Day 7 of our 2025 RVing Adventure with Historical & Musical Interludes

For day 7 of our 2025 summer adventure we traveled in a two RV caravan from St Augustine to Richmond Hill, just south of Savannah.

We crossed the "Lion Bridge" and passed the Castillo de San Marcos. It is a 17th-century Spanish stone fortress with views of the St. Augustine Inlet. 

This massive fortress was built to protect the city from foreign invasions during Spanish rule and is the oldest remaining European Fort in the USA. It is an amazing structure made of coquina stone.

We took 295 around Jacksonville and got onto Highway 17. We will travel on Highway 17 for most of the trip today. US 17 was one of the original routes of the US Numbered Highway System, which was established in 1926. Jacksonville is called The River City for good reason. The wide St Johns River bisects this sprawling city and runs into the Atlantic Ocean to the east while the whole of a large St Johns tributary, the Trout River, lies completely inside the Jacksonville city limits. Add a high water table and land that, at its highest point, is only 40 feet above sea level, and you have a very watery place that's prone to flooding, with more than 13 percent of the sprawling city's 875 square miles, the largest surface area of any US city in the lower 48, under water.

Jacksonville has seven major bridges over the St Johns River and one over the Trout River for a total of eight major bridges for road traffic in Jacksonville. We crossed the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge (or, the Dames Point Bridge) over the St John’s River. At two miles long, the Dames Point Bridge is the longest concrete cable bridge in the United States. It seems to be a popular place for ghosts. The 1988 structure is said to be haunted by an African-American woman whose apparition is seen walking along the bridge. Reports say she died when she was thrown over the bridge by an unknown attacker. Several others are rumored to have intentionally jumped from the bridge.

We went through Yulee Florida. The community was named for David Levy Yulee, a United States Senator from Florida. After Yulee, we quickly approached the FL / GA line. The Florida Georgia State line along US 17 is the St. Mary's River. It is actually a rambling stream of black-water that separates Florida & Georgia on the east coast. It starts in the Okefenokee Swamp and winds along a 130 mile path leading to the Atlantic Ocean & the Cumberland Sound. Total distance "as the crow flies" is about 40 miles.

A long this section of US 17 is the “95 Coastal State Bicycle Route.” It runs from the Florida Georgia line to South Carolina. The interesting fact is … we have seen zero bicycles along this route!

This route is also the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. It is a federal National Heritage Area and it was established to recognize the unique culture of the Gullah Geechee people who have traditionally resided in the coastal areas and the sea islands of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Throughout the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor today there are vibrant and historic Gullah Geechee communities to visit.

Kingsland, Georgia, has a rich history, rooted in its location within Camden County, one of Georgia's oldest counties. The town's history includes significant roles in the War of 1812, the story of influential families like the Joseph family, and the legacy of the Kinlaw Rosenwald School. Kingsland was named after William Henry King. The town was founded in 1894 and incorporated in 1908. 

We passed 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! 

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. 

Gary & Sheryl enjoyed the drive along this two lane road. Sheryl especially liked the tree canopies that we drove under several times along this trip.