The Golden Isles of Georgia

We have spent the last week mid-way between Brunswick and Kingsland Georgia in a rural area called Woodbine. This is one of those campgrounds that are typical.... not really pretty like Sycamore Lodge, no fancy amenities...  but the access to things to do and see as well as the friendliness of the people who staff the place, make up for everything else. We met Charlie and Betty when we stopped here last year and have kept in touch. It was nice to talk in person for a change. Charlie and Betty

Last year when we were here we took a day and went to the Cumberland Islands. This year we went to Brunswick and Jekyll island.Our trip to Brunswick was timed so that we could participate in the annual Brunswick Stew competition. John and I were 2 of many "official tasters" to determine the best "Brunswick Stew" recipe. We tasted over 50 different varieties/recipes over 2 hours and voted which we liked best. The contestants were from the local restaurants, bars and organizations looking for "bragging rights" for the next year. Most of the main ingredients were the same... pulled pork potatoes, Lima beans, corn in a tomato base sauce....but they each had different spices that really made the taste slightly different. John stays away from the spicy ones, so I had to taste first to warn him. It was fun, but I think I've had my fill of Brunswick Stew for awhile.

Jekyll Island is a historic area that has seen Indian, Spanish, British and French settlements. It is also home to many migratory coastal birds. The beaches are absolutely beautiful. I found a couple of sand dollars and I am in the process of cleaning and preparing them to make something. What, I don't know yet, but eventually it will speak to me. Here is a picture of the Jekyll Island shoreline.

Last year on our coastal trip we watched many local people crabbing and fishing. I decided that I would like to do some crabbing this year, so John found an old basket at a yard sale this summer and we packed it away. We spent several afternoons on the small dock next to the campground learning by trial and error. Here is a picture of my first catch.

He wasn't very big but they got bigger as the day went on and I figured things out. We didn't keep any of these guys... we were just doing it for the experience. We couldn't convince this guy that we we were only trying to catch him to throw him back in. I think he heard John say something about a steam pot and was trying to say... "NO WAY"

Last night was Pot Luck supper. There were about 2 dozen people and we had everything from Meat Loaf, Salad, 2 pasta dishes, chicken noodle soup, cornbread, mashed potatoes, green beans and 2 different cakes for desert. We enjoy participating in these affairs. Good conversation, good food and a short walk home.
Tomorrow we head out to Florida. We will be staying tomorrow night on the road and then pull into a Thousand Trails in Clermont, outside of Orlando on Thursday. We will be there for 3 weeks spending time with our friends Ray and Millie Surrette. We met them in Texas last year and spent time with them in Arizona. After Thanksgiving, it's off to Texas for Christmas.