weary feet and ran to the ocean where we waded out knee deep into the beautiful surf.  Monica and I both we surprised at how hard and compact the beach.  I had assumed that the beach would be covered with broken shells like many others Atlantic Coast beaches, but the sand was clean and white with several unbroken large shells.  We found our first sand dollar within minutes of combing the beach. For the next mile and a half we hiked looking for the black and white marker pole that would lead us to the trail to Hickory Hill. We saw lots of evidence of horses and hogs but we did not see any around Hickory Hill.

We set up camp and enjoyed some re-hydrated red beds and rice with warm kool-aid.  After boiling the water, who has time to wait for it to cool off. We came to actually enjoy the warm kool-aid. We hoisted our packs in the trees for the night in order to keep the animals from reaching our food.  And soon after dark we went to bed.  The ground was hard and made it very difficult to rest well. But when everything was quiet we could hear the ocean waves breaking on the beach.  And the bugs in the trees sang us to sleep.

We spent the entire next day on the beach totally alone.  We saw a park ranger drive by in a truck and one man on a bike.  We had the beach and the day to ourselves.  We played, swam, napped, walked, and talked. An incredible day that I will never forget.  We found a starfish, large shells, and saw multiple sea turtles nests. That night we enjoyed chicken and rice meal that was re-hydrated with boiled water.  This night our campsite was visited by an armadillo friend who we think stole our starfish. In the morning we we began the 5 mile hike back to sea camp to catch the ferry.  An amazing adventure.

We would spend the next day and night on Tybee Island enjoying the scenery and A.J.'s Dockside restaurant. Returning home we were grateful for the opportunity to experience such natural beauty and time alone to refresh our relationship.