Heading North Two Lane Adventure - 2nd Leg

We started out today from Jekyll Island GA, traveling along US 17 N into Brunswick GA. We traveled along the Marshes of Glynn County. 100 years ago Georgia poet Sydney Lanier immortalized the Georgia marshes in his poem "The Marshes of Glynn."  Check it out sometime! Crossing the causeway today, we saw the marshes that stretch out to the horizon line on either side. This no man's land is a nutrient rich system of bio-degradables that are efficiently recycled by organisms you will never see but who are responsible for the shrimp you had for dinner last night. All along these marshes we saw signs for shell recycling locations. Shucked oyster shell are needed to cultivate and restore oyster beds. Shells need to be returned to the estuary to provide a suitable surface to attract juvenile oysters. More often than not, the shell ends up in driveways and landfills. Recycling your shells will help restore, preserve, and enhance the state's inshore marine habitat. Oysters reefs provide habitat for fish, shrimp, crabs, and other animals. Why is this area called the "Golden Isles." The dreams of the coast’s earliest explorers who traveled from afar and waded ashore in pursuit of glittering treasures and riches.  The color gold prevails here; in the hues of our beautiful beach sands, in the warmth of the summer’s sun, in the shades that paint the vast marsh grasses in winter and in the rich treasures that are experienced here, year round, by residents and visitors. The Golden Isles of Georgia are a group of four barrier islands and the mainland port city of Brunswick on the 100-mile-long coast of the U.S. state of Georgia on the Atlantic Ocean. They include St. Simons Island, Sea Island, Jekyll Island, Little St. Simons Island, and Historic Brunswick. Since the American Civil War, all the islands have become elite resorts frequented by some of the nation's wealthiest families. New Hope Plantation lies between the west bank of the South Altamaha River and the Coastal highway. This 1,100 acre tract is all that remains of a Crown grant made in 1763 to Henry Laurens. General Laurens obtained control of vast acreages of South Altamaha river lands and named it New Hope Plantation. At one time New Hope included what is now Hofwyl Plantation. Hofwyl was separated from New Hope shortly after 1804 and subsequently acquired by the Brailsford-Dent family who retained it for over 160 years. Hofwyl adjoins the north boundary of New Hope and is now a Georgia State Historic Site. Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation is a beautiful plantation represents the history and culture of Georgia’s rice coast. In the early 1800s, William Brailsford of Charleston carved a rice plantation from marshes along the Altamaha River. The plantation and its inhabitants were part of the genteel low country society that developed during the antebellum period. While many factors made rice cultivation increasingly difficult in the years after the Civil War, the family continued to grow rice until 1913. Not all plantations are part of the old history of the area, the Telfair Plantation is the amazing new equestrian minded community just over the bridge from Savannah, GA. We saw all kinds of animals today, at least as far as roads go! We saw Gopherhill Rd, Parrot Perch Lane, Buck Hill Swamp, and Bull Point. We did see plenty of wildlife management areas. Altamaha Waterfowl Hunting & Management Area consists of 3,154 acres of managed waterfowl impoundments and some 27,000 acres of bottomland hardwoods and cypress-tupelo swamps. Also the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1962 . It consists of 2,762 acres of saltwater marsh, grassland, mixed deciduous woods, and cropland located on an abandoned military airfield in McIntosh County, Georgia. The land was deeded to a former slave in 1865 by a plantation owner. Black families settled in the area and built houses as well as oyster and crab processing factories. there was the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge lies on both the South Carolina and Georgia sides of the Savannah River just upriver from the city of Savannah, Georgia. The refuge has 28,168 acres including bottomland hardwoods and tidal freshwater marsh. A 3,000 acre fringe area of upland hardwoods exists along the eastern boundary. An additional 3,000 acres are for management of migratory wading birds and waterfowl. These freshwater impoundments were formerly the rice fields of plantations dating back to the mid or late 1700's. Many of the dikes enclosing these pools were originally built during the rice culture era. The refuge is home to a large variety of wildlife including: ducks, geese, wading birds, shorebirds and several endangered and/or threatened species including bald eagles, wood storks, manatees and shortnose sturgeon. The refuge also provides nesting areas for wood ducks, great horned owls, bald eagles, osprey and swallow-tailed kites among others. Saving the best fir last ... the Bear Island Wildlife Area is an undeveloped 12,021-acre in Sea Island in Colleton County, SC. The area is open to the public and is a popular spot for hiking, biking, birding, fishing, and hunting. A wide variety of waterfowl species inhabit the area. The area shuts down periodically for special hunts. Every thing I talked about is on or off US 17. We remained on US 17 N most of the day, we traveled through the Historic City of Midway which features The Midway Museum, which is home to documents, exhibits, and furnishings associated with the Midway Society from the Colonial period through its last meeting in December, 1865. The Midway Museum was Georgia's first colonial museum. We really love these two lane adventures because no big box stores, me get to see small town stores that people really do shop at. We loved the tree lined medians in Richmond Hills. Fort McAllister Historic Park is located on the banks of the Ogeechee River, this scenic park showcases the best-preserved earthwork fortification of the Confederacy. The earthworks were attacked seven times by Union ironclads but did not fall until 1864 -- ending Gen. William T. Sherman’s “March to the Sea.”  You can explore the grounds with cannons, a furnace, bombproof, barracks, palisades and more, while a Civil War museum contains artifacts, and gift shop. Nestled among giant live oaks, Spanish moss and salt marsh, this park is a beautiful location to visit. The n
ationally recognized South Carolina National Heritage Corridor is a grassroots initiative designed to use natural, cultural, and historic resources to provide economic development through tourism.  Conceived and initiated in one rural community, the 240-mile corridor has grown to include 14 counties of western South Carolina. The management of the corridor combines a non-profit partnership board, state agencies, regional boards, local governments and private sector partners to create a network of sponsors that touch every aspect of the 14 corridor countries. As testament to its significance, the South Carolina Heritage Corridor attained federal designation as a national Heritage Area in 1996. Ridgeland SC motto is "old values, new vision." It was founded as a railroad stop at the highest point between Charleston and Savannah, Ridgeland offers the best for visitors and residents alike. For visitors, they have choice shopping, restaurants, and lodging, as well as a growing park system anchored by the Blue Heron Nature Trail. For residents, they offer the small-town feel while remaining centered in a growing region ripe for living and business opportunities. Port Royal Sound is a coastal sound, or inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the Sea Islands region, in Beaufort County South Carolina. It is the estuary of several rivers, the largest of which is the Broad River. We love our fairs and festivals, the Colleton County Rice Festival in Walterboro, South Carolina is an annual event featuring beautiful arts and crafts, fantastic food, spectacular fireworks, great bands and music and other live entertainment. Rice has a history in Colleton County dating back to 1685. During the annual Rice Festival they celebrate the heritage of rice in this community and the beauty of the people and land that continue to bless this great country. We ended our day 1/2 mile off of US 17 N at Lake Aire RV Park. We stopped for the day when it was raining hard. After the rain stopped we enjoyed the family of geese and other water fowl. Stay tuned for more tomorrow.