St. Simons Island Sunrise

 St. Simons Island is protected by an historic lighthouse which still operates just like St. Augustine. It's not as tall and the staircase is not as scary, but also not quite as picturesque!
After shooting the lighthouse as the sun came up, I went to a beach area a little farther north and shot this silhouette of a weathered tree and the sun behind the clouds.   The following morning, I went to the far end of the island and was treated to a beautiful sunrise with billowing clouds and golden reflections.  Not far from the beach was the Bloody Marsh, the site of a battle between the Spanish and the English in 1742.  The Spanish were trying to reclaim the Georgian colony, but were defeated by the troops of General Oglethorpe never to hold the colony of Georgia again. 
One thing that is not over a hundred years old is the new bridge from Jekyll to St. Simons.  The structure of the bridge looks like the sails of a boat - very appropriate for an island on the coast of Georgia!

Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, GA

One evening I drove over to Jekyll Island and went to the driftwood beach.  There the skeletons of trees form abstract sculptures on the beach.  Jellyfish had washed up on the beach allowing some closeups without the possibility of a sting.   I stayed until the sun set over the port of Brunswick.  It was a beautiful sunset and well worth the trip. 

Christ Church, St. Simons Island

St. Simons Island is draped with as much history as it is Spanish Moss.  Driving through the live oak lined roads, you are as likely to see a former slave cabin like Hazel's Cafe as you are to see a beautiful white clapboard church like Christ Church. Christ Church is the former parish of Charles Wesley.  His brother, John Wesley, also worked to establish a church for the people of St. Simons and Fort Frederica.
The cemetery next to Christ Church is full of stories and is the final resting place of Eugenia Price who used those stories to write novels about St. Simons Island and Georgia.

The tombstones in the cemetery are dark with age, but its obvious by the flags and flower arrangements that someone still cares about the people buried there.  I was intrigued by the tombstone with a tiny statue of a puppy and the inscription "As we looked steadfastly on him, we saw his face, as it had been the face of an angel."

St. Augustine Lighthouse & Oak Grove Cemetery

The St. Augustine Lighthouse has been beautifully preserved - all 219 steps and 165 feet of it!  I've never been afraid of heights, but I admit the higher the steps, the more queasy I felt.  Once I made it to the top, there was a great view of the Intercoastal Waterway and the marinas. 
After leaving St. Augustine, I drove up the coast to St. Simons Island and stopped for lunch in St. Mary's, Georgia.  St. Mary's is a small town on the coast and the "gateway" to Cumberland Island.  Cumberland Island is only accessible by boat and is managed by the U.S. Park Service, so the timing didn't work for me to go there this trip.  Cumberland is definitely on my list for future photo opportunities. 
The only photos I took in St. Mary's was of the Oak Grove Cemetery-just one of three cemeteries I shot while on vacation.  Spanish Moss hangs from the many trees in the cemetery and adds to the atmosphere. 
I happened to meet the historian of the cemetery who told me the history of the angel statuary which was the most unique tombstone in the cemetery.  The story goes that the wife of the first man buried in this plot didn't like where her second husband's family buried him.  Two days after the funeral, the grave was found empty because she had had him removed and placed next to her first husband.  Later she had the fence built which surrounds the two graves and the angel.  Where is she buried?  Rumor has it that she is somewhere in Florida!

As I was leaving the cemetery, I noticed a lady sitting in a pickup truck next to the fence. When I got close to the truck, she hopped out of the truck and asked if I had relatives in the cemetery or if I was just another kooky person who liked cemeteries!  She then proceeded to tell me about gravestones she had noticed in another part of the cemetery.  A wife had died just a few months after her husband of 60 years.  Did she die of a broken heart? What a love story...

Alligator Farm Rookery

Tri-Colored Heron

Roseate Spoonbill

Great Egret and Chicks

Wood Stork

                                                      Road Trip, April 10, 2012.  The whole reason I went to the Alligator Farm was to see the rookery. After all, I had seen enough alligators for a lifetime at the Okefenokee Swamp last year.  I had heard that the rookery was full of nesting birds and it was - nesting birds, baby birds, big birds and little birds.  The trees were thick with giant white puffs of egrets and randomly there was the pink of the Roseate Spoonbill.  The huge wood stork was impressive with its dramatic black and white wings. 

St. Augustine Churches

April 8, 2012. St. Augustine was founded in 1585 by the Spanish and the Spanish influence is still influential in the architecture in downtown St. Augustine.  Henry Flagler arrived in 1880 and went about making St. Augustine the premier winter resort for the likes of John D. Rockefeller and other wealthy Northerners.  Flagler also contributed to the building of several churches-one of which was Grace Methodist where I attended the wedding.  Grace Methodist is made of poured concrete with brick and terracotta accents.  Its hard to believe that the church is almost 125 years old.  The detailing on the arches and windows is beautiful and shows almost no wear.

Flagler also contributed to Memorial Presbyterian Church, the most ornate of the churches and the first Presbyterian church in Florida.  Memorial Presbyterian is also built of poured concrete with brick arches in the Venetian Renaissance style.  Rising high above St. Augustine, the copper dome has turned to a green patina and is beautifully lit to show the details in the evening.

St. Augustine Pier

Road Trip, April 7, 2012.  St. Augustine, Florida, was my destination for the weekend, where I attended the wedding of one of the daughters of my college roommate.  The weather had been unusually warm for April, but turned cool and windy on Friday and Saturday.  My visit to the St. Augustine Pier found strong waves and so much wind that the smaller birds hanging out at the pier were having a hard time flying!! This pelican seemed to be hesitant to fight the wind or maybe he was just waiting for the fishermen to show up and share their catch with him!  Surfers were having a hard time paddling out, but seemed to be enjoying the waves. 
The architecture in St. Augustine and specifically the churches are unique and beautiful.  More about that in my next post!

Road Trip, April 2012

Road trip, April 5, 2012.  I started a 10 day trip to Florida and South Georgia by spending the first night in Cordele, GA.  Cordele was a good starting place since it was an easy jump over to Hwy. 41 which parallells I-75 to Tifton.  Hwy. 41 used to be the main road from Atlanta to Florida before I-75.  The two-lane road passes through small towns like Ashburn and farm land with remnants of cotton bolls lying on the Georgia red clay.  Along the way, I had to stop to photograph this decaying traditional house with details that told of a former grace.  I was curious about the story behind this beautiful example of Southern architecture-Who lived there?  Why was it in such a state of decay?  Was it part of a larger estate?  That mystery will have to wait for another day.  

Further South, I got back on I-75 and was bombarded with billboards-one after another on both sides of the freeway. I was glad I had started my trip that day on the backroads where my senses were not assaulted by this urban blight.  So I decided to take a side trip to a lake that I had seen on a Georgia map- the Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge.  There I found a pristine lake of cypress trees and water lilies and even though midday is not the best time for photos, its a great time for blue skies, white puffy clouds  and reflections.  This one is on my list for a return visit.