January 5, 2025.
Last minute plans
We first heard about the Cumberland Island National Seashore on January 4 while perusing the options at the Golden Isles Welcome Center. I’d just realized that the state of Georgia had islands at all just a few weeks before, so we were flying by the seat of our pants during this part of the trip. Aaron picked up a brochure out of curiosity and within an hour I was on their website booking a ferry ride for the next day. A quick search online let me know that we could park our van overnight right near the ferry terminal, so we were ready for an island adventure!
It’s really nice to wake up to where you want to be. We made breakfast and packed our backpacks for a full day of exploring. There are basically no amenities on the island, besides a bathroom, so we needed food, water, layers, everything we could want for the next 9 hours.
A little history
The ride over to the island was slow and peaceful. We saw birds along the marshes and dolphins swimming in the St. Mary’s River. As the boat arrived at the dock, we decided to head for the mansion ruins first, then choose a hiking route that would allow us to see a good chunk of the island. I have come to realize as we’ve traveled across this country that many of our museums and parks are simply the castaways of absurdly rich people. The Carnegie family built a mansion on this island in the late 1800’s, which at one time had 59 rooms and 40 outbuildings to house the 200 servants who took care of the place and the family when they decided to travel for the winter. Literally no one should have that much money and I have come to abhor these parks that are centered on wealth hoarding historical figures. But I digress.
Exploring the island
I was happy to see a deer munching on the grass outside the crumbling stone artifice. The mansion was destroyed in a fire in 1959 and has been sit to decompose since then. The Carnegies still own property and buildings on the island (in case you were concerned, they’re doing just fine) and I can only imagine these donations are tax breaks and things rich people can brag about to their rich friends. Oh, am I digressing again?
After walking through that unnecessary opulence we came to enjoy nature’s vast display of wetlands and coastline, which were teeming with life. I observed many different plants, most of which were introduced to the island, as well as several species of birds. American oystercatchers, white ibis and great egret enjoyed feasting on the wetland bounty.
Around lunchtime, we found a small dock that served as a great place to spread out our own bounty: a charcuterie spread. We had meats, cheeses, olive, fruit, veggies, plenty to fill us up. We watched seabirds and raptors fly overhead in search of their own meals. The water in the slough sparkled under the intense sunshine. How lucky we were to get such a lovely day at the start of January! I understood why people flocked to the Georgia coast each winter.
Next, we crossed the boardwalk, then took the dunes trail to the beach. There, I found so many more birds and plants; the stuff I’d seen earlier was no match for the biodiversity on this part of the island. Hundreds of terns and skimmers stood in formation on the sandy beach, with the smaller dunlins and sanderlings skittering around between them. It was mesmerizing to watch the surf roll into the coastline. I’ll never get tired of watching the ocean.
The birds put on a good show too, rivaling the “waves crashing on beach” channel. Some terns have a unique way of fishing. A bird flies parallel to the shoreline, above the water, with its head down. Then it abruptly stops and hovers. Once it spots a fish, it spirals down in a nosedive straight into the surf. If it’s successful, it emerges from the water with a snack in its beak. Incredible!
But the island hadn’t revealed all its magic yet. On the way back to the dock, we walked through an enchanted forest. Huge, sprawling oak trees towered over us. A green and lush understory provided plenty of cover for fairies and gnomes, or…armadillos! Finally, we got to see one of these prehestoric-looking creatures. One of the park rangers told us what to listen for in order to find one. As we hiked the return trail, we found several of these creatures snuffling around in the leaf litter. Another fun-to-watch animal. Between the crashing waves, fishing terns and snuffling armadillos, we had plenty of channels of entertainment to watch while visiting the island.
The ferry heading back to the mainland was packed, so we were forced to take an outside seat. The return trip was long and very cold since the sun was setting. When we got back to land, however, we enjoyed a picture-perfect sunset.
I could not believe the wonderful day that we had, all due to a silly brochure that caught Aaron’s eye the day before. Leaving some of our trip planning to serendipity has brought us to more memorable places than I can count. If I’ve learned one thing from extended travel it’s to never plan out every single day in advance. Thanks, Georgia, for sharing some of your tremendous surprises!
