Richland Rum

Richland Rum revitalized Brunswick by redoing an old building and opening a distillery in the downtown area. Most of the other buildings in this quaint little town are now occupied and business are thriving and employing local people. Ben Affleck sparked the interest when he filmed the movie 'Live By Night' using this building.

About two hours away the town of Richland is home to the sugar cane fields used to brew this rum and to most of the brewing, but some is done in Brunswick. This Rum is all made in Georgia! Richland has also shared some of their rum barrels with a winery and a brewery for all involved to get amazing flavors. 

Cute bathroom with imaginative sink!

Brunswick is also home to the only tree that owns itself, Lovers Oak. This oak lived during the signing of the Constitution of the USA! When the town wanted to build a road they refused to remove this huge tree. The tree has branches extending over the road, sidewalk and into a yard!

    
Another item we saw in Brunswick was a bush used as curtains. The homeowners trimmed the bush to cover the shutters and window, no curtains needed!

 Jekyll Island, GA      November, 2020

Jekyll Island is paradise yet undiscovered with mostly open land. This island is mostly surrounded by large sandy beaches except a small area of marsh. The sand is the powder white  variety with very few shells. There are dunes around the beaches and the sand blows over the trails like snow drifts. There are beautiful Monarch Butterflies everywhere and they are not afraid to land on your hand or bike. 

There is a park style campground on the island that would fit any style of camping. Bike riding is the easiest way to get around the island and there are numerous trails to ride.

A cargo ship, the Golden Ray,  full of cars is being salvaged right off the shore on the port side. On our trip to GA we saw fields of corn, fields of cotton, fields of solar panels and just off the island in Brunswick, GA are fields of cars ready to board cargo ships. The car fields are as large as corn fields! Over 4,500 cars fit on each cargo ship and they each are loaded with about 1 gallon of gas. We were able to ride our bikes right out on the sand and down the beach in this area. There are also horseback rides on this beach. The first time we stopped to look around I parked my bike, looked down and found a perfect pair of Angle Wing shells! (my mom must be here with us!) 

There is a small airport on the island and it was full of small planes and jets. Inside the fence were numerous golf carts that the pilots use to drive home! There is not really a need for a car on this island.  

To enter Jekyll Island there is a ‘parking charge’ of $8.00. It was nice because there were places to park and no charge to use them.

The 4 H has a large camp on the island that was once The Dolphin Club used to integrate the island by letting entertainers on Chitlin Circuit perform. This area was in the movie,”The Green Book.”

The 1886 Jekyll Island was the playground for the nations leading families. The historic district has been renovated into hotels and quaint restaurants. The center of the district remains a pristine Croquet field overlooking the ocean! The leading financial leaders met on Jekyll to form the modern banking system, the Federal Reserve.

 Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island

This Fort has been preserved and shows how a small town is in the fort. The fort was established by General J. Oglethorpe and used to protect this area. The archaeological remains give quite a picture of life at the fort. 

Each building has a history. The “flesh market” sounds horrible, but it was their term for the butcher shop. Each freeholder was given a 60’ wide by 90’ deep plot for their shelter. Shelters were built with branches, leaves, and clam shells. There were streets much like today and divided the town. The shore was protected by cannons.

This is what a 100 plus year old tree looks like! It is at least 18' around!

 

Southern Retreat RV Park, Brunswick, GA

Another new adventure awaits here. The RV sites are large and easy to get into, mostly drive thru. It is very quiet and clean here!

Sidney Lanier Bridge, leading to Saint Simons Island,  is the tallest span of bridge in the state at 480 feet above the river. It is the sight of the toughest 5K in GA. 

    On SSI the streets are lined with huge Oak trees that shade the roads and have moss hanging from them. The moss draped oak trees have branches extending in all directions and some twisted branches are very low. The branches are not trimmed BUT there are signs informing ‘low branches’. Be careful of your head and roof of your car!!

We inquired at the Welcome Center of Saint Simons Island to find  places to ride bikes and we were told there wasn’t anywhere to ride. The lady at the welcome center had no idea the island was completely full of bike trails! 

There is a Mallery Street here that is almost a replica of Mallery St. in Key West!  Mallery Street is just as commercial as Key West and ends at St. Simons Island Pier. The Golden Ray is just off the pier! 

It's full of new cars and upside down!

In September, 2019, a cargo ship, Golden Ray, full of over 4,000 new automobiles was improperly loaded and top heavy causing it to flipped over just after leaving port. Since it has been capsized for over a year it is now considered ‘junked’. Soon salvage operations will begin to cut the ship into large pieces so that it can be loaded onto barges and removed. The story of the Golden Ray is on the net!

While on SSI we did the Tree Spirit Scavenger Hunt as a way to see the island. In the early 1980’s a woodworker wanted to leave his mark on the island so he meticulously carved intricate faces into several centuries-old live oak trees. Aptly named Tree Spirits, these faces are all unique and their stories were left to our interpretation. There are more than 20 Tree Spirits engraved in the oak trees but only seven are not on private property. 

Legend holds that a mystifying, but rarely seen, mermaid named Cora has lived in the seas off the Golden Isles for centuries. Cora has sun-kissed skin and hair that shines and those who do catch a glimpse will never forget her splendor. Although her outwardly appearance is magnificent, her true beauty lies within. Cora is the protector of the island's loggerhead turtles. Cora gently guides the loggerheads with a sweet humming sound onto  the shoreline. She then leads them out to sea, protecting them from any harm that may come their way. Because of Cora's careful guidance and protection, the island's endangered loggerhead hatchlings are able to grow and survive into adulthood.

Cora is carved right outside the Welcome Center!

The Simons Light House stands tall on the island and is only one of five surviving light towers in GA. There are 129 steps to the top and then an amazing view of the Golden Isles. 

Fort Frederica National Monument is at the end of the island and was used to protect the island. The remains of buildings from the fort are still visible and they are laid out like a modern day town. This fort is also the home of an Oak tree that is over 100 years old and 18 feet in circumference.

 

 Southern Trails RV Resort, Unadilla, GA

The best thing about this area is:  We’re Nuts Pecan Farm! We are staying two nights so that we have time for the pecan farm and to eat the delicious Smoakies BBQ in Cordele, carry out of course! The RV resort is in a pecan orchard so we were able to pick up as many pecans as we wanted.