Travel to the Sea Islands of Georgia and South Carolina – Episode 557

Hear about travel to the “Sea Islands” off the coats of Georgia and South Carolina as the Amateur Traveler talks to Ruby & Peter from ajourneywelove.com about their travels in this archipelago.

Ruby says, “The Sea Islands, surprisingly, have a lot of history. During the day, it was the go-to spot of all of these 1880s affluent families of America like the Carnegies. You rarely see them in the tourist boards, so it’s a small little known secret, but if you’re history buff it’s definitely a place to go. If you’re a laying on the beach type person you can definitely do that, but we’re not.”

Ruby & Peter lay out a south to north itinerary for us, flying into Jacksonville Florida and out of Charleston South Carolina. They take us to a sample of the islands including Amelia Island, Cumberland Island, Jekyll Island, St. Simon’s Island, Sapelo Island, Tybee Island, Cockspur Island, Pinckney Island and Hilton Head.

Amelia Island is the southernmost island we talk about. Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island is the only municipality in the United States to have flown the flag of 8 different nations. Also on the island, you can see some Civil War history by visiting Fort Clinch State Park where you can see reenactments being done by park employees.

Cumberland Island is Peter’s favorite and was also a favorite of the Carnegie family that used to own it. The island has wild horses as well as the ruins of the Carnegie’s Dungeness mansion. Much of the island is now the Cumberland Island National Seashore.

Jekyll Island is the home to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center which rehabilitates injured sea turtles. It also has the stark beauty of Driftwood Beach.

St. Simon’s Island has a tour of historic houses and a lovely lighthouse. It also has Fort Frederica National Monument which was originally built by the British, by the same architect who laid out Savanah Georgia. It is “also a great spot to look at gators”.

Sapelo Island is only accessible by a guided tour unless you have friends or family on the island. On Sapelo Island, you will find the Gullah culture which preserves some of the culture brought over by West African slaves. Because they had more autonomy than most slaves, they were able to preserve more of their identity.

Tybee Island is a favorite of Savanah’s residence. It has a great lighthouse you can climb to the top of.

Fort Pulaski National Monument is on Cockspur Island. It was built by the young United States as part of its coastal defenses.

Pinckney Island is the home for the large Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge. It is located between Savanah and the resorts on Hilton Head.

Come explore these often ignored islands for some wildlife, some history and probably also a little sweet tea and southern hospitality.

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Show Notes

A Journey We Love
The Sea Islands
Amelia Island
Fernandina Beach
Fort Clinch State Park
Downtown Fernandina Beach
España Restaurant
Arte Pizza
Cumberland Island
Greyfield Inn
St. Mary’s
Dungeness
Land & Legacies Tours: Cumberland Island
Plum Orchard
Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay
Gullah
Jekyll Island
Jekyll Island Club
Georgia Sea Turtle Center
Driftwood Beach
St. Simons Island
Fort Frederica National Monument
Brunswick, GA
Barbara Jean’s
Southern Soul Barbecue
Sea Island, Georgia
Sapelo Island
Reynolds Mansion
Tybee Island
Tybee Island Light
North Beach Bar and Grill
Cockspur Island
Hilton Head Island
Pinckney Island
Charleston
A Guide to Amelia and Cumberland Island

Community

Joe wrote:

Hi Chris, Just wanted to say how much I enjoy your podcasts. I listen to them while walking every morning and it makes the time just fly by. We travel quite a bit so I always check to see if you have an episode for where we are going. It’s also nice to hear about places we have already been to and remember the great time we had visiting those places. Thanks for the wonderful information.

Gillian wrote about Travel to Gdansk, Poland – Episode 554

Hi Chris. Just a qick line to say i very muxh enjoyed listning to your show on Gdansk lasr week. I have also been listening to a lot of your shows on the archives and was very intrested to hear the show from back in your archives on Armenia which sounds like a real intresting country to visif one day. Best wishes and enjoy your forthcoming trip to India soon.

Steve wrote about Travel to Gdansk, Poland – Episode 554

Hi Chris,

I just listened to your latest Episode on Gdansk. I really enjoyed it. My wife and I also visited on a cruise and we want to get back and see more of Poland. Maybe after our several months in Australia and New Zealand.

As it turns out, I married a fabulous Polish lady. She is a third-generation U.S. citizen. As it turns out, I was able to meet and talk to many of her relatives that migrated to the U.S. in the early 1900s before they passed. They had fabulous stories to relate and wonderful food to enjoy. I enjoyed it so much that I got into the Genealogy of her family along with her cousin who was stationed with NATO in Europe for over 20 years. Together, we were able to find many relatives throughout Poland and he was able to go and visit many of them in their homes.

The pictures from their homes and villages, along with the transcripts of the conversation are fascinating. Several takeaways from our research. The Polish people are some of the most hard-working and resilient people I’ve ever met. They have a fabulous sense of humor and great food from natural products. Next, they viewed the Russians, German’s, Prussian’s and others as interlopers. Through all that oppression they maintained their culture, humor and positive attitudes. I’m pretty sure that my German/English ancestors would not have fared as well.

It’s so sad that history is always written by the victors. We lose so much as a result.

Happy travels,

Steve

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November 2017 – India Amateur Traveler Trip