March 31st, Saturday – What in the World!

What in the world is that, was that?  To give you some background on what transpired a night ago.  I have a small window right next to my side of the bed.  Usually I leave it open just a bit every night for some fresh air.  Well, this one night, actually very early in the morning I came wide awake because it sounded like a car alarm was going off.  What in the world was going on?  The what, I only discovered the next day,  the alarm was this

little guy who is known as a Chuck-will’s-widow.  Chuck-will’s-widow forages at dusk and dawn, silently swooping over the ground in search of prey.  Specialized feathers help funnel insects into the bird’s mouth, which is so large that they may occasionally swallow small birds and bats as well!  Chuck-will’s-widows do not build nests, instead laying their eggs on the ground among dead leaves, pine needles, or on bare dirt. Incubating adults are almost invisible against the forest floor and only flies off their nests when closely approached.  So this little guy was my car alarm, that night and every night since.  Google him and listen to his song.

So, we come to this morning.  The sun wasn’t having any of this coming up over the horizon type of experience.  The clouds were thick and low and the temperatures were down in the 50’s.  Not to mention, that the wind was whipping through the site flapping the awning in a grand fashion.  Later at the boat ramp we took a picture of white caps

out on the St. Marys river.  Sort of hard to see but they were there trust me.  The kids and their parent were bundled up out on the pier but having a grand time fishing off the dock.

Time now to go out and discovery something new.  We had come across a museum we missed a few days ago so that was our destination for today.  It was called the

Cumberland Island National Seashore Museum.  In retrospect, we wished we had been able to come here before our tour of Cumberland Island.   The museum provides a great background on the island’s history that would have been great to know before you take the tour.  Therefore, if you are able some day to take the tour of the island our recommendation would be to stop here before you take the tour.

During our time in the museum, we discovered that the Timucuan Indians were some of the earliest inhabitants of Cumberland Island.  Sometime around 1000 years ago,

Eastern Timucuan Indians, arrived on Cumberland Island and lived off the island’s abundance, eating shellfish, game, and edible plants. They called the island Mocama, which is the Timucuan word for “ocean.”   The Indians usually used canoes to travel between the mainland and the island as well as traveling on the various creeks and rivers of the island.. This allowed them to harvest fish, shellfish, plants, and other resources of the island.  Below is what remains of a typical canoe that they used.

Moving forward in time we come to the time before the Carriages.  Revolutionary War

hero Nathan Green  was one of the first to build what would be known as Dungeness.  He had acquired 11,000 acres of island land in exchange for a bad debt. After his death, his widow built a four-story mansion in 1803.  The house was built of tabby which is a mixture of lime, sand and oyster shells.

The house was four stories high and contained forty rooms.

Another influential individual on the island was Robert Stafford.  He came to the island as a servant and became the leading planter on his native Cumberland Island. Specializing in the highly valued long-staple variety of cotton, he claimed among his assets more than 8,000 acres and 350 slaves.  The picture below is that of his plantation on Cumberland Island which was subsequently sold to the Carnegie’s and which they continue to use today.   Most of the out buildings are gone but the main house remains.  The cotton fields in time became a golf course and today the golf course has been turned into a grass air strip.

And then there was Thomas and Lucy Carnegie.  Lucy is the woman in the picture below with the fur draped over her shoulders.  Standing only some 5 feet tall she was nevertheless a powerhouse of a woman.

Below are some pictures of the forms of transportation that were commonly used by the inhabitants of the island.

There is so much more but there simply isn’t time nor space to include it all even though I wish I could.  Put the museum, the Island tour on your bucket list, it’s a decision you will never regret.

Having enjoyed our time at the museum we now headed for home.  But wait, what was this?  It was food truck Saturday in St Marys!  And guess which truck caught our eye?

Oh yes Funnel Cakes!  This was one truck, one treat that we could not pass by.  I tried to

get a picture of our own funnel cake but we were too busy eating it to take a picture of it!

We’ve come now to the end of our day.  It’s been a full and interesting one.  We were able to discover a lot of new things.  We discovered a very interesting bird that lives in this  area, learned more about Cumberland Island, wolf down a funnel cake, and we also were able to finish setting up our budget in Quickbooks.   Moreover we did it all together, side by side.  What more could we ask for.  All in all we packed a lot into this day that God had given us.  How about you?  Hopefully your day was just as full of wonderful new things.  We trust that you too were able to make the most of every minute that the day afforded you.

In saying good night, we want to say to one and all

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.  Thanks again for sharing our day with us.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before