Our time in Kingsland, Ga. at the Country Oaks RV Park was nice and slow!! Our first day there we set up camp and relaxed. We woke up nice and early the next morning and hit the road to St. Mary’s. There we caught the ferry boat over to Cumberland Island. This is a dream come true!!! I visited Cumberland waaaaaaaay back in the day (20 years ago - can’t even believe I can say that!) with my high school Naturalist Club. We spent three nights camping on the island and having the times of our lives! I was fortunate enough to get to go on this adventure twice, in my junior year and then again in my senior year. I always wanted to go back and this time I got to take my entire family!!!
RyAnne is a horse lover! She has a HUGE collection of horse figurines of all breeds, she reads horse books and even writes stories about horses too! She is a fanatic! So, getting to take our baby girl to get to see WILD HORSES on an island has always been high on my bucket list! Once we arrived on the island, we all ate a snack, climbed some of those gorgeous live oak trees and then headed down he Spanish Moss lines trail. The Duck Pond was our first stop and I’m so glad we took this turn on the path!! As we came around the corner THERE. THEY. WERE!!!! The wild horses!!!
As you can imagine, RyAnne went completely bananas at their site! She immediately started naming off their breeds and spotted a foal too! Cumberland Island has always been such a magical place for me and getting to see that through our daughter’s eyes - shew! I’m just so thankful God brought us there to see His beautiful creations together!
Just past the Duck Pond we came across the famous ruins of the mansion, Dungeness. And, that is where I couldn’t stop thanking God for this trip with my sweet family. I had to hold back some serious emotions - I was overwhelmed by God’s goodness and faithfulness!! I still am!
After exploring the ruins and watching the horses, we made our way over the marsh, through more gorgeous oaks, over the dunes and to the beach!! Rocco and Olivia ran all over that huge beach while Trey, RyAnne and I took a quick nap! We were exhausted from hiking and to top if off I have a cold. So, we needed a quick pick-me-up siesta!
It was time to head back to meet our boat! Rocco was NOT happy about this! Poor baby was so tired and just had a mad face until we made it back home! He really didn’t want to leave the beach. We promised him we would go to another beach! And, we did! However, the next day, we all needed a day to catch up on “house” work, laundry and work-work!
But, the next day we drove over to Amelia Island and went to Fernandina Beach. We used public access #25. It was so fabulous!! It wasn’t crowded at all and just beautiful! We found loads of shells, shark teeth, star fish and several hermit crabs. We had a blast! We ended up spending five and a half hours on the beach with only ONE application of sunscreen - EEEK! I seriously had no clue we had been there that long. Unfortunately, we got burnt pretty bad and we are still recovering.
We were starving and the clouds and lighting started rolling in on us, so we decided to dust off the sand and head to the Salty Pelican for dinner in Saint Mary’s. It was SO good and much needed! After dinner we walked around for a bit and enjoyed being silly!
As soon as we started this trip, God put this verse on my heart. . .
The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
Proverbs 16:9
This verse is on repeat in my head right now. I know all the plans that my family and I are making for our future but I’m so thankful that God will close doors that don’t need to be opened (even when we think they do) and bring us to His path to see His beautiful view!! EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!!! He does this over and over! He continues to open my eyes to see His beautiful signs and wonders. Looking back, it’s amazing to see how He has prepared us for things we just had no clue were about to happen! And, then I can’t stop praising Him!!
Looking forward to our next journey!!
