The final leg - Cumberland Island, GA - April 23-24

On Saturday morning we arrived at the Cumberland Island ferry terminal, unsure if we'd be able to camp overnight or not.  We had packed one bag with our necessary items for a day trip and filled a second backpack with camping and overnight gear - just in case. 

Imagine our excitement to find out they had room at the campground with showers!  We switched our $20 per person (roundtrip, pre-paid) return ferry ride, without problems, from the Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon and handed over the $8 to camp for the night.  While Sunday was a "free" entry day to the Island (normally $4), we decided to pay the $80 for the America the Beautiful Pass to motivate our journeys to visit more National Parks this year.

After shopping around town for last minute supplies - like food and bug spray - we were ready to go!

The ferry ride was an enjoyable and relaxing 45 minutes to the main dock.  Upon arrival, the National Park Service greeted us at the dock-side cabin. We could not help but notice hanging Spanish Moss Oak Trees and carts for transporting camping supplies.  These carts seemed necessary for the many passengers who were there for the "car-camping" experience.

While I enjoy the luxuries of car-camping, with all its inflatable queen sized mattresses, gazebos, grills, and chairs, there is nothing quite like the challenge of backpacking.  In true Miller fashion, we carried our gear on our backs the half-mile or so to our awesome campsite. 

If you cannot tell from the photos, the Island was pretty amazing and we had great weather to boot! Exploring by foot and bike each provided us bountiful opportunities to experience most of the Island's highlights.  On our nature walk, we came across this little fellow, Mr. Armadillo, who walked across our path:

By foot we also visited the Ruins called Dungeness, the name given to the modest home of Revolutionary War hero Gen. Nathanael Greene.  The highlight of the site, however, is what remains of Thomas Carnegie's former mansion, built 100 years later, in 1884.

While many people enjoy dinner at the kitchen table, followed by a few hours of relaxation in front of  TV, my preference is for an outdoor meal, and winding down watching this:

If you are like me, you don't really sleep well in a tent.  I don't know if my sleeping bags are too hot for the type of camping I do, if maybe I'm allergic to the feathers in the down sleeping bag, or if it is my type-A personality that keeps me from fully resting, but I spend most of the night awake instead of asleep!  So, when I saw the first glimmer of light, I was off to the beach with my camera.

On my way back to the campsite, I was almost trampled by three feral horses (dad, mom, and calf). It was definitely a scare to have the calf run towards you, knowing mom and dad would be close behind!  Once I regained my composure, I was able to catch a photo of them watching me walk away.

Horses are not native to Cumberland Island and there is a law that requires these horses to be left alone on the Island.  As a result, many have genetic defects, are malnourished, and are wreaking havoc on the natural habitat.  While horses are beautiful to look at, most of the ones we saw did appear sickly.  According to the park ranger, many other Parks control the population by selling these horses and helping to keep numbers of different breeds in check to prevent the genetic errors that occur with in-breeding. 

Renting ($16 each per day) and riding bikes on Sunday allowed us to venture farther from the campground.  The first 4 miles along the "main road" was so pretty, it almost made me forget how bumpy the unpaved road was.  Thankfully, our "cruisers" could handle it.

Once we ventured into the "wilderness area" of the central part of the Island, we saw more wildlife, including raccoons, alligators, and lots more feral horses.

Our bike ride brought us to Plum Orchard, the mansion built in 1898 for Thomas Carnegie's son, George (Andrew's nephew).  The mansion was donated to the National Park Foundation by Carnegie family members in 1971 and there are tours you can take into the building.  Colin was unimpressed with the structure - but he's much more critical than I am.

On a side note, the late JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessett were married on Cumberland Island.  The ceremony was held at Brack Chapel of the First African Baptist Church - an area of the Island called "The Settlement"- which we did not have time to explore.  Their reception was held at the Greyfield Inn, which is the only accommodation on the Island.  Our ride took us by the gates, but the "private property" sign kept us out.  If we were not budget travelers, perhaps we would have considered staying there for $500-$600 per night!

Rather than travel the easy way back the way we came, we Millers went "off-roading" on our cruisers and traveled the 2.25 miles on a difficult trail through the wilderness area to the beach.  Knowing the path would get me to the refreshing beach was the only thing that kept me going!

The reward was well worth it - especially when my creative husband designed a perfect lunch spot on the deserted beach.

I was so grateful to have brought canned sardines on the trip, which tasted delicious after the difficult ride.  I was more grateful to relax for a bit in the shade!

The ride back along the beach was exhilarating.  The sun was warm on my shoulders, but the air was slightly cool with the ocean breeze.  A deserted beach combined with perfect weather is my paradise.

Have you ever camped on/near the beach?
If so, tell me where and how you liked it!! We are always looking for a beach campground for our next trip! 

Spontaneous Road Trip Preparations April 20-21

About a week before Easter, we realized Colin was going to have a day off for Good Friday.  With family in town and Colin traveling for a bachelor party, we didn't really have a chance to think about what we might do with a three day weekend until two days before the holiday.  We started the process by thinking of where we could go with just three days and three nights.  Colin has been slightly obsessed with Jacksonville, FL, so we decided that would be one of the destinations for our trip.  Since we both had to work a full day on Thursday, we thought about a destination between Raleigh and Jacksonville and immediately decided on Savannah, Georgia for the first leg of the trip.  We have both been to Charleston, SC and have both really wanted to make a trip to Savannah on numerous occasions, but never did.

There was obviously little time to plan, but on Wednesday evening, after checking hotel rates on Kayak, we decided to try and use the bidding feature on Priceline to find a better deal on a hotel in Savannah.  After selecting our preferences (3.5 stars, historic district or riverfront in Savannah) we bid $65 for the night and our bid was accepted!  The hotel we got, the Hilton Savannah de Soto, was priced at $150 for the same nights on Kayak!

As soon as we bid, Colin remembered an online forum where people share their bids.  For those of you that have never used Priceline, if your bid is not accepted, you can't just go and bid higher for 24 hours.  You can however, change details about the bid (like number of stars or exact location).  We thought we were lucky with our bid on the Savannah hotel, because a lower bid may not have been accepted.  Based on the forum posts, it didn't look like we could have gotten a better deal than we did.

We also went to the library on Wednesday and checked out some travel books on Savannah, Georgia, and Florida and I e-mailed a friend who was familiar with the Jacksonville area.  His recommendation was to go camping at Cumberland Island National Seashore, off the coast of southern Georgia.  I spent Wednesday evening and part of the day on Thursday trying to make reservations for the ferry and campground on the island.  I managed to get us on a ferry for Saturday morning to come back the same day because I was told the campground was full.  But, the woman told me to bring our camping stuff because sometimes there ended up being room on the day of the trip.

So, as soon as we got off of work on Thursday, we grabbed our city bags and camping bags, our travel books, cell phones, laptop and chargers and got in the car headed to Savannah.  We had lodging booked for the night and a ferry ride planned to Cumberland Island on Saturday - and that was all.

 Above: My clothes for a 3 day trip without concrete plans

Below: Colin's clothes for a 3 day trip without concrete plans

 Below: Water bottles, cell phones, cell phone car charger, mp3 players are the essentials for any long trip.  Only thing missing is our dinner and snacks.

Have you ever taken a spontaneous trip?
If so, how does it compare to other trips you've taken?

Stay tuned for details about how we made out!