and we enjoy a leisurely cruise across Cumberland Sound to the Amelia River, passing by Cumberland Island where wild horses can be seen along the shore, and arriving in Fernandina in time for lunch.

We enjoy a wonderful lunch at “29 East”, a restaurant Brenda and I discovered on a previous shopping trip to Fernandina, and then we pedal off for the day. After spending a couple of hours in Fort Clinch State Park where we discover an amazing seashell-strewn beach, a fishing pier,

and a gorgeous view of the marsh and lighthouse,

Brenda and Phil pose for a picture,

and so do Jaime and Jane

before heading down to the oceanfront to enjoy a libation at “Sandy Bottoms” restaurant.

The ride back to “downtown” Fernandina is mostly uphill, so we take our time but arrive with an hour to spare before our ferry takes us back to St. Marys. Our trip back is enhanced by a spectacular sunset!

Fabulous Fripp Island, South Carolina - April 20-26, 2009

Once again, Jaime and I were honored to be invited to spend a week with friends Kathy and Rob at their amazing oceanfront beach house on Fripp Island, South Carolina. This year, their friends Wanda and Alan also joined us from the Tampa, Florida area (where Kathy and Rob reside when they're not globetrotting).

We enjoyed incredible weather - warm days and cool nights - and spent the week biking, walking the beach, swimming (well, kind of; the one time I actually planned to swim, it was low, low tide, and I had to walk what seemed like miles out into the water!); visiting historic Beaufort, SC, and eating wonderfully well! We ate most of our meals at the house, taking turns cooking (smoked salmon, steaks, fresh salmon, tuna salad with fennel (thanks to my niece Kim's recipe), gourmet chicken salad, rum cake, chocolate chip cheesecake, and many more luscious treats! We also dined out two nights at a fantastic seafood restaurant where Jaime and I had the best soft-shelled crabs we'd ever eaten and a wonderful Mexican restaurant. Sadly, I have had to return to my diet this week. Boo hoo!!!

This is the gorgeous beach house that Kathy and Rob share with 12 other families. Each family gets to enjoy the house four weeks each year - one week per season.

Wanda, Alan, Jaime, Jane, Rob and Kathy on the deck of the beach house.

South end of Fripp Island at low tide.

Early every morning, Rob would take their dog Ebony (as well as Wanda and Alan's dog Sheila) for a walk on the beach. I took this picture the one and only morning I was up early!

You never know what you're going to find on the beach. I thought this was an interesting piece of driftwood.

Early in the week, Jaime and I had lunch in Beaufort with old friends John and Diane from Wisconsin who just happened to be staying at Hilton Head Island while we were on Fripp. Hilton Head is the next island south of Fripp, and Beaufort is more-or-less midway between the two on the mainland.

Although it was hard to tear ourselves away from the island, Kathy, Rob, Wanda, Alan, Jaime and I did spend another wonderful afternoon in Beaufort enjoying a horse-drawn carriage tour of the historic district. Here's Jaime patting "Rocky", the Percheron that pulled our carriage.

Kathy, Rob, Jane, Jaime, Wanda and Alan relaxing at an outdoor cafe in Beaufort after the tour...

Interesting birdhouses we spotted while biking on the marsh side of the island.

Fripp Island is home to an amazing variety of birds - including this heron I spotted on an early morning beach walk.

One of the tame deer that live on Fripp Island. They love to be hand-fed carrots!

And here is a whole herd of them...

More Fripp Island wildlife...napping by a golf course pond.

Yippee! It's tourist season!!!

JAIME! OH, JAIME!! WHERE THE @%^&$*#@ ARE YOU????

Steppin' Out

If it's Friday night, chances are you'll find us at the Club @ Bennie's. Last Friday we went with friends Brenda and Phil and enjoyed the barbecue buffet and danced to the music of our favorite local band, the Stringrays. The next time we go, we'll have the oysters. At six bucks a bucket, how can we afford NOT to???




The outdoor bar at Bennies...

Brenda and Phil dancing...

Jaime and Jane kicking up their heels...

More dancing...

This was actually a very romantic dance – until Brenda picked up the camera, and the ham in me awoke!

Oysters roasting on the firepit...

Jaime checking out the oyster shucker...

Some very happy oyster munchers...

Southern Humor

Although I was born and raised in the North, I have lived more than half my life south of the Mason-Dixon line and truly feel that I was meant to live out my life in the land of grits and sweet tea. That being said, I adore stereotypical southern jokes and thought I'd share some with you here:

ALABAMA
A group of Alabama friends went deer hunting and paired off in twos for the day. That night, one of the hunters returned alone, staggering under the weight of an eight-point buck.

"Where's Henry?" the others asked.

"Henry had a stroke of some kind. He's a couple of miles back up the trail," the successful hunter replied.

"You left Henry laying out there and carried the deer back?" they inquired.

"A tough call," nodded the hunter. "But I figured no one is going to steal Henry!"

GEORGIA
The owner of a golf course in Georgia was confused about paying an invoice, so he decided to ask his secretary for some mathematical help. He called her into his office and said, "You graduated from the University of Georgia and I need some help. If I were to give you $20,000, minus 14%, how much would you take off?"

The secretary thought a moment, and then replied, "Everything but my earrings."

LOUISIANA
A senior at Louisiana was overheard saying ... "When the end of the world comes, I hope to be in Louisiana ." When asked why, he replied, "I'd rather be in Louisiana because everything happens in Louisiana 20 years later than in the rest of the civilized world."

MISSISSIPPI
The young man from Mississippi came running into the store and said to his buddy, "Bubba, somebody just stole your pickup truck from the parking lot!"

Bubba replied, "Did you see who it was?"

The young man answered, "I couldn't tell, but I got the license number."

NORTH CAROLINA
A man in North Carolina had a flat tire, pulled off on the side of the road, and proceeded to put a bouquet of flowers in front of the car and one behind it. Then he got back in the car to wait. A passerby studied the scene as he drove by and was so curious he turned around and went back. He asked the fellow what the problem was.

The man replied, "I have a flat tire."

The passerby asked, "But what's with the flowers?"
The man responded, "When you break down they tell you to put flares in the front and flares in the back. I never did understand it neither."

TENNESSEE
A Tennessee State trooper pulled over a pickup on I-65. The trooper asked, "Got any ID?"

The driver replied, " 'Bout whut?"

TEXAS
The sheriff pulled up next to the guy unloading garbage out of his pick-up into the ditch.

The sheriff asked, "Why are you dumping garbage in the ditch? Don't you see that sign right over your head."

"Yep", he replied. "That's why I dumpin it here, cause it says: 'Fine For Dumping Garbage'."


You can say what you want about the South, but you never hear of anyone retiring and moving North. LOL

Spring has sprung!

Although I am unabashedly a summer beach person, there is no denying that spring on St. Simons is the most beautiful time of year. Daily bike riding has become a passion for both Jaime and me; the flatness of the terrain makes it possible to cover every beautiful square inch of the island!

This is a segment of the bike path we take almost daily on our way to the village. This time of year, our senses are assaulted with the fragrance of wysteria and the loveliness of the azaleas...

...in lovely shades of pink

....and white.

Weekends should all be this pleasant (and often are!)

Friday night, Jaime and I joined friends Pam and Jim at The Club at Bennie’s Red Barn, a nightspot just up the road from where we live. For an admission fee of $10, one gets to enjoy live music and a barbecue buffet that includes pulled pork, baby back ribs, chicken, catfish, cole slaw and potato salad (drinks are extra, of course). The band this week was the “Stringrays”, a bunch of local “grey hairs” who know their way around the bandstand! Good food, good friends and good music. I even got Jaime to dance a little, although I have no pictures to prove it!

Jaime took this picture of me dancing with Jim. One of these days I’ll have to teach Jaime about the timing of digital cameras. Somehow, I ended up in the background of every shot. Hmmmm…..It couldn’t be intentional, could it?

Our friendly bartender (note the live oak serving as a bar shelf)

The Stringrays

And here they are again on Saturday at the St. Simons Chili Cookoff!

Biking to the St. Simons Chili Cookoff in the village with friends Phil and Brenda on Saturday, we came across several cold, unopened cans of beer in the street. I don’t know how they ended up there, but we scooped them up and put them in my bike basket to take home. About a block later, one of them developed a small hole, and the beer started spraying all over the place. Not wanting to waste the precious liquid, Phil promptly emptied the can. This was approximately 11:30 in the morning. We will not let Phil live this one down, believe me!

Beach erosion on Jekyll Island's St. Andrews Sound

On Thursday, February 26, Jaime and I rode our bikes on Jekyll Island again. This time, we took a long walk on the beach on the St. Andrews Sound side. I was amazed at the amount of erosion that has occurred on the south side of the island….probably a result of last summer’s Hurricane Dora.

Many trees were uprooted and now rest in the sand (at low tide) and are submerged in the ocean at high tide. Here are some pictures of uprooted – and soon-to-be-uprooted – trees.

We also came across a boat (I think it's a shrimp boat) that has been slowly disappearing into the sand. This is the first time I’d seen it, but Jaime said he saw it three or four years ago when he was fishing in the vicinity. It was not embedded nearly as deep in the sand as it is now. Bear in mind that because we have about a 10-foot difference between high and low tides, the boat is completely underwater at high tide.