ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA & JECKLYE ISLAND, GEORGIA

This morning we finally took the time to put our big sticker of the United States on the camper next to the Great Race sticker.  As you travel to each state you place that state’s sticker on showing which states you have been too.  The kids were extremely excited to put it on and place all the stickers of the states that we have been to so far.  We plan on going through 35 states so that sticker should be nicely covered by the time we get home.

Today we are off to the oldest continually occupied city in the United States.  Do you know where it is and its name?  St. Augustine, Florida.  

 It was founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, and it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United States.    St. Augustine lies in a region of Florida known as "The First Coast", which extends from Amelia Island in the north to Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and Palm Coast in the south. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 12,975.    St. Augustine is the headquarters for the Florida National Guard.   It was first explored by Pounce De Leon in 1513 who was a Spanish explorer, and claimed it as their territory.   Beginning in 1562 the French came in and took over the land claiming it for their own and the French and Spanish fought for it continually for 3 years.  The Spanish finally won it back and settled there, building the fort the still remains there to this day.     

We drove through the beautiful beach town that reminded me of Carmel, California.   We came to the fort and unfortunately there was really no place to park the RV.  They allowed us to park in the bus zone for a few minutes while we took some pictures.  It was an incredible fort and I’m sure worth the tour, which probably wasn’t long. 

We all gathered back into the RV for another 2 hour drive to Jeckyll Island, Georgia.  As we drove through north Florida heading towards Jacksonville,  we came upon some wooded areas and I felt a sudden déjà vu!!     I had to think for a moment why and then I realized when I went on the Great Race with my dad in 2004 we started in Jacksonville and we had a practice run through these back roads of Jacksonville.   It brought back great memories and as we drove for the next 30 minutes I explained to Shelley the whole details of the race.   

As drove over the bridge to the Island we stopped at the entrance booth asking where the Sea Turtle Rescue Center was and she said to follow the turtles.  Ha . . . so adorable!

Why is a Sea Turtle Center Needed in Georgia you may be wondering like I was.  Well, Stranded sea turtles are often found along Atlantic coast beaches. While most are dead, a small but increasing number are still alive. Before, there were no facilities in Georgia to treat the turtles, and they had to be transported long distances to centers in Florida and South Carolina.   In February 2006, the  Georgia Sea Turtle Center was built which is  a marine turtle rehabilitation, research, and education facility on Jekyll Island.   It provides emergency care to sick and injured sea turtles, with opportunities for scientific research and long-term treatment.  We explored exhibits on sea turtle conservation, rehabilitation, and their amazing journey from egg to adulthood.   

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When we went into the back rehab area we were fortunate to hook on a school group where the docent was talking all about their injured turtles.    Several turtles were there because they were sick, one was hit by a boat, a baby turtle was blind, and one had been there for 2 years and just refused to go back to the sea . . . they had tried 3 times to put her back but she just kept coming back to shore.   This one turtle just could sink so they did surgery on it and was rehabilitating it with weights

 It was a fascinating facility and we thoroughly enjoyed learning about these adorable creatures.

On our way off the island we drove around looking at all the beautiful buildings and resorts.  We saw a tour tram, of mostly older people of course, which looked like a great way to see the island.  It reminded us of the Great Gatsby era atmosphere.  We had to get on our way to Hilton Head Island, but we were thankful for the short visit. 

Two hours later we arrived at our lovely Disney’s Hilton Head Resort on Hilton Head Island.  We are so looking forward to some relaxation on the beach.    We had to drop off all the kids and check in quickly and then go park our RV over at the local storage facility.   When we all got into the room, it was heavenly with two full bedrooms and two full bathrooms.  I told the kids to enjoy it while we have it because this is the only hotel that we have!  Too bad we don’t have one like this at the very end!!