Where do the days go? It seems impossible that it has been only two days since we left Jacksonville. We were up Sunday at 5:30 and on the water by 6. Currents and tides dictate the time - definitely not on my time schedule but that's what you do! The early start allowed us to continue on past our intended destination of Fernadina Beach to Jekyll Island instead. The sand bars as we traveled along the way continue to remind us that we are in the land of the high tides and strong currents so pay attention to the charts and markers. The wind was strong all day but with the temperatures in the 90's it was welcome even though it produced some interesting wave action as we traveled through some of the sounds along the north Florida coast. The arrival at Jekyll Island looked like it was going to be a repeat of Welaka - arriving just as the storm hit but fortunately it went just north of us.
Job for the day for Steve was to fix the satellite antennae as we were having some problems with it connecting. I always wondered what was inside that little dome anyway! Turn out it was just a miniature dish with a motor that can move it around and then tilt it up and down. This enables it to find the necessary satellite without any help (I could envision Steve and I trying to do this by hand - would have definitely entailed much yelling back and forth!). Success (at least we think) by using an electrical contact cleaner. Very clean inside though - hard to believe with it being left outside in all weather and in especially in a salt water environment.
Anyway, we were off again from Jekyll Island about 8 in order to go through two very shallow areas on the ICW. The tides would give us easy clearance through Jekyll Creek (the first picture) and Little Mud River (the second picture) which were both white knuckle places on the way down as we hit both at low tide. With the full moon currently producing extra high high and extra low low tides, it's worth paying attention to - makes the travel so much more enjoyable! Our destination today was Darien, GA. Shrimp boats lines the river as we approached the town.
Off with the bikes to check out the town - including finding a place for a late lunch as we were in and tied up by 2 pm. Found a place for lunch which included a place to not be in the downpour that was threatening and was now a reality :-). Shopped in the Dollar General for a few odds and ends to wait out the rest of the rain. Back to the boat to again wait out the rest of the rain and then off for another bike ride. The Purple Pickle was interesting but ... don't think so. Many old, old live oaks. We also spotted a sago pine with a seed pod at one of the parks.
Normally it seems towns have one town square but we found Darien has at least two of them. Vernon Square and Columbus Square both established in 1736! The large live oaks attest to this date. Truly amazing. The third picture is the backyard of one of the homes in the area. Imagine a marsh in the back of your house!
We headed back to the boat with very few stops. As soon as you hesitated a few moments to read any of the historical plaques, the mosquitoes were upon you! And I don't mean the small annoying ones but the large variety that are out collecting for the blood bank! Very nasty. The ramp to the dock was at quite an angle as the tide was almost all of the way out. When the tide is back in, the ramp will be almost horizontal. Welcome to Georgia :-)
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