Kentucky Horse Park, April 22,23/08

Giant Squirrel? There are 2 of these in the jumping area. I don't know if the horses have to actually jump these. They are huge! You don't have to be a "horse-y" person to enjoy the Kentucky Horse Park but if you are you should go. There is an RV Park in it so it made a good stopping point on our way north.

The park is a major venue for horse competitions of all kinds but also has 2 museums; one about the history of saddle horses and one about the history of horses in general and their relationship with humans since the beginning. At the end of the Saddle Museum you could ride a giant rocking horse. John said he would too but I should go first. You don't see a picture of him do you? Gullable me.






There are shows involving a variety of breeds and a parade of champions. Famous horses such as "Cigar" live at the park and you can meet them and hear about their careers. Some owners allow their horses to live there and believe me they have a good life! Many famous horses are buried and honoured there, such as "Man-O-War."

The grounds are wonderful and since spring was in full swing we inhaled the beauty of the blossoms, never ending fields of green and warm sunshine.

I feel like we've been travelling backwards since we have gone from summer to spring. The marvellous thing about it is that once home spring is turning into summer again!

Next stop: Indiana, then home. Will post that soon.

Sometimes when you visit a place and love it, your best memories are hard to repeat. In the case of Richard B. Russell State Park near Elberton Georgia this is not true. I am so glad we came back here again. It is off the beaten path but well worth it.

We arrived here on Thursday, April 17th. It was about a 6 hour drive from Jekyll Island. The park has only 28 campsites but most are water view. Lake Russell is a huge man-made lake which helps to control flood plains, provide water to municipalities and provide recreation. The land around it has been conserved to replace the habitats that were lost when the river was flooded to create it.

We are 2 weeks earlier than we were last year so spring is not quite as far along. Blossoms are still around and the leaves look fresh and young. Some of the slower trees are just budding. But is has been warm and beautiful. Last year we dreamed of kayaking or canoeing here and now can do it. No gators this far north. Yeehaw!

There is a bass tournament on this weekend but it is not interfering with us. Many locals are staying here and they mostly socialize with each other. But they are polite and friendly. I can barely understand their accents! With a strong twang many words sounds the same. I say pardon but they don’t seem to understand what I am saying either. We have chatted a bit with Beau and Homer, such southern names! Homer cornered John for quite a while one day and invited him into his trailer to see pictures of his wife who died 4 years ago. It was so sweet. I feel sad for him but he has lots of visitors and keeps his camp really nice with knick knacks and lights. I think his wife would like that. Of course they are all about fishing. John says when they talk fishing he feels like a foreigner.

Arrowhead golf course is here and is the most scenic course I have ever played. Not exaggerating! The back 9 is around the lake and I can hardly concentrate on golf because of the view. It is well kept and has no flat lies. The greens are perfect. You may have to be a mountain goat to walk it. I don’t really want to try but have seen some do it. The greens have been top dressed so they look white but the fine sand hardly affected our putts.

Our campsite is like having a private deck. It does have railings as you can see from the pictures. The green anoles are fun to watch. They scurry along the railings and puff out their necks to a bright pink bubblegum colour. I would imagine this is to make the bugs think they are flowers. They change colour depending on the background but when against the spring leaves they are bright green. Other lizards are around but they are cute. Kind of like mini gators.

Wild, Wild Horses and Goodbye Jekyll

Yesterday we drove 45 minutes South to St. Mary's to catch the ferry to Cumberland Island. It is the largest of the barrier Islands and is mainly uninhabited except by 11 residents, wild horses, feral pigs (huh?), birds and other native critters. You can actually see Cumberland from the most southern point of Jekyll. The ferry takes about 45 minutes and then you can spend a day or an afternoon or if you are brave you could stay over and be a "primitive" camper. We stayed for the afternoon, had a picnic lunch, took a tour of the ruins and walked the beach.

You don't have to be a history lover to enjoy Cumberland but it helps. You can look it up. But first I have to talk about the pigs. I thought maybe they would be wild boars but they call them feral pigs and are not native to the Island. We were told they start reproducing at age 4 months, and have 12 piglets each time. Do the math! They eat anything and everything and finally the conservationsists etc. said it was okay to thin them out. They hired a hunter who had free pig shoots for 3 years. He killed tons but they are still a problem. I was amazed by all of this but John told me to give my head a shake. "They are just like farm pigs". Now I understand how he could buy his first car at age 16. So I was on pig alert but saw none!

But the wild horses! They did not disappoint. It was a cold and blustery day (it's all relative) and the horses were hanging out by the ruins of the mansion (later). We saw a stallion with 3 mares and a colt. Apparently he had gained this harem 2 weeks earlier in a wild fight with another stallion. The horses are totally wild, like deer. They are not interfered with in any way but left on their own and they roam wild. They don't get fed, no vets, nothing. They look a bit scraggy but give you goose bumps. There are 150 to 200 on the Island. They go to the beach, eat out of the marsh, whatever they want. You can get quite close to them but shouldn't try to touch them. Incredible.

Dungeness is the name of the huge mansion ruin that we saw. It has a long history. It was a mere 28, 000 sq. feet by the time Lucy Carnegie finished with it and even in ruins is spectacular. She went on to build mansions for her 9 children on the Island. I won't go on but it must have been a popular thing for millionaires to occupy Islands. Jekyll has a similar history. Now 90% of Cumberland is wilderness. A small portion is private. In 1996 John F. Kennedy Jr. married Caroline Bisset there at the "First African Church". Also, the tour guide referred to the private area as Rockerfeller Compound so you can only speculate from there. What drama!

Tomorrow we leave Jekyll and I am kind of sad. We will be back next year. We are going to Richard B. Russell State Park in Northern GA for 5 days. No wi-fi there so you won't have to worry about reading long blogs. From there we will slowly work our way home and I am getting excited about that. I can't imagine having that much space! I can't figure out how to move the pics around in here so bear with me.

Friends and Family on Jekyll

Jekyll Island is again living up to our expectations but this trip has been even more fun since we have been sharing it with Jackie and Nick and Sandy and Richard. Sandy had no idea that Jackie and I had planned for her to be here a couple of days at the same time. They were on their way home from Florida so stopping at Jekyll works. It was pouring rain when Sandy and Richard arrived here around 3 in the afternoon on Saturday. Jackie and Nick had arrived the day before.

We were hoping to have Sandy outside and then Jackie was going to do a walk by wearing a hat and sunglasses. Then Nick's turn. But the rain interfered so the Harvey's came by around 4 pretending to be friends from Michigan dropping in for happy hour. Jackie did a good job with her "Michigan" accent, calling hello from the door. Sandy's face was priceless when we invited them in and she realized who was there. It was an excellent happy hour and dinner despite the downpour outside. Dinner for 6 in here is a bit cramped but we were so pumped it didn't matter.

The six of us spent the next 2 days golfing, biking and touring the Island. We had dinner at Lattitude 31, a great restaurant on the wharf. It was great to have some Kincardine-ites to share this great spot. Jackie and Nick left early Monday morning and the rest of the week is a blur.

After Tuesday the sun and warmth came full blast so Sandy and Richard got a touch of summer and hopefully it follows them home so it will be there when we get back! We golfed again and had a beach day in between biking, touring and just visiting. The dolphins were around and we saw lots of gators, interesting birds and all the other great sights of Jekyll. It was so nice to have family around. Now, the Sundance no longer has the "bomb-went-off" look but it also feels a bit lonely. I am glad it is Master's weekend...a good excuse to sit and do nothing! Of course we have to get a morning bike ride in but that has become a habit. Here on Jekyll the biking is phenomenal... miles of wide trails and of course beach biking. That is an experience I can't get enough of!

Feels like home!

For the 1st and 2nd of April we made our way over to Brunswick GA and stayed at Golden Isles RV Park. We were just putting in time until we could check into Jekyll Island campground on Thursday the 3rd. We have reservations for 2 weeks on Jekyll. Golden Isles Park was not very picturesque but did have full hook-ups. It gave us a chance to go shopping, get caught up on emails, news etc. since we had been without wi-fi or cable while in the State Parks. One great thing about travelling in an RV is that even if you are parked in a place that is not ideal you still have all the comfort and convenience of your indoor living space.

Brunswick is a Port City and the jumping off point for Jekyll and St. Simon's Island. We went over to St. Simon's one day and toured the light house area. We have been there before and it was nice to visit again. We visited quaint shops and the fishing pier and had lunch at a great outdoor cafe.

You can see the St. Simon's light house in the background. From the fishing pier we could see Jekyll Island and it nice to know we only had a half hour drive to get there! This fearless pelican would let you get really close to him. But he had a limit. A young boy got too close and the pelican tried to nip at him.

Visiting St. Simon's and putting down at Jekyll has felt like coming home. We have been here many times over the past few years and obviously love it. The salt marshes, historic district, bike trails, golf and many other features keeps us coming back.

Laura was a teacher, historian and friend of nature in the area of Waycross Georgia near Laura S. Walker State Park named in her honour. It is similar to Veteran’s but a bit smaller. We lucked into a lake-view site again! The azaleas are in bloom and the water flat for kayaking in the morning and evening. In between the Lake had a few recreational jet skis, speed boats, pontoon boats and the ever-present fishing boats. The water is the colour of tea but that does not mean dirty. We are on the edge of the Okeefenokee Swamp, a huge wildlife refuge. The water is full of tannic acid which makes it the colour of tea, not murky, just brown. We learned last year when we were touring the Swamp that the water was the preferred drinking water by sailors crossing the ocean. They would load up on it before a voyage since it maintained it’s freshness and had healing qualities surpassing other fresh water. We met Gary and Valerie from Calgary originally. They have lived in Florida for over 30 years. They have just retired, sold their home and are full-timing. They have only been on the road 8 weeks. Okay, this does not mean we are going to go full-time any time soon. But is wonderful meeting people who are and exchanging travel stories and ideas. Valerie's mother was born in Kincardine! I didn't know her...it was a long time ago. But still, what a small world!

The golf course at Laura S. Walker is called the Lakes. Like the one at Veteran's it was well maintained, reasonable and fun to play. John and I have really been enjoying playing different courses down here and the prices are so much better than at home. We may not be golfing that much at home but we will be kayaking more I would guess.

March 28 to April 1 Laura S. Walker State Park, GA

Here are a couple of pictures of kayaking at Laura S. Walker State Park in Georgia. We are becoming a little less fearful of the gators. Of course it really helped when we saw the locals water skiing, boogey boarding, jet-skiing etc! Some were even pulling young children in tubes so what would the gators want with us anyway?