This park is known for the Manatee who come into the springs each winter. It’s extremely difficult to get a spot to camp at this park because it’s so popular. I luckily managed to get 4 night, changing spots 3 times.

1st night in spot 38, next 2 nights in site 5 and the last night in site 32. Lucky Pearl’s easy to move.

The big draw was the Manatees! When I arrived the count was 314. The next day, the count was 415, the next day was 525, the day I left it was 620. They were coming in because the St. John River water was Cold! The water in the springs was a constant 72. I have never seen so many at one time here.

Another 1st time staying at this park. They have about 34 sites beach side and another 34 across A1A. These sites are along the Intercoastal waterway. I was in the ‘river’ campground. As you can imagine, the beach sites book up quickly.  There was a beautiful trail that takes you from the campground to the beach, so Pearl was able to stay parked and I walked. Not just the trail, but along the beach as well. So relaxing especially as the weather warmed up into the 70’s.

As the weather has been so cold in south Georgia, I am moving south into Florida earlier than I have in the past. This was a new state park campground for me. It was beautiful and sites were extremely large. Trails were easy to follow as well. Even though going down into the ravine was a little strenuous. The only downer was the target practice heard from the National Gaurd training facility across the road. 1st weekend of the month is something to keep in mind if visiting again. And I will come back, it was a very nice campground.

Love this park and why I always try to spend time here. Also, it’s great that it’s very close to the North entrance of the Okefenokee swamp! Yea!! More swamp time as well as great trails. I had a great time at the campground and took a short drive to the Okefenokee Swamp Park. Lucky me, I was the only one on the boat tour, the reptile experience, and the train ride!

This is another of my favorite Georgia parks. Bonus was driving by the east entrance to the Swamp on my way to another campground!! So you can say I got my Swamp fill. It’s always so peaceful and relaxing in the Okefenokee and it recharges me.

As I left my sister and her husband in Brunswick to set sail; I headed to Crooked River State Park to camp. This is one of my favorite places. St. Mary’s is a cute town, little shops and gateway to Cumberland Island, part of the National Seashore. The campground itself is incredible. 2 different loops for campers. Huge sites, multiple trails that interconnect so you can go for a short walk or a long one. It’s also on the intercostal waterway, so boating (or kayaking, which is my speed), is easily accessible. Oh, and there’s also a submarine museum. I opted to hike the trails and enjoy some ‘Patty time’.

I headed back to Evans to help my sister and her husband get back to their boat near Brunswick. As they’ve been sailing full time for the last 3 years, they’ve missed sailing. This winter will be spent in and around the Florida keys and Bahamas. I was happy to help with some home projects as well as a couple boat projects. Pearl was packed up with all their provisions needed to set sail again.

They are now on their way south bound! If you’re interested in following their adventures below is the blog info.

As I wasn’t ready to rejoin family yet, I camped a few days here at Magnolia Springs. Love this park. There’s so much to do on the weekends as well as multiple trails to walk. Unfortunately,  I  missed the Archery lessons this time around. It was also Cold and Windy while I was here. So no fires or kayaking in the small lake.

I have been here before and always enjoy the peace and quiet. Nice trails and a number of historic places to explore. It was also a close campground after flying back from Traverse City to Jacksonville, then  driving to Brunswick to drop me off at Pearl while they continued on to Evans.

There are a lot of deer who freely wander the campground. So cool to get close to them without them running away. Mom and baby were not as comfortable with me being so close.

My sister Mary found a great deal flying from Jacksonville to Traverse City, Michigan. So after some calls to sisters in both Charleston and Charlevoix, we booked the flight. This was a chance to visit Mom and have a sisters weekend. Dave was our transportation from Brunswick and their boat to Jacksonville. We opted to camp the night before our 7Am flight. 

We met up with my sister Kathy in Chicago and, as luck, had it, were on the same flight to TC.

Mom was thrilled to have all her girls home to visit. We each had 1 on 1 time with Mom and each other. A couple of dinners out, painting some simple pictures and playing euchre. It was great fun. We also helped Mom with her Christmas cards and did a little shopping.