Our Real Motives for Stopping in Georgia

Aunt Susan, in blue, helps the kids with their crafts.  Jonah got to hang out with the older kids while Maeryn got the benefit of more one on one attention.

We never planned to spend a lot of time in Georgia.

We'd been there.  We'd seen it.  And there just wasn't a whole lot we wanted to do...  especially after we drove all over Jekyll Island and realized that besides the sea turtle center it's really just a bunch of yuppidy golf courses and barren shores in a wealthy snow bird neighborhood.  (Not that we have anything against wealthy snow birds...)

Our real reason for stopping here at all was the hope that we might see Michael's Uncle Dean and Aunt Susan at some point along the way.

We called them on our arrival, but they didn't call us back.

Dean and Susan are both teachers, and this is a hectic time of year, so we figured they were just too busy to hang out...

But just in case they missed our call or changed their phone number, we called Michael's grandmother and asked her for their most recent digits.

Ah - no more land line.  Cell phones only.  And so we called Aunt Susan.

They were busy.

Uncle Dean is the choir director at church and they were prepping for the annual cantata.  Aunt Susan is in charge of the children's Christmas pageant.  These things on top of teaching a the local public school (Dean is the head of the fine arts department and also the theatre teacher, Susan is an English teacher - yeah, you can't tell we're family at all)...  Maybe it's not going to work out this time?

"No, no, you guys should come.  We'll do dessert or something after choir practice.  I'm doing a craft thing for the kids.  Your kids should come!"

And so we did.

We had a blast!

The kids observed Christmas Pageant rehearsal and then joined in with the cast to make a cool craft out of puzzle pieces, paints, and glue, then played a rousing game of cops and robbers on the church grounds.  Many of the kids were waiting after craft time for their parents to finish with choir practice, so Michael joined in the game while supervising the rumpus.  I took advantage and sat in the Sunday School building taking in the beautiful, beautiful silence (amidst the occasional scream of defeat or glory from outside).

Choir practice ended later than expected (not a surprise - tis the Season), but we were all still up for dessert.

Applebees was one of the few places still open.

Chocolate fudge brownies and ice cream all around (chicken fingers and fries for Jonah types).

We had great conversation about students and education and the arts and the future of all of those things over our plates and bowls.

So nice to reconnect with family and to conspire with like minds.

I felt a little lump in my throat as we hugged and said our goodbyes.

We weren't in Georgia for much longer.  The purpose had been served.

Georgia Sea Turtle Center

Sea Turtle ER

When I researched the area in Georgia where we were staying, the only thing I really wanted to check out was the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island.  As a young girl I wanted nothing more than to grow up to become a marine biologist.  Along the way my dreams were somewhat dashed.  The lies:  "You have to be good at math to be a biologist, and you aren't very good at math."  and "You are really only a B science student, you aren't capable of anything more."  Of course those things echoed in my mind over the "You really should ditch this English teaching nonsense and teach science."  and "You have so much promise in organic chemistry."  and the fact that I was able to literally sleep through my college biology class and still get an A...

I'm not sure why we humans are so quick to latch onto the negative things and toss aside the positive.

Regardless, I am glad I was able to learn so much about English literature and teach so many about the wonders of metaphor, simile, and symbolism, but I have never lost my great love for marine life and science in all of its forms.

We lucked out and the sea turtle center had discounts for homeschoolers.  I got in for FREE as the "homeschool teacher".

After we paid (or didn't!), we each got a baby sea turtle card as our I.D. for our visit.  In each area of the center, there was a button to press (randomly placed).  You could choose between four buttons (blindly).  Once you pressed the button onto your I.D. you got to see what happened to you as you traveled from hatchling on to the big ocean and possible adulthood.

Inside the center you could see a baby sea turtle rescued on the beaches of Jekyll Island swimming in a tank, the turtle emergency and trauma center, videos about sea turtles, sea turtle foods (in the flesh and swimming or crawling inside tanks), and a myriad of ways that you can help sea turtles to survive and thrive in the wild.

Inside the center.

This is one of the button stations.  This was asked "How long did I live?"  Only my turtle lived to adulthood.

Jonah stayed at this computer station for almost an hour.  It shows an injured sea turtle and allows you to diagnose its condition using x-rays, blood tests, and the powers of observation. 

After the above portion of the tour, we were able to step into the marine laboratory where many sea turtles were recovering from injury.  There was a boardwalk so the public would keep their distance, but it was absolutely close enough to see the turtles in their respective tanks.

Each turtle tank had an accompanying podium with a book about the turtle and its injuries, treatment, and prospective recovery.

Babies!

SO tiny!

After the recovery pools, we thought we were ready to head home for the day, but one of the staff members approached us and invited us to a puppet show!

So of course we went.

We all left singing the "Georgia, Sea Turtle Center..." song and remembering the puppet journey of the Loggerhead.

Each kid was able to get one clothing item and one small souvenier (with a price limit) from the Center.  Jonah is pictured with his clothing item below.  Maeryn chose a raspberry colored sea turtle T-shirt and both kids got sea turtle magnets that are currently floating around the bus.  

If you ever find yourself in Southern Georgia, a visit to the Sea Turtle Center is a must.  It also got me thinking...  it might be time to break out the science books.  For myself.

We're Not In Maryland Anymore...

I'm aware we haven't been in Maryland for several months now, but this is the first time I noticed a complete climate change - temperate to subtropical.

It was one of those days where no one wanted to go out of the bus, but I was stir crazy, so I took a little walk around our Georgia campground.

It was an inexpensive place, so there weren't a lot of amenities.  Broken down playground that wasn't really useful anymore, old chintzy restaurant that served breakfast to three or four older gentlemen every morning, questionable pool, and a trail to nowhere.

I decided, genius naturalist that I am, to take that trail.

I passed an old picnic pavilion and the remains of yesteryear's tent sites...  and then the campground-like landscape changed into what can only be describe as jungle.

I kept walking, because that's how I do.

For about fifteen minutes.

When I came upon a large drainage ditch.

And the remains of a duck (?)...  maimed, decapitated...  feathers askew throughout the muddy graveyard of bones and...

Are there alligators in Georgia?

The road dead-ended into jungle and I was surrounded on three sides by giant ferns, vines, and creatures I was not interested in encountering in an uncontrolled environment.

I turned slowly and walked back to the campsites with purpose...  Googling American Gator habitats as I walked...

Turns out...  Georgia is prime real-estate.

Of course, South Carolina is home to a few gators as well, but we encountered zero at Myrtle Beach.  (If I were a gator I'm not sure I would hang around Myrtle Beach either).

This was different.  This campground is just begging for a gator infestation.

And I'm no fool.  Gators will eat you as soon as look at you.  Primal fear.

On my brisk walk back to Billy I was not attacked by gators.  Nor did I see any.  I did see two barking pit bulls who were not exactly happy with my presence and a gang of stray chihuahuas who were guarding the laundry facilities (quite literally).

My relief upon entering our Bus Haven sparked the idea that perhaps we should visit civilization this evening and take in a recent movie in an actual theatre in real stadium seating (as opposed to our usual Red Box viewings or Netflix binges while boondocking with internet).  The fam agreed to go... but couldn't agree on a movie.

We debated between Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and Free Birds for almost an hour before Michael declared we were seeing both movies.

I was in awe.  I had never dared to spend so much.  To sit so long.  To witness two full-length movies on the big screen at one go...

And yet we did just that.

Maeryn and Jonah even offered to pay for snacks!

 I liked ...Meatballs best.