Twelve Days of a Dixie Christmas - #11

A Countdown of our Favorite Southeastern Christmas Destinations The Christmas season is taken pretty seriously in the southeastern US, and the Richardson Tribe has a dozen suggested destinations to make your holidays more adventurous. Over the next 12 days, we will publish a new destination each day until we reveal our #1 Christmas holiday destination. #11 - Cumberland Island: St. Marys, Georgia The Carnegie family, one of the most prestigious and wealthy dynasties in the Americas, once spent their Christmas with their loved ones here on Cumberland Island. Today you can visit this once exclusive nature preserve for little to nothing. Cumberland Island, an official National Seashore, is a barrier island paradise known to few. Located near St. Marys, Georgia, Cumberland is at the southern-most portion of the Georgia coastal plane. To access Cumberland Island, you will take a ferry from the town of St. Marys. The marina where the ferry resides is really quite charming with multiple sailboats docked nearby. It almost has a "New England" feel to it. The ferryboat ride is just long enough to be a "ride," but short enough to remain interesting to the kiddos. The ferry will stop at two locations on Cumberland Island. We recommend the second stop because bicycles are available for rent there, and because the narrative at the first stop can be quite lengthy (but informative). The island has several miles of barren unoccupied beach, but the real attractions involve dunes, live oaks, armadillos, and wild horses. There are few places\ on earth that would compare to Cumberland Island's natural beauty, vegetation, and wildlife. While visiting Cumberland Island, we recommend staying at Crooked River State Park or Big Wheel RV park. If you want a natural surrounding, Crooked River is the place to stay. If you want an RV site with cable and full-hookup, then we suggest BigWheel RV Park. If money is no object, and you would prefer an exclusive room on the island, check out the Greyfield Inn. For more information about Cumberland Island, including dozens of pictures and a PB&J Adventure Journal entry, click here. Tomorrow we'll be heading south to another favorite southern Christmas destination. Tune in to solve the mystery.

Cumberland Island, a Crown Jewel of Georgia

Adventure Journal - Entry Date: 1/1/11 (January 1, 2011)

Cumberland Island is one of Georgia's crown jewels. Its considered one of the nation's most pristine and well preserved barrier islands. The Tribe has seen TV shows, books, and calendars featuring the live oaks, Spanish moss, and wild horses of Cumberland Island. How could we resist?

So, as a Christmas present, we (Mommy and Daddy) gave the kids a Southbound adventure. Cumberland Island was but one stop on this week-long adventure, but it certainly was one of the best destinations of the trip.

After celebrating New Year's Eve and getting a good night's sleep at Crooked River State Park in St. Marys, we headed for he dock to catch the Cumberland Princess ferry. The 9am ferry allows for a relatively full day on the island, and that was our intent. Although we had studied Cumberland Island-related websites, we weren't exactly sure what to expect. We knew to bring our own food, so each of the kids wore their backpack containing lunch, snacks, and water. That turned out to be a very good idea.

When we arrived on the island, we first visited the Ice House museum (attached to the restrooms). This small but well insulated building reveals some unique history of the island, The ranger gave a very informative lecture on the history of the island going back over 250 years. She was very knowledgeable, and I wish we could enjoy a long evening by the campfire learning from her.

From there, it was a short walk to the ruins of Dungeness, a Winter home (mansion) built by the Carnegie family that burned in 1959, Incredibly, what seemed to interest the Tribe the most were the armadillos, Armadillos are not native to the Southeast. Most we have seen in recent years have been dead on the side of he road. They have invaded Cumberland, and they're quite used to humans. At the Dungeness ruins, we had a very close and exciting encounter with an armadillo that thought we were one of his own kind.

From Dungeness, we walked to the beach. The beach is deep (wide) and completely untouched by commercial development. The pictures tell the story. We found lots of very nice shells, but no sharks teeth. About half a mile up the beach, we discovered a large injured bird on the beach, and that made us eager to hasten our hike to the camping dock's ranger station to report the injured bird. When possible, they will try to rehabilitate sick and injured wildlife.

When we finally reached the National Parks campground, we weren't prepared for the beauty. Live oak and palmetto create an Eden-like tropical environment the likes of which we have never witnessed. This may very well be the most beautiful campground we have ever seen, Its enough to tempt the Tribe to try roughing it a night or two in a tent. This time of year, it would be bearable.

After a short visit with some fellow travelers at the campground dock, we hiked the river trail back to the dock where we originally landed. In all, we probably walked around 2.5 miles, and the kids never complained about their backpacks. While waiting for the ferry to return us to the mainland, we watched wild horses and armadillos rummage for food while we rummaged for sharks teeth along the rarely traveled road.

Cumberland Island is a paradise virtually unspoiled by man. If you want to visit for the day, its a day you will never forget. If you want to stay overnight, it can be very inexpensive, or require a second mortgage depending on you standards. Would I return? No doubt. Something this unspoiled so close to home is a treasure for sure.

  

For lots more pictures and better descriptions of the amenities, please visit Cumberland Island's dedicated page on the PB&J Adventures website!