Cumberland Island

The kids and I recently took a day trip to Cumberland Island National Seashore with some friends of ours.  I cannot believe that we live so close to this gem and have never visited.  It is amazingly beautiful.  The majority of the island is designated a national seashore.  It is pretty much wilderness- you have to bring all food and drink with you because once you get on the island nothing is sold.  The only cars on the island are the few that are used by national park personnel.

The island can only be reached by boat, so we booked passage on the ferry in advance.  We arrived at the main land visitor's center about 30 minutes prior to sailing and enjoyed checking out the few exhibits that they had.

Before boarding the ferry, we listened to the ranger's orientation speech.  We had five hours on the island and we had to be at the dock for our return trip (or we'd be stuck on the island). There were two docks where we could re-board.  The ranger suggested that we get off at the southern most dock, explore the island, and then re-board at the Sea Camp dock for the return trip.  We decided to follow his advice.  It was a little chilly on the ferry ride, so we sat inside and ate our picnic lunch.

Upon reaching the island, we disembarked to find a dirt road lined with live oak trees.  The main thing that we wanted to see on the island was the wild horses.  We had hyped the horses up so much to the kids that not seeing them would have probably been a disaster.  As we walked down the road, the kids kept their eyes peeled for horse tracks.  These were not hard to find.

After a short hike we reached the Dungeness Ruins.  Dungeness was a large estate built by the Carnagies (Cumberland was a private retreat for the wealthy back in the day).

We continued walking until we reached the old cemetery.  We had seen lots of horse tracks and manure, but no horses.

As we set out over the marsh, we finally spotted 5 feral horses grazing in the distance.  The kids were super excited.

We got off of the boardwalk and tried to get as close as we could to these wild animals.  They were out in the marsh, so we had to stop once the ground got muddy.

After taking several pictures of the grazing horses, we returned to the marked path and started making our way over the dunes toward the beach.

As we were walking toward the beach, we heard a rustling in the brush.  A young horse popped out about 20 feet from us.  I think we startled him (and he certainly surprised us).  He stood there and looked at us for a minute and then walked away.  We were all standing there with our mouths hanging open.  This was the highlight of the trip.

After our wild horse encounter, we continued to the beach.  I know I am usually hard on the beaches of Georgia  (because they suck), but the beach at Cumberland was actually quite nice.  It reminded me a lot of Fernandina but it was wider and there was hardly anyone on it.  It was too cold to get in the water, so we walked down the beach and tried to identify the shells and creatures that we came across.

 

We exited the beach near the Sea Camp dock.  We crossed the dunes to find ourselves in a beautiful maritime forest with live oaks trees.  These trees had large, low-hanging branches.  They were practically begging to be climbed, and the kids were happy to oblige.

After a snack and short break we made our way to the Sea Camp area so that we could board the ferry.  We got there a little early and were able to hear a ranger program about identifying shells and wildlife on the beaches of Georgia.  It was interesting,  Our day ended with a ferry ride back to the mainland.  I was really very impressed with this island and am looking forward to a return trip.

Bikes

 I am pleased to announce that we have two bike riders.  Last weekend something clicked for Owen and he started riding.  Olivia learned how to ride this past summer, so both kids are now good to go. I foresee us being on our bikes more and more as the weather improves.  

Breast Cancer Half Marathon

 So the way that these races work is that the longer you wait to sign up, the more expensive the race becomes.  I'm pretty cheap and tend to sign up as early as possible.  I signed up last summer to run my favorite marathon- the 26.2 w/ Donna (national breast cancer marathon) the following February.  Unfortunately, my stress fracture put a dent in my training plans, and I knew that there was no way I could complete a full marathon.  As the race date approached, I debated over if I should run at all because I haven't had enough time to get my speed or mileage back up.  In the end I decided to switch my race to the half marathon and give it a go.  I'm so glad that I did.  This was the most beautiful running day that I've ever seen.  The weather was perfect.

I didn't have high hopes for a great finish time and I was a little concerned about not getting injured again, so I ran the whole race at an easy pace.  Quincy usually runs this race w/ me but she couldn't this year because she had to work.  I pulled out my phone at several points along the course to take selfie of me running and send it to her so that she could see what she was missing.  I know she appreciated that (haha).  I ended w/ a time of 2:12:21.  I was hoping to finish around 2:15, so I was happy to beat my goal.  Have I mentioned how happy I am to be running again?

Stache Dash 5k

 Last weekend Quincy and I ran the C-Mo's Kids Stache Dash.  This is the first 5k at "full speed" that I've done since my stress fracture.  I could not have picked a better comeback race.  The course was really good.  Part of it was over a boardwalk next to a river.  It was really lovely.  Quincy and I were both impressed with the run and have declared it a keeper.  As far as my time goes, it was better than I thought it would be.  I ran a 27.46, and I'm happy with that.  Quincy ran very well and placed second in her age group.  I am very happy to be running again.  I really missed it.

The Father-Daughter Dance

 The Father-Daughter Dance is always a much looked-forward-to event for both Brian and Olivia.  This year was no exception.  Olivia started planning her outfit and hairstyle weeks in advanced.  She chose to wear the navy blue dress that Poppy and Nana got her for Christmas and she wanted to wear her hair down in curls.  Her date arrived promptly at 5:30 with a corsage in his hand.  After a few quick pictures, Brian and Olivia were off to eat at her favorite restaurant and then to the dance.  They returned around 9:30 with tales of how much fun they had had.  Olivia saw her cousins and several of her friends at the dance and they all danced the night away.  I am so glad that our community has this opportunity available.  It's such a special time for fathers and their daughters.

While Brian and Liv were at the dance, Owen and I had our own little date.  We went out to eat at Chic-Filet and then to see Paddington at the movies.  We also had a great time.

Basketball

 Owen and Olivia both participated in basketball with the rec. department this year.  I must confess that I was pretty excited for them to try this sport.  I played b-ball every year from the time I was in elementary school until I graduated from high school, and I was hoping that the kids would also find a love for this game.  Not only did they love the game- both of them have declared it their own favorite.

 Olivia played in the 7/8 year old division.  Ava and Claire were also playing in this division, and I was really hoping that they would be on the same team.  All of the kids were on different softball teams last year, and it was difficult to get to see them all play.  Fortunately, Kelly decided to coach a team and drafted Olivia.  We had the best little team.  All of the girls played so hard and worked so well together.  My niece Ava is a really good ball player and she scored the majority of the points for the team.  Olivia and Claire also did well- especially for it being their first year.  Olivia was really good at hustling and getting after the ball.  She took several shots during the year, but none of them went in.  During the last game of the season she got fouled and rang one of her foul shots.  She was so excited to have scored.

 Owen played in the "cubs" division.  This division was really more about having fun than anything else.  The rules were not exactly enforced (at all).  Owen enjoyed it, but I think that he probably could have gone up a division.  During the season, Owen scored one regular basket and also one foul shot.

Even though basketball season was fun, I am glad that it is over.  For the last month we have been at the gym five nights a week with games.  It is going to be nice to have a break- at least until softball/baseball starts =)

Olivia's WINGS Fieldtrip

 Olivia recently went with her WINGS class on a field trip to Statesboro.  While there, the students got to participate in a lot of fun and educational activities.








The day began with a 6:30 a.m. meet-up time.  Like Owen's WINGS trip, this one included a charter bus.  Neither Brian nor I could attend, so Gigi filled in as chaperone.  By her account, the fieldtrip was a success.

 The first stop on the field trip was the Georgia Southern Center for Wildlife Education / Lamar Q. Ball Jr. Raptor Center.  While there, the students learned about birds of prey and wildlife native to Georgia.  The kids also got to go on a scavenger hunt, see a flight demonstration, and touch some animals.

 Each kid had their "wing span" measured.  Based on her span, if Olivia were a bird, she would be a snowy owl (her favorite bird).

 The kids also visited a planetarium, which was great because Olivia's current science unit is the space unit.  It was nice that she could get a visual representation of the things that she is learning about.  I don't have any pictures from the planetarium, but it sounded like a lot of fun.

The happy travelers returned mid-afternoon with a stuffed Eagle named "eggy", and many tales of their trip.