Monday, March 18, 2013

GA trip Day 8

It is less than 100 miles from St Mary's to Tybee but this paddling trail winds around in rivers and creeks that make the distance 197 if you follow the primary routes. There are many alternate routes that can add distance or be more direct shortening a route. We are starting to feel like the horse heading to the barn and find ourselves taking some of the more direct alternates especially if we think it will help with camp sites. Today, a very short 11 miles, but getting closer to Tybee.

Interesting to note these rivers and creeks are HUGE, often as wide as 1/3, 1/2, even a full mile wide, al of them. Seems a great sailing location. (Steve E. I have a copy of a book about the GA waterways I'll send you, in the event you want to plan a more southern trip)

Today turned out to be the most interesting turn of events. The folks at Kilkinney last night suggested we camp on a dock off Egg Island, off Ossabaw Island just inside Ossabaw Inlet. They said it was owned by a centegenarian woman whose family owned Ossabaw and sold/deeded it to the state, she still has lifetime residence on the island. They assured us she would not ind our camping on that dock. Well we got to Egg Island and no dock, just salt marsh. There was the large private looking dock with boats across the way on Ossabaw, so we went over to check it out.

Who do we meet but the women's son, visiting with friends, who was very welcoming, and who set us up with Elizabeth who runs the Ossabaw island Foundation who along with the state of GA have set the island aside solely for "natural, scientific and cultural study, research and education".

We were allowed to camp for a small camp fee (thanks to Elizabeth), go shopping in a small gift store to help with donations, and were given a history of the island, originally a plantation for rice, cotton, and indigo. There remain slave quarters and other historic buildings being preserved, as well as wonderful hiking trails, which we've been doing all afternoon. This place is absolutely magical, and likely the highlight of our trip.







1 comment:

Kristen said...

Dang, and culture, too!