This is Part 5 of our Thanksgiving adventures. For Part 4, click here.
What a day of adventures we had. We only spent about 30 minutes total in the car today; however, we spent an hour and a half in a boat, and the rest of the time wandering around.
We set out after a leisurely morning around our Hampton Inn and drove a few miles down to the cute little town of St. Marys. We had reserved a lunchtime ferry to head out to Cumberland Island (only accessible by boat). You’re supposed to get there an hour ahead of time to check in, so the girls enjoyed some time playing on a nearby playground and working on their Junior Ranger books.
The ferry set out at 11:45 am, and it took 45 minutes. We enjoyed wandering around, looking at the beautiful landscapes. Teagan spotted a couple of dolphins. And before long, we had arrived at the dock close to the Dungeness ruins. We got out and took advantage of a picnic table under a live oak tree to eat some lunch.
From there, we set out down the sandy roads that they have on the island. All I knew coming into it was that there was the ruins of a big house built by the Carnegie family (dating to the 1880s, I believe). But through bits and pieces of history I picked up throughout the day, I realized the island had many other layers, going back to the Timucua people, continuing with the Spanish (who had a mission on the island), then moving into the early American period (Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene, of all the Greenvilles in the country, lived here), through the plantation era (where many trees were clear-cut to give way to agricultural farms worked by slaves), then into the 19th and 20th centuries with the Carnegie family.
It was a beautiful day to wander around. The weather was sunny and in the low 70s. Bugs were minimal. We saw some of the wild (or feral) horses, which are probably descendants of the horses brought to the island in the 1700s by the English. (The horses were recently in the news, as the park recently was sued by someone who was concerned about the horses’ plight, as they’re not native there and perhaps may be malnourished.) We saw the Dungeness mansion ruins, the house having been destroyed by fire–possibly arson–in the 1950s. We hiked through jungle-like terrain (so thankful the bugs weren’t out). To anyone coming to the island, know you will walk a lot if you want to see what’s here (unless you book a private auto tour).
Teagan and Sage both loved the horses, but what Sage had most looked forward to was the beach. The girls are addicted to the beach, I swear. (They didn’t get it from us.) So, we hiked to the beach, first having to scale the impressive dune system. I spotted some bobcat tracks at one spot.
The beach was beautiful. The girls got their feet (then their pants…) (then their shirts…) wet. I tried identifying shorebirds. We only spent about 45 minutes at the beach, but if you like to walk the beach, this would be the place to do so.
We got the girls changed and we booked it back to the ranger station, where a ranger was giving a talk on sharks. Teagan loved it. (Sage was half asleep at this point.). The girls then got their Junior Ranger badges, and then it was back to the boat for a beautiful sunset cruise back to shore. Tiffany ended up talking with a couple who lives on the same road in Georgia where she used to live.
We ate there in St. Marys at the Southern River Walk restaurant. The shrimp was so great, and the rest of the food likewise was well-cooked. Highly recommend.
I feel like there’s so much more to the island that I didn’t discover. You could easily spend a lot of time there, and I think doing the auto tour would be nice. Some people go out there and camp, and the stargazing is reportedly terrific. It was an interesting experience being on the island. You felt isolated, and it was neat thinking about all the layers of history that we were walking on.
It was a great day, and we all definitely hit our step count! Another day of parks awaits us! Click below for some more pictures.
Beavers in the Park 