Do you know or can you guess what they used the moss from live oaks for?

"Pat, I think someone is watching us!"

St. Simons Island was to be our trip Tues. but with Hurricane Nicole coming our way we didn't want to get stuck out on the island. Instead, we headed to downtown Brunswick. Brunswick itself has a population of only 15,000, but it is the county seat of Glynn County with a metropolitan population of 114,000. It seems like it has a lot to offer for the town's small size. 

Old City hall was completed in 1889 and was used until 1964. It was rennovated in 2003-2005 and currently serves as a part-time courthouse and is rented out for venues. 

In 1964 City Hall moved in with the U.S. Customs. This building was built in 1901 and rennovated in 2003-2005. Originally it served as the Post Office.

A large Federal Building

Glynn County is one of the 8 original counties in Georgia. The third courthouse, this building dates back to 1906/1907. The trees surrounding it were plentiful and beautiful.

War memorial honoring all branches of the service.

Built in 1899 the Ritz was originally an opera house that was converted to a movie theater. It now hosts live performances, films, and exhibits.

We chose Nautical Joe's for lunch based on two things. First I asked someone with a carry-out box for a good place to eat and Pat spotted two police cars parked outside. As well as a great spot to eat we felt very safe with 5 policemen in there!

Pat is supposed to be making a heart for a picture to send to granddaughter Lilah, celebrating her 14th birthday on the 8th.

Pat enjoyed a tasting at Richland Rum Distillery and found one to take home. 

A nice part of our tour of Brunswick's Historic Distric were the squares and parks.  There were several in a 4-5 block stretch.

Most have been or are being restored. Queen Square is made up of 4 corner parks. Each little park held a statue, fountain, or just a place to sit in the shade. 

Saturday we traveled to St. Simons Island, across the same causeway closed just 2 days prior due to Hurricane Nicole. No evidence to us that storms went through here. Our campground is probably 5 miles inland and we had moderate winds, rain, and one tornado warning that sent us to the bathroom (storm shelter in most parks). We visited outside with a few people and their dogs and when the severe weather had passed we went home.

St. Simons Island is public and quite commercial. Lots of stores and restaurants. Quite a contrast to Jekyll Island. We stopped at the Coast Guard Station-Beach Access first. Didn't  see a coast guard station, maybe it was in the past? The beach had lots of plant-life washed up, very few and short dunes, and a short beach area. How much of that was normal, due to the weekend storms, or because it was near high tide we have nothing to compare it with.

Red flag warning today.

To get to the beach you go past the World War II Museum. If we have time that would be a nice place to visit. 

You can get to the 12 mile long Sea Island, with it's 3 milesof beach and 4 golf courses, from St. Simons, so we thought why not check out their beach. Here's why not! We get across the causeway and there is a guard station. It is a completely private island so only members or those with reservations can get in. What does it cost to become a member? A mere $150,000 with annual dues of $12,000 for the all-inclusive package. I wonder, do you have to pay extra for golf? The average house is $3 million. We turned around.

Two Forts were on St. Simons, Fort St. Simons near the Lighthouse and Lighthouse Museum, and Fort Frederica (named for the Prince of  Wales Frederick Louis) on the Frederica River. St. Simons Island was a disputed territory. The Spanish claimed it and the British built both forts to defeat Spain. At some point Spain just gave up.

Fort Frederica was interesting. It was built surrounded by a wall and then a moat. A town was built behind with protection provided by the fort and it's own wall. Excavation of this site began shortly after the fort became a National Monument in 1947.

Street signs helped identify the streets that were in the town.

The site was filled with live oaks.

Back in the day they used the moss to fill pillows and mattresses.

The branches get so heavy they have to be supported.

Several foundations have been unearthed.

This was a two story duplex with evidence of two wine cellars. Archeologists think it was destroyed by fire, perhaps the Great Town Fire of 1758.

Archeologists believe the Kings Magazine had 3 parts. Less than half of the 95' structure remains. On the left, still partially intact, were two vaults for protecting gunpowder.

Up close you can see the shells in the tabby construction.

This cannon could shoot a 12 pound cannonball one mile. 

This brick structure, which was capped to preserve it, may have been part of the blacksmith shop. 

The wall around the fort was on top of this ridge and the depression on the right was the moat.

The barracks formed a square with an open parade in the middle.

This African American Burial Ground was discovered in 2019.

Lunch! I told Pat he could pick because his last choice was vetoed when we walked into a horrible smell. He tried to tell me we could just eat outside. As King Clarence (yes, I have become addicted to dog videos) would say, "No fluffin' way!"

Iguanas, a local seafood restaurant, was great. Known for their wild Georgia Shrimp, Pat got a crabcake and we shared my fried clams and delicious hush puppies.🙂 Why does Red Lobster give you maybe 3 hush puppies? Iguana's did it right with a dozen. It was located in the pier area so after lunch we checked out the shops, walked down to the pier, and over to the lighthouse.

The St. Simons Lighthouse was only a few blocks away. A plaque paid tribute to Fort St. Simons. One of only 5 surviving lighthouses in Georgia, it has 129 steps. I'm sure it had beautiful views of the Golden Isles but Pat didn't care to go up and I've been nursing a bum knee, leg, or ankle not sure which, for 2 months and it WAS, (see later) getting better.

A group busking

Oh darn, there was a sign prohibiting climbing on Wally.

St. Simons Lighthouse

A craft market today.

I almost stepped on this little guy. 

Getting ready to leave the Island when I remembered the tree spirits. Beginning in the 1980's Keith Jennings, now joined by his son, have carved about 20 faces into the island's famous oak trees. I love a good hunt. A map gave a general idea of the tree spirit locations but it still took some looking to find them. At first I said I would settle for finding a couple, then maybe 2 or 3 more, and somewhere in there things went south.

By South, I mean my ankle. I was circling a tree, looking for a spirit looking down at me, when I tripped. Not unusual for me, and this was a very small trip. No dramatic runs or falls, but my ankle really hurt. I found a couple of more spirits and by then Pat was done and I could no longer stand on my foot so we were finished.

Where are the Piepers now? Brunswick, GA