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A really peachy state
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Marvelous mural in the Savannah Visitor's Center
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Tour and cruise boats along the Savannah Riverfront
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Most of the riverfront shops are in rehabilitated cotton warehouses
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Plenty of street artists plying their trades
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Harp Sighting!
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Bell tower we passed whenever we left the RV park
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Yaupon Holly - the berries are caffinated, and very popular with birds
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Cautious little lady in the marsh at Skidaway State Park
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Underbrush - or maybe "under-palms"
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Walking the trail
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The Intracoastal Waterway adjoins the state park
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Wedged into the tree, some shells, piece of cactus, some coins - probably a Voodoo something
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Holding up the trail . . .
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Probably raccoon tracks in the mud
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In a display case at the State Park
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At Tybee Island - sea oats help stabilize the dunes
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The Tybee Island light house. We could have climbed it, but didn't
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There was this couple flying some fantastic kites
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That's a Blue Man hanging from that string
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She makes them and flys them. Doesn't sell them. Says she's poor enough as it is without being in business
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They were flying almost a dozen kites that day
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This one has over 80 sq ft of fabric, she said
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It's great to see a beach being enjoyed
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We're starting to see some spectacular sunsets
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Where we had Thanksgiving dinner - the she-crab soup is fantastic
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This church was at the entrance to the state park. We had no excuses
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We didn't . . .
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There are about 36 known moonshine still sites within the state park. None are operational.
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Some of the state park trails are bike friendly.
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Salt marshes are important parts of the ecosystem. Plus they don't breed mosquitoes
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Old warehouses in Old Savannah, now classrooms for the famous Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)
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Paula Deen (from the Food Channel) runs the eatery under the striped awning
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The old Savannah City Bell, rung for fires. Churches could not have any bells with the same sound.
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The church steeple from which the feather floated down at the beginning of "Forrest Gump"
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You couldn't have that color paint within the historic district, which is just across the street
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Wonderful old live oak tree
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The very beautiful Cathedral of St John the Baptist
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Catholics weren't welcome in the early days of the Anglican colony of Georgia. This church started in the late 1700's.
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Spectacular pipe organ in the loft
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There are many ways to tour Savannah
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Rainbow Street - Houses often used color-coded shutters to help one find one's destination
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This was our tour transportation . . .
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Savannah's "Waving Girl" statue. The real lady waved at all inbound ships for 40+ years, but her sailor sweetheart never returned
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As we neared the Okefenokee Swamp area
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They are building a new welcome center at Okefenokee. That's the old one
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Our guide for our swamp tour. He says he's a Redneck.
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Cyprus knees sprouting from the water
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The "dead" trees are cyprus, getting ready for winter Cyprus is one of very few deciduous conifers
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They call this a prairie . . . .
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That's what we came to see . . . it's about 12 ft long
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We call this our $34 gator picture - that's what the boat tour tickets cost
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Water lilies everywhere - but no blooms this time of year
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And the Spanish Moss is fascinating
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The park has restored an old Swamper homesite . . .
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This volunteer docent once explained sea lions and seals at Simpson's Reef, near Shore Acres in Oregon
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The original owners raised 11 kids here, and finally moved away in the 1950's
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At Folkston, GA, a train-watching platform
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There are about 60 trains go by here every day. Folks come from all over to watch and wave.
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The Welcome Center for Jekyll Island, GA - once the playground of the rich and famous
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Not very good picture of a Wood Stork perched way far away near Jekyll Island
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The uber-rich built these "cottages" as getaways in the late 1800's
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Cottages were typically between 4,000 and 12,000 sq ft
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Many cottages have been restored and can be toured
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Phyllis, our very knowledgable tour guide, and some other tourists
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We don't know if they're training the horse or the driver
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That's the Jekyll Island Club - originally the clubhouse for the rich folk. Now it's a spiffy hotel.
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Those grape vines love to climb on the live oaks.
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The first trans-continental telephone call was made on this phone from Jekyll Island by Alexander Graham Bell.
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This is the only cottage on the island made of tabby - now undergoing restoration
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Cottages were build by the likes of the Rockefellers, Firestones, Goodyears, Goulds - a very exclusive club
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The old chapel is now a very popular wedding place
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Our view from lunch. It was foggy and chilly
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The restaurant was almost deserted. The food was ok, but not great
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The island is very proud of this place - just opened in July
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It's a rescue center for sea turtles, which nest on the island.
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They also work on non-sea turtles, like this box turtle with a damaged shell
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The education intern showed us some turtle parts
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Inside their hospital, ailing turtles get helped
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These baby sea turtles were late to hatch this spring, so were rescued
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At Fernandina Beach, FL - remains of a Portugese Man 'o' War. Quite poisonous. There were several on the beach
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It's between seasons, and the beaches are largely deserted
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We thought it looked like Dilbert's pointy-haired boss. It's actually a Royal Tern - we looked it up.
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The waves were only about 2ft, but the surfers kept trying
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Surfers and birds and beachwalkers. Life is good.
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The beaches here are considerably less wild than those in Oregon, yet manage to be quite natural
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We could walk for miles. Sometimes it feels like we actually did
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Sea foam.
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At the mouth of the St John's River near Jacksonville, about 30 para-surfers. Very colorful
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Florida State Route A1A uses a ferry. What fun . . .
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The ferry runs twice an hour.
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Al waits with the car until they collect their $5 fee
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Cyclists can cross as well
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Back on another beach - a puffer fish.
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And yet another surfer
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Back in Georgia, the largest fake Christmas Tree we've ever seen - at St Marys
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Almost 200 years old, and it was packed on Sunday morning
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At the Ferry dock, heading for the Cumberland Island National Seashore - the official welcoming birds
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There were just 4 of us on this ferry boat run
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A flock of pelicans along the river bank
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It's a bald eagle. Way far away.
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On Cumberland Island, wild turkeys!
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Ruins of the last Dungeness Mansion, built by the Carnegie family in the early 1900s.
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Our guide ranger, explaining that the tea made from the leaves of the caffinated holly tree didn't do much for her.
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The Carnegie family still owns and uses a few buildings on the island, like this one
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A live oak tree growing around a palm tree
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Salt air and sand are not good things for cars made of steel
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The salt marsh at the south end of Cumberland Island
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We weren't going to swim anyway
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The Sanderling is a kind of Sandpiper - and it got a crab!
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The book says these are Willits. Anyway, they stayed busy
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We're fascinated by the variety of shells on these beaches
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We've seen deceased horseshoe crabs on amost every beach we've visited
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There are about 250 wild horses on Cumberland Island, descendants of those released when the island was abandoned in the 1950s.
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Judy taking the previous picture. The horses don't usually find much to eat on the beach.
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These are Oyster Catchers.
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Lots of birds working the waves
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Neat patterns in the dune sand
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After a 3 mile walk along the beach, perfect civilization
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The deckhands from the ferry boat telling fish stories
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We were tailed all the way in by these birds, no doubt anticipating a treat
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That's a Laughing Gull - glided behind the ferry all the way home
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Sunset over St Mary's, Georgia
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The welcoming pelicans are on duty
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And a perfect sunset our last evening in Georgia