A-Hiking We Will Go, A-Hiking We Will Go, Hi-Ho the Merry-O, A-Hiking We Will Go

Uggghhh.  We are not hikers.  We were never hikers.  We do love long walks on the beach (as seemingly do many folks looking for their one true love on dating websites), but hiking inland, away from water, no.  So, what did we find ourselves doing on Cumberland Island?  Taking a hike, what Thad came to dub the infamous "Cumberland Island Death March."

Remember, we had a short cruise northward about 5 miles, or 1 1/4 hours, from Amelia Island to Cumberland Island.  This island, Georgia's largest and most southern barrier island, is a National Seashore, 18 miles long and from 1/2 to 8 miles wide.  There is a huge, beautiful anchorage on the southwest side of the island. 


Not our boat, but what the anchorage looks like

We shared this anchorage with probably 20 other boats, but none were anywhere near to us.  I kind of liked having people "around," so as not to feel isolated, but it was wonderful that they were not close.  It was a very, very peaceful setting.

So, we arrived Friday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend.  After lunch we dropped the dinghy down and whisked over to one of the National Park Service's docks.  It always feels good to get in the dinghy and go fast. 

See how much fun it can be to go fast?!!

There are ferries that bring folks over from Amelia Island or St. Mary's, GA and you can tie your dinghy up at either of the Park Service docks.  We tied up securely, hopped out and up the incline and began our exploration of Cumberland Island.  I have begun taking pictures of American flags and here is the one that greeted us at the Park Service office: 

We hiked straight east, heading for the beach.  Little dog included.  All Eloise's favorite things seem to begin with the letter "b." Ball, beach and boat.  We do not say "beach" in front of her, preferring "the sandy place."  Otherwise, she goes excitedly nuts.  I am the official picture taker of this family.  Often Thad is on ahead of me, as I stop to take pics.  Can you find man and dog in this picture? 

I call this one "Cumberland Island cammo"

So far, so good, as we traversed the pretty, shaded center of the island.  About 15 minutes later, here was the boardwalk, leading to the beach through the sea grass and dunes. 

And then the Atlantic, ahhh.  It always makes us feel better when we get to the beach. 

Which way do we go?

We headed north and walked a long, long (I mean long) ways.  Then we turned back south and walked even further.  Okay, we're used to beach walks.  But we were much further south than where we crossed over from the dinghy dock.  No problem.  We had water and we had a map.  We'll just keep walking until we get to where we can cut over, back west, and visit the famous Dungeness Ruins.  Cumberland Island has a great history.  James Oglethorpe, founder of the Georgia colony, built first on Cumberland, in 1736, a hunting lodge he named "Dungeness." The next Dungeness was designed by Revolutionary War hero, Nathanael Greene, and it was built, after his death, by his widow in 1803.  During the War of 1812 the British occupied the house and used it as a headquarters.  The house was abandoned during the Civil War and burned in 1866.  In the 1880's the property really came into its own when Thomas Carnegie, brother of Andrew Carnegie, began to build a new mansion on the site.

Dungeness in 1958

Thomas' widow, Lucy, also built estates for her children, Greyfield, Plum Orchard and Stafford Plantation.  The Carnegies owned 90%  of Cumberland Island.  Currently only Greyfield stands intact, as the Greyfield Inn.


So we kept walking, and kept a sharp lookout for Cumberland Island's famous wild horses.  We saw hoof prints in the sand but no horsies.  Well, we ended up going further south than planned, and did come to the trail that cut across the southern tip of the island, but we  still had to go back further north to get to Dungeness.  And all of this time we scarcely saw a soul, except when we first got to the beach, because that is where the folks, who come to the island to camp, plunk down in the sand.

See how deserted the beach was?

 Oh yes, they are smart and do not wander up and down the beach, enabling them to conserve their energy for the delightful adventure (not!) for which they choose to come to Cumberland Island:  primitive camping! 
I felt like one of those primitive campers, you know the sort - they actually enjoy wilderness adventures and for them a 10 mile hike is nothing, nada, a walk in the park, pardon the pun. You know, the members of my extended Allen family, that kind of in-shape, outdoors loving folk.  I felt like one of them, yes, except that I was not happy doing this torture which had become a hike.  No, I like my exercise, but this was not my idea of a good time.  Enough whining though. 

Well, as I mentioned, we did have a map.  I will not tell you which one of us HAD the map (and lost it half way through) and which of us was not the best at reading and interpreting said map.  No, I will not tell on my husband.

Vultures we passed along the way - I thought they had come to patiently wait for us to die!

We trudged on, crossed back west and finally, finally came to Dungeness.  And, just as we were approaching the ruins, here comes a white horse, trotting down the dirt path, right towards us.  Hooray - we saw one!  And suddenly the "walk" became fun again!
 I must show you a spot we passed along our tramp - this National Park, though very scenic, did not have a lot to offer in the way of interesting tidbits about this Island.


Yep, it is info. about "living mud."  Yikes.

We still had seen no one for a couple of hours and did not see anyone until we were nearly back to the Park office.  But we did see lots more horses.  So, here are some pictures of what Dungeness looks like now.

Leaving the Dungeness Ruins area, we once again managed to go the wrong way and headed too far west, right to the marshy shoreline, when we had needed to go north, more in the center of the island.

Dungeness Auto Graveyard

Dungeness Human Graveyard

Tempers were getting short at this point.  But we managed to "get on the right track" as we found the dirt road leading up the middle of the island.  You know, Eloise always has, by far, the most energy of the three of us and often runs ahead and back, ahead and back.  But at this point she  somberly trudged right beside us.  We were heartened at one point as we heard engine noise behind us, turned and saw a pickup truck coming up the track.  Oh good, they will see how we are drooping and take pity on us and stop and offer us a ride.  Nope, they just whizzed by, choking us with their dust.  Thanks Park Service employees, from your taxpaying public.

Alright, I'll bring this sorry tale to an end.  After walking anywhere from 11-14 miles (we never did figure out how far), which seemed like a million, we limped back to the dinghy dock, and motored home, with our out of shape tails tucked between our legs.  I had planned to cook dinner, really.  But all I could do was fall into a chair on the aft deck, pleading with Thad to bring me that ambrosia, the nectar with which the Allen family cannot do without, yes, you guessed it - AN ICE COLD MOUNTAIN DEW!

Is there anything finer??

Oh joy, oh heaven, it tasted the best ever.  And then my loving husband made dinner himself.  Yes, he brought out the leftover shrimp, cheese and crackers and other crudités from the previous night's appetizers with the Phillips.  And it tasted absolutely wonderful.  Even Eloise was totally tuckered  out.

One pooped puppy

We stayed up long enough to see the moonrise.  And did not even leave the boat the next day, just enjoyed our peaceful anchorage.

A lovely night, peaceful at anchor

On Sunday we could not get to church, though there is a church on Cumberland Island.  I inquired if there were, perchance, services, but it is no longer active.  It is the First African Baptist Church, established in 1893 and rebuilt in the 1930's.                                        

 Part of its fame comes as it was the site of the September 1996 wedding of John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Carolyn Bessette.  They held the wedding reception at the exclusive Greyfield Inn. 

So we held our own service on the boat.  And it was very nice.  I have a Methodist hymnal on board and we used it for inspiration and help with the order of service.  We had decided, long before we took off on this cruise, we would attend church every weekend.  This was the first Sunday we missed.  I love being Catholic, as it affords us the opportunity to attend Mass on either Saturday evening or Sunday morning, and that has come in handy several times, when we have had to leave a marina on a Sunday morning.  Plus, we have had the opportunity to worship at some beautiful churches (I take pictures of each one) and experience the beautiful sameness of the Mass but in a different locale each week.

After church, we dinghied over to the island again, for a lovely morning walk on the beach.  A short walk, this time.  Because THE DAY was finally here!  It was Sunday, May 26, 2013 and that meant - the Indianapolis 500!!  Cindy loves the Race, loves it.  And, praise the Lord (and I mean that), we were able to get the Race on television.

Happy, happy girl!  (notice the t-shirt, brought along just for this day)

What absolute fun we had, watching it and texting between family members, as this had to be the most exciting Race there ever was.  We did not have our Publix fried chicken, potato salad and iced brownies, and had to make do with, yuck, veggie burgers on the grill, but it was still terrific fun.

We left the lovely Cumberland Island anchorage the next morning, passing King Bay Naval Submarine Base to the west, but there were no subs to see.


Love the name on this one.

Patrol Boat (the small one)

Just two largish ships and several smaller ones.  Maybe we'll get lucky and see a sub on our way back south.





I insisted we fly our flag off the back of the boat, in honor of Memorial Day.  I wish I could say we fly it all of the time but, sadly, we forget to put it out.  But here is a picture of it flying proudly off our stern.  God Bless America!