Traveler's Reflections, Part II

Traveler’s Reflections

Part 2

By John W. Vander Velden

 

So here is the second installment of our vacation story….

 

The next morning Jackie and I crossed the street from our hotel and went the short walk to the sea shore…It misted.  The tide was coming in and a wave caught me off guard and nearly reached my knees.  The squishing sound of my sneakers…brand new shoes at that…didn’t deter that special time.  There’s just something about the sound of crashing surf, the wind off the water, and the fresh salty scent that reaches deep within me.

Castillo de San Marcos

The rest of the day was heavy overcast but mostly dry.  We went to the fort and wandered about among the fourth and fifth graders enjoying their class outings…they came in bunches.  Then we moved around the old part of town, saw countless…well I didn’t count them…small shops, selling anything a tourist could want.  We walked the campus of Flagler College, saw Memorial Presbyterian Church, passed by the “Oldest House” in North America…saw that last time…walked most of the way across the Bridge of Lions.  A busy day really doing the tourist thing.

The next morning was overcast as well.  All the same I got up early…well not really, it was seven…and made my way to the shore, to catch the sun’s rising.  To my good fortune, there was just a narrow slit between the clouds at the horizon and the clouds that filled up the rest of the sky to allow a glorious moment of breathtaking color…Pictures to follow….

Atlantic Sunrise

After breakfast, it was road trip time again.  On northward to Brunswick Georgia…the Golden Isles to be exact.  This time I selected a hotel on Saint Simons Island.  You did notice it was Saint not St. didn’t you.  They’re quite particular.  We drove out to Christ’s Church.  The small white chapel built in 1880 is one of the most photographed places in the country.  Of course I took pictures… It was a place we had seen on our first trip and one site on the “required” stops list.  We had the good fortune to go into the church and hear about its history.  The windows are beyond imagination…absolutely gorgeous.  Hard to believe that stained glass over a hundred years old could

Christ's Church, Saint Simons Island

have such brilliant colors. 

A German Stain Glass Window

The clouds evaporated…I guess that’s the right word…by five PM.  We drove to the southern tip of the island to go to the lighthouse…see a pattern.  The Saint Simon Lighthouse was the first Jackie and I had ever climbed.  Back in ‘89 we didn’t know you could do such a thing.  So climbing the edifice was a priority.  It had been a wet dismal day all those years ago, but this time the afternoon sun shone out of a brilliant blue sky.  The view cannot be described, of ocean and bay on three sides.  I pity those that have not climbed the hundreds of steps, walked outside and around these important sentinels of the shoreline, and felt the breeze in their face.  It is like nowhere else. 

The day ended with dinner on a balcony of a place that claimed the best burgers on the island…Though I haven’t tried all the burger places on Saint Simons Island, I can believe the claim.

 

One part yet remains…until next time…