The weather is warmer here and we love it. It's great to sleep without a heavy blanket. This is the view we have from our patio.
The campground is fairly empty but yesterday and today a lot of RVs arrived. This is the beginning of the "Snow Bird" migration.
We are here for two weeks before we head about 45 minutes south to Orlando Thousand Trails. We will have our Thanksgiving meal here at the campground with all of our RV family. 3 Flags is providing the Turkey and we will bring a side dish.
Last blog I mentioned I would add the rest of the touring we did in south Georgia. One stop was the Historic town of Saint Marys.
Historic St. Marys' enchanting storybook setting on the St. Marys River beckons with white picket fences, charming Victorian inns, majestic magnolias, stately live oaks, fragrant salt air, alluring waters, quaint shops, and captivating cafes. St. Marys community includes those working at the near by Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base.
St. Marys is a small but growing city located just north of the Florida-Georgia line on the Atlantic Coast a quick 35 minutes north of Jacksonville, FL.
First settled in the mid 16th century by the Spanish the city has been occupied since the mid 1500s and was founded in 1787. Within historic Oak Grove Cemetery is the final resting place of the Acadians who were driven from Acadia by the English. After years of sorrow, fear and loss they found refuge in St. Marys.
During the War of 1812 the Battle of Fort Peter occurred near the town, at the fort on Point Peter and along St. Marys River. The British captured the fort and the town and occupied it for about a month. The town has a Peace Garden commemorating the War of 1812.
The United States Navy bombarded the town's shore side buildings during the American Civil War.
When we first arrived we walked around the waterfront checking out the scenery.
This is a view of the St. Marys Waterfront Park, a neat park overlooking the water and a great place to relax.
We took a guided tour of the town on this super sized golf cart.
Saint Marys is loaded with old churches and have almost every denomination you can think of. I only took a couple of photos of them but there are many more I didn't get.
This church is the First Presbyterian Church c. 1808 within St. Marys Historic District.
The one with the red door is the Church of Christ.
Here is St. Mary Methodist Church Established 1789 - 1800.
This is left over from Halloween.
The Goodbread Inn is noted for it's ghost. A few hundred years ago a woman was murdered in a second floor bedroom (the one on the far left) and she is still roaming the house. A few years ago a paranormal TV show checked it out and found paranormal activity.
The next photo is Orange hall which is being renovated. The name originated from the sour oranges that surrounded the property. Orange Hall c. 1830, is located within the St. Marys Historic District in Camden County and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was added to the list of the state of Georgia's ten most endangered historic sites by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.
The St. Marys Peace Garden, Dedicated July 4, 2012 commemorating the forgotten War of 1812. The St. Marys Peace Garden is the most southern garden of the 1812 Bi-national Heritage Peace Garden Trail.
The Bi-national Heritage Peace Garden Trail is designed to attract international visitors as well as residents of this historically-significant cross-border region to experience and enjoy the natural beauty that a garden provides while commemorating the peace that has existed between Canada and the United States over the past 200 years. There are Peace Gardens on the Bi-national Heritage Peace Garden Trail that runs from Canada to it's southern most garden in St. Marys, GA.
Check it out at www.binationalheritagepeacegardentrail.com
The next photo is the site of The Washington Pump & Oak. There were originally six wells one in each square, the only source of pure water for St. Marys (until the tidal wave of 1818).
On the day that George Washington was buried at Mt. Vernon local services were also held throughout the nation. St. Marys citizens marched to the dock to meet a boat bearing a flag draped casket; bore it up Osborn Street and with due ceremony and firing of guns, buried it where the well known as the "Washington Pump" now is.
To mark the spot, four oaks were planted and have since been known as the "Washington Oaks". Only this one remains (at least the stump remains). This well was driven the year of Washington's burial and has ever since been called the "Washington Pump".
The St. Marys Submarine Museum is also downtown. It's not as large as the Submarine Museum in New London but it is a great little museum. This museum contains 90% of all the World War II Submarine Log Books. This is a great place to follow the Submarines heading off to battle by reading the log books.
Notice the red ""Love Town signs on the sides of the doors. (The signs were on many of the buildings in town.) St. Marys was selected as one of several towns to be featured on Oprah's new TV show. (Some sort of dating show.) Oprah was in town for a large celebration to start it off.
Who knew! I could drive a Submarine!
This periscope actually works. I was able to view the surrounding town and waterfront.
We spent a lot of time in the museum and learned a lot about the submarines and the submariners that were aboard. The museum covered not only the World War II Submarines but Nuclear Submarines as well.
Our next stop was the Naval Submarine Base, Kings Bay, Georgia. (Right next to St. Marys)
We were not allowed on base but this is a view of the front gate.
This is a very interesting display of the USS George Bancroft at the front gate.
USS George Bancroft SSBN 643 was a 640-class Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) submarine home ported in Charleston, SC and Kings Bay, GA. Built in Groton, CT the boat was launched 20 March 1965 and commissioned 22 January 1966. The boat completed 19 deterrent patrols with the Polaris A-3 missile, 27 deterrent patrols with the Poseidon missile and 13 deterrent patrols with the Trident I missile. The crew earned two Meritorious Unit Commendations and four Battle Efficiency "E" awards.
Our last stop for the day was the Crooked River State Park just down the street from the Submarine Base. The views were outstanding.
We actually spent a couple of days in St. Marys and the surrounding area. There was so much to see.
I ran out of time so the next blog will cover our trip to the town of Folkston, GA and the Folkston Funnel. Folkston is where people go to "train watch". There are over 60 trains per day that go through the town so it draws a lot of train enthusiasts. There is also a Train Museum in the town.
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