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Cumberland Island National Seashore Day 1~The Road Trip [ Home ] [ USA-International Travel ] [ Southeast Travel ] [ Favorite Sunsets ] [ Content ] Home Page Day 2-Long Day AM Day 2-Long Day PM Day 3-To the Settlement Day 4-Stafford Beach Day 5-Home CI Photo Gallery
Wednesday, February 19, 2003
Our destination, Cumberland Island
The Knoxville skyline was visible in our rear view mirror by 4:15 p.m., not bad for a planned departure of 4:00 p.m. Most of us had worked all day and were facing a really long road trip.
I sat lounging in the front seat of John’s car with my books and notes spread about, all too happy to be on the road. Our friend and backpacking companion Duane Simmons had canceled only 2 hours before. As a catastrophe insurance adjuster, he is the only guy I know who prays for bad weather and on this day his prayers were answered. He was disappointed with his turn of events but the pull of the green was too strong. Will Skelton, another member of our group, was also doing some late afternoon vacillating. Will visited Cumberland Island as a day-tripper in the early 1980’s and was weighing his weekend chores against visiting a place he had already been. In the end backpacking won out, it usually does!
Our drive took us from Knoxville on I-40 to Asheville, NC where we picked up I-26 then south to I-95, past Charleston, past Savannah and to our terminus point, the dock in St. Marys, GA. John and I planned to follow Steve Dyer who was commandeering the rest of our group in his Chevy Tahoe. Steve, an ex-Sierra Club board member, has taken a lot of grief over buying a SUV. Passengers Will, Barbara Allen and Ray Payne were thoroughly enjoying the comforts of this vehicle while serving up environmental guilt peppered with a little “What would Jesus drive.” (Note: In early summer 2004, Steve concluded that "Jesus would probably drive a Honda hybrid in light of the current full costs!")
Following the Tahoe quickly became an unrealistic expectation. Differences in drivers surfaced as Steve, whose driving habits are similar to mine, had the SUV wide open. John, with his laid back no hurry style set the cruise on 70 and fell behind. I spent several tense hours trying to control my anxiety over falling behind. On several “duh” occasions I pointed out to John that Steve was way ahead. He responded by calmly pointing out my options if he was cited for speeding, options mostly centered on my financial obligation. The reality of the situation was that it didn’t matter; we had guaranteed reservations for the night.
We stopped for dinner at 6:00 p.m. at Earth Fare Café in Asheville, NC (66 Westgate Parkway, www.earthfare.com), dined on selections from the natural food bar, purchased a few dessert goodies to go and strolled through the grocery section. We were back on the road within an hour. My options to read or write disappeared as darkness fell. John drove while I watched the passing car lights, lost in my thoughts and dreams. We arrived at the Sleep Inn (I-95, exit 94, south of Savannah) about 11:45 p.m. and promptly crashed for the night.
Day 2 AM ~ Part One of a Really Long Day Day 2 PM ~ Part Two of that Same Really Long Day Day 3~To the Settlement and Back, My Poor Aching Feet! Cumberland Island Photo Gallery HOME ~ Adventures Out and Back
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