Credit where credit is due...

Ok peeps, one more Cumberland post, I swear! Since, as usual, the Wife had the good camera, she got some good shots that I didn't with my poor little point-and-shoot. I figgered I would share them with y'all (yall's? yalls's? yallsss's? I'm not good with my Southern speak yet!) And if you want to know more about the stuff on here, read through the last few posts. It's all in there somewehere. Above is the Dungeness Mansion ruins, from the shadowed side.
Remains of a pier near Point Peter
Why hello there....

Dungeness viewed from the water

You Bubbleheads should recognize this as a "de-magnetizer."

Remains of the Carnegie's Pool Hall

No shelter- Sand

Look... we haven't killed each other yet!

Are we done yet?

Ok, so we've covered the major spots on the island that we saw, here is all the "inbetween" stuff. Think of this as the nature part of the journery. Oh come on, humor me already! These first few pictures are on the way from the dock to the Dungeness mansion.

The entrance to Dungeness

Wild horses grazing on the grounds near the ruins.

Walking out towards the beach

This was the most bizarre occurence, I wish it was easier to see. In a few spots the sand seems to have solidified, then been carved by the wind, making miniature canyons and formations. Very cool.

Dead trees near the beach

Here we are "not" feeding the seagulls. Actually it was pretty amusing to be swarmed by these guys.

Ok this one is really hard to see, but if you see the lines across the beach here, that's actually blowing sand. It made very interesting wave shapes as it blew across.

Wild turkeys we happened upon. I was actually shocked at how big these things were!

Armadillo. We saw a couple of these, but they proved rather difficult to photograph since they constantly forage under the leaves. What the heck do Armadillos eat, anyway?

And finally we return to St Marys with just enough daylight to capture these pelicans.

Getting there is half the fun!

Ok, so after 4 and 1/2 years living here, we finally made it out to Cumberland Island National Seashore. Figured we would do it to get rid of any reason to ever come back here. Anyway, to get there, you have to take an NPS ferry from downtown St Marys. That's the ferry arriving now.
In the visitor center, there are some intersting displays, including this one of sea turtles hatching.

This one shows how Sea Oats grow.

Some Native American artifacts

As these tools show, both cotton and lumber industries at one point made their home on Cumberland.

Artifacts from the Carnegie Estate on the island.

View of downtown St Marys from the visitor center. Visible are Trolleys Bar, the Sub Museum, and God only knows what. That corner building always changes.

Waterfront park.

Finally we say goodbye to St Marys

Looking towards Point Peter, where the battle took place in the War of 1812

Looking south towards Amelia Island

This guy decided to hang around the boat for a while

Cumberland Island! Barely visible on the left side is the ruins of the Dungeness Mansion, that belonged to the Carnegie family.

Looking north, at the Kings Bay Sub Base.

Cumberland Island again

Tying up the boat. Ready to go see the island? Stay tuned!

This little light of mine

Ok, on the eastern end of Cockspur Island, where Fort Pulaski is, stands the Cockspur Island Lighthouse. When I was here before, there was no good way to view the light. Now there is a short trail that leads out to where it stands. The first light here was built in 1837, and was unlit. In 1848 John Norris, a New York architect who designed several Savannah buildings including the Custom House and the Hug-Mercer house, was contracted to build a light station. This first lighthouse was commisioned in 1849 and destroyed by a hurricane in 1854.
The new tower was built in 1856 on the same foundation using local gray brick. The light was exstinguished during the Civil War to hinder the Union blockade. Despite being in the direct line of fire between Tybee Island and Fort Pulaski, the lighthouse suffered very little damage. The light was re-lit following the war and painted white to make it more visible during the day. Another hurricane in 1893 destroyed the keeper's house, forcing them to build a new house atop the nearby fort. The light was finally extinguished June 1, 1909 because the northern channel of the river became the preferred shipping route, while the light was on the southern channel.
Today, the lighthouse is maintained by the National Park Service as part of the Fort Pulaski National Monument. The Park Service took it over on August 14, 1958 and in 1972 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It is also now open to anyone with a boat. The National Park Service is also accepting donations to help preserve the lighthouse, which continually needs to be repaired and repainted. The wooden foundation is also currently threatened by shipworm infestation and will cost nearly $1,000,000 to repair. Donations for this small but beautiful light can be sent to:
Eastern National
In care of Fort Pulaski NM
PO Box 30757
Savannah, GA 31410

Looking back at Fort Pulaski in the distance
One of the local crabs that constantly scurry across the path by the water
A flower. Don't know what it is, but it was pretty.