Saturday 22DEC, we arrived at the military RV park on board the US Navy’s east coast Trident Submarine Base at Kings Bay, GA. We have heard very good things about this facility from several military retirees, and we agree that this is one of the best military recreational facilities we have stayed at. But this being a nuclear submarine and missile facility the security is much higher than other military bases. Two examples – security cars continually come through the campground all night, and every now and then we hear a taped warning played over loud speakers warning that you have entered a restricted area and the use of deadly force is authorized (we think warning is set off when animals set off sensors). To learn more, check out:
https://www.cnic.navy.mil/KingsBay/index.htm
On Sunday morning we headed into the small town of St Marys, Ga, across the river Mayport, FL. St Marys claims it is the second oldest city in the USA. But as in sports, being second gets you nothing and tourists go to St Augustine, FL, the oldest city in the USA. St Marys is also the National Parks access point to Cumberland Island, which was once a private get away for Thomas Carnegie and family. The last Carnegie family members donated their properties to the Park Service in 1971. We toured the visitor center and would have taken the ferry to the island, but they wanted thirty eight dollars for four hours on the island. Plus the best way to tour the island is by bicycle, but you can’t take your bikes because they don’t want competition for the bike concession on the island.
www.nps.gov/cuis
That evening we headed up I-95 to a hole in the wall BBQ place Dan read it about called the GA. Pig (ie the Georgia Pig). The establishment is a nondescript wooden building set way back from the road. In fact if you are not looking for the sign with a pig playing a fiddle, you’ll never find it. One thing this restaurant does differently, is to keep spraying the wood fire with water is to produce lots of smoke. The water spray also tends to fill the whole building with smoke. Regardless, it was great BBQ.
Monday morning we drove south to Florida Beach Highway A1A to see the Atlantic Ocean. First we stopped in the town of Fernandina Beach. The historic section of Fernandina has been beautifully restored; unfortunately all the stores are geared toward “beach” tourists. However, the drive along the beach and then through the inland marshes is very beautiful, and it was a beautiful, sunny day.
Christmas eve we went to the RV park recreation room for hors devoirs that we had previously signed up for, to meet fellow RV’ers. While there we made the acquaintance of Lambert and Sandra Elboeck, and Jim and Ursula Wilson. We had an excellent evening of conversation, and it turns out that all three couples have an “European connection”. As most of you know Corrie was born in the Netherlands, not to mention the fact that we lived there for years as a couple. Well turns out that Lambert was born and raised in Austria before immigrating to USA when he was eleven, and when he joined the US military his first assignment was three years in Munich. Jim met and married Ursula while stationed in Germany. So our conversations were punctuated with bits and pieces of German and Dutch. Did we mention the fact that Ursula brought a bottle of champagne and we were the envy of everyone else drinking sodas or coffee?
Christmas Day was definitely a different one for us. There were no gifts to be unwrapped, or big meal to prepare. In fact we spent the day doing laundry and cleaning the RV. Then that afternoon we headed over to the base galley with our new friends, the Elboeck’s and Wilson’s, for Xmas dinner. A very nice and quiet Xmas as we fell asleep with full bellies, listening to the warnings about deadly force (look out Santa and Rudolph!).
https://www.cnic.navy.mil/KingsBay/index.htm
On Sunday morning we headed into the small town of St Marys, Ga, across the river Mayport, FL. St Marys claims it is the second oldest city in the USA. But as in sports, being second gets you nothing and tourists go to St Augustine, FL, the oldest city in the USA. St Marys is also the National Parks access point to Cumberland Island, which was once a private get away for Thomas Carnegie and family. The last Carnegie family members donated their properties to the Park Service in 1971. We toured the visitor center and would have taken the ferry to the island, but they wanted thirty eight dollars for four hours on the island. Plus the best way to tour the island is by bicycle, but you can’t take your bikes because they don’t want competition for the bike concession on the island.
www.nps.gov/cuis
That evening we headed up I-95 to a hole in the wall BBQ place Dan read it about called the GA. Pig (ie the Georgia Pig). The establishment is a nondescript wooden building set way back from the road. In fact if you are not looking for the sign with a pig playing a fiddle, you’ll never find it. One thing this restaurant does differently, is to keep spraying the wood fire with water is to produce lots of smoke. The water spray also tends to fill the whole building with smoke. Regardless, it was great BBQ.
Monday morning we drove south to Florida Beach Highway A1A to see the Atlantic Ocean. First we stopped in the town of Fernandina Beach. The historic section of Fernandina has been beautifully restored; unfortunately all the stores are geared toward “beach” tourists. However, the drive along the beach and then through the inland marshes is very beautiful, and it was a beautiful, sunny day.
Christmas eve we went to the RV park recreation room for hors devoirs that we had previously signed up for, to meet fellow RV’ers. While there we made the acquaintance of Lambert and Sandra Elboeck, and Jim and Ursula Wilson. We had an excellent evening of conversation, and it turns out that all three couples have an “European connection”. As most of you know Corrie was born in the Netherlands, not to mention the fact that we lived there for years as a couple. Well turns out that Lambert was born and raised in Austria before immigrating to USA when he was eleven, and when he joined the US military his first assignment was three years in Munich. Jim met and married Ursula while stationed in Germany. So our conversations were punctuated with bits and pieces of German and Dutch. Did we mention the fact that Ursula brought a bottle of champagne and we were the envy of everyone else drinking sodas or coffee?
Christmas Day was definitely a different one for us. There were no gifts to be unwrapped, or big meal to prepare. In fact we spent the day doing laundry and cleaning the RV. Then that afternoon we headed over to the base galley with our new friends, the Elboeck’s and Wilson’s, for Xmas dinner. A very nice and quiet Xmas as we fell asleep with full bellies, listening to the warnings about deadly force (look out Santa and Rudolph!).
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