After an altogether too-long drive from Ohio to Georgia, we made it to our hotel, Cumberland Inn and Suites. I happily collapsed into the welcoming queen size bed when we got there. We got up at 7:45 the next morning to catch the 8:30 ferry to Cumberland Island. There were thunderstorms forecasted for the day, and the island is quite remote with hardly any places of shelter, but you have to buy your ferry tickets ahead of time and there is no rescheduling for another day on short notice. We layered on rain jackets over our swim suits (always optimistic!) and headed out.
The park ranger held an orientation for those of us going to the island.
We didn’t see any manatee, but we did see dolphins swimming along the ferry!
As we pulled into the island dock, it started to drizzle….
Spanish moss everywhere!
We took a historical walking tour which, despite the rain, turned out to be great! Cumberland Island is steeped in history and the gal who did the tour made it interesting and engaging.
These ruins were Lucy Carnigie’s vacation home, called Dungeness. It burned to the ground in 1959, but was uninhabited at the time.
After the tour was over, we headed for shelter under a nearby porch and munched down our granola bars and oranges. (Thanks to Smitten Kitchen for the granola bar recipe! :) )
The original greenhouse.
We caught a glimpse of the wild horses that live on the island. There are around 150 that live there, a cross between Paso Finos brought over by the Spanish and a smaller breed that has an African name I can’t recall…
At the graveyard there is a memorial marker for “Light Horse Harry” Lee. He died on the island, at Dungeness, and not until 1913 were his remains moved to the family crypt in Lexington.
I had been walking around with my DSLR in a plastic ziplock bag, shoved under my (leaking) rain jacket. I made a made shift rain cover out of the plastic by cutting a hole in it, but about this time even that wasn’t helping with the non stop rain showers and my lens was getting foggy.
The view from where I was hiding during an especially harsh bought of rain :)
The island is pretty big, we hiked across to the ocean side and walked along the beach to the narrowest crossing at “Sea Camp” to catch the 2:30 ferry back to the mainland.
The boardwalk off the beach that took us to the trail to cross the island. We entered into the trees at the end of it, and were greeted with a rainforest-like sight.
The wet hikers.
The twisted live oaks were draped with spanish moss, and these palms (pictures below) lined the trail, at eye level height. It was a stunning sight, shimmering green with the rain.
My new “Simple” flip flops held up well in all the wet, sand and muck that day!
The ferry ride back was deceptively sunny and warm, but as we pulled into the mainland dock storm clouds had already started to form, confirming our decision to take the earlier boat back.
I could write so much more about this island, but don’t have the time right now! I would love to go back there and stay for a few days. They have one hotel, The Greyfield Inn (which is quite expensive) but you can camp at various locations.
More info…
Cumberland Island National Park Website
Cumberland Inn and Suites
Ferry Schedule and Reservations
Cumberland Island History
Neat trip…..I especially liked the ruins and “rain forest”. So glad you are being able to experience such different surroundings. Isn’t it remarkable how diverse our country is in respect to its natural environments and the way people settled it? What an education you’re getting! GJ
Fantastic photos Liv! Love the one of the foal running! I deffinately want to go there
Love you
Aunt Annie