Fryedaze Cruising Adventures: Cumberland Island Georgia

Leaving St. Augustine was a little sad. It was a city that we both enjoyed immensely but we were excited to be moving north to what everyone describes as their favorite anchorage ever - Cumberland Island National Seashore. We woke to a beautiful, albeit windy morning on Monday. The first thing we passed was this beautiful cross after coming under the bridge of lions. We saw it on our trolley tour but had no idea that it was this big! The plaque at the base of the world's tallest cross, which is 208 feet high, says that it "marks the approximate site where in 1565 the cross of Christianity was first permanently planted in what is now the United States." We learned that religion and belief in Jesus arrived in America here first, over a half-century before the Pilgrims even touched their toes to Plymouth Rock.

"The Great Cross" (as it's known) was erected in 1966 to mark the 400th anniversary of that momentous day. It's built of 70 tons of stainless steel plates, packed with concrete in its lower third to prevent toppling by hurricanes. It's part of the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, and its height was designed so that everyone near St. Augustine could see it, and be reminded "of the religious beginning of our nation," according to the plaque.

We passed by Mayport Naval Base where my cousin Dan was stationed many, many years ago near Jacksonville, FL. The ICW changed greatly and instead of beautiful homes and big boats, we saw the beautiful marsh lands and lots of birds and even an alligator. Before we exited Florida, we passed by Fernandino Beach where our Looper friends have traditionally stayed. We were unable to get in last weekend because of their annual Shrimpfest, but we were happy that we stayed the extra day in St. Augustine. We also were starting to see more industry and it reminded us of being back on the river systems.

Coming into Cumberland Island we saw two large ferries that bring passengers over from St. Mary's, GA. Because of the forecast of a possible storm, we decided to not lower the dingy but wait to the next day to explore the island. We were treated to a breakthrough sunset that was just outstanding. It just seemed to go on and on! This anchorage was incredible with dolphin swimming around the boat having their dinner, a shark sighting, horses on the beach eating, and even an alligator sighting the next day!

We went over to the island on Tuesday and decided to walk as many of the trails as we could. We walked towards the Dugeness ruins. Dungeness was built by Thomas Carnegie and his wife Lucy in 1884. The Carnegie Dungeness burned in the 1950s. Today, wild horses and other island wildlife roam freely throughout the ruins and along the beach. Glimpses of the Carnegie lifestyle can be easily imagined throughout the ruins of Dungeness, and through the abandoned luxury vehicles. The first Dungeness was built in 1783 by Nathanael Greene. The Tabby House on the grounds of Dungeness was built for Revolutionary War Hero Nathaniel Greene's widow, Catherine.

From the ruins, we walked along a recently built boardwalk out over the marsh lands. It is called the living mud because of all the activity that you can observe during low tide. We were also able to see some of the wild horses out in the marsh grazing on the salt grasses. The path led us to the ocean where we walked and walked along the water's edge. We saw two intact sand dollars but not many other shells. It is a very beautiful but hard sand beach. When we turned to go back to the path that would take us to the dingy ramp, a large group of school students were coming towards the beach. I smiled and thought how much work the teachers and chaperone's had coming up as none of the students had their swimsuits on and there was the wide open beach!

When we got back to the boat we had put in over 12,688 steps- over 5 1/2 miles on this beautiful island. We highly recommend this stop for anyone visiting near here on their way to or from Florida.

Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche

Shrimp boats outside Fernandino Beach

One of the ICW bridges under construction. You can see the height of the old bridge and the new 65' bridge being built

Sunrise leaving St. Augustine looking out the inlet to the ocean

Mayport Naval Base dry dock

Huge papermill in Fernandino Beach

Beautiful Rose Spoonbills along the marsh edge

I love shrimp boats. We saw this big guy heading out the St. Augustine Inlet

One of the many railroad bridges that we have gone through along the way. We find most of them open unless a train is coming

The horses on the beach having lunch across from our boat

Dungeness Ruins of the old Carnegie House

Small alligator walking up the banks

I just loved this baby foal that would eat the grass and then nurse

One of the ferries that come from St. Mary's, GA

At the Greene (original site owners) I was looking at the graves and Dave captured these orbs. While I am not a believer of ghosts- after our experience in St. Augustine and then this picture I am quickly becoming a believer!