Anniversary Celebration in Darien, Georgia

We’ve driven through Darien many times over the years and have previously stopped there for a seafood dinner on the Darien River. We had never taken the time to explore the area so for our anniversary this year we decided to spend the night in a hotel on the Darien river.

After taking the scenic drive south on Highway 17 we checked into our room before having a delicious flounder sandwich for lunch at a popular local restaurant.

The first place we explored was the Fort King Georgie State Historic Site close to our hotel. The fort was was built by the British in 1721 at the mouth of the Altamaha River to protect the area from the Spanish and the French. Fire destroyed the fort in 1727 and the fort was decommissioned.

Reconstruction of the fort began in the 1970’s and still continues today. We toured the interesting history museum before wandering around the reconstructed fort.

The rest of the afternoon we enjoyed the pool and for a while relaxed on our balcony overlooking the river. After a delicious seafood dinner and a walk along the dock we ended the evening back on the balcony enjoying the view.

The next morning I strolled along the Darien Waterfront Park before breakfast.

On our way home we made a slight detour to visit a recently opened Buc-ees on I-95 in Brunswick. Imagine a huge gas station and a huge store with souvenirs, hot food including Texas brisket, a wall of jerky, groceries, clothes, and even fresh made fudge. It was our first ever visit to a Buc-ees. Now we can say we’ve been there, done that.

Sunday Stills – Feathers

Terri’s latest Sunday Stills challenge of Feathers inspired me to get out and take a few bird photos early yesterday morning. The featured image was taken in January on Jeklyll Island, Georgia. The rest were taken yesterday.

Great Egret in Coastal Georgia

Wood Stork in Coastal Georgia

Can anyone identify this little bird I spied on a high tree branch?

Many thanks to Terri for her Sunday Stills challenge Fine Feathered Friends

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #345 – My Go-To Places

John of Journeys with JohnBo asks us to share the places we go when we are feeling down and need to take a break.

My favorite go-to place is at home. When I am home I like to see the sky at sunrise or just sit on my back porch overlooking my back yard and the salt marsh.

My day gets off to a beautiful start when I catch the sunrise from my own backyard.
My go-to place for porch sitting.
Sometimes I see birds like this Great Egret

I like to take a walk in my neighborhood which is surrounded by salt marsh and salt water creeks with palm trees, palmettos, and Spanish Moss draped live oak trees creating a peaceful landscape.

Early morning in my neighborhood

The beach is my happy place. If I want to go to the beach there are four barrier islands in coastal Georgia that can be reached by car. There are numerous uninhabited small barrier islands that can be reached by small boats and others that can be reached by ferry.

Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean on Tybee Island, Georgia, the closest beach to my home.
In January we spent two nights on Jekyll Island where we enjoyed the quiet beaches.
Sapelo Island is one of the Georgia islands that can be reached by ferry.

We no longer have a boat but I have fond memories of how peaceful it was to ride through the nearby creeks and rivers.

Slow boat ride through the coastal Georgia salt water marsh

Many thanks to John for this challenge Lens-Artists #345 – My Go To Places

Learn more about the Len-Artists challenges and how to participate by clicking here.

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #341 – Personal Favorites

For this challenge Tina is challenging us to show no more than five of our all time personal favorite images representing special moments or memories.

This is a really hard challenge for me. I have thousands of pictures in my archives. Most of them remind me of a special time, place or event. The sunrise in the header image was taken in my own back yard. It reminds me of how grateful I am for the gift of another day.

One of the most memorable events from our very first long RV trip occurred in Arches National Park in Utah. We wanted to take the hike for a close up view of Delicate Arch. The hike involved walking up slick red rock and included walking along a narrow ledge before getting to the Arch. I am terrified of heights and the idea of the ledge terrified me but I managed to get all the way to the top to take this picture. This picture reminds me of how I overcame my fears to see this beautiful sight.

Henry standing underneath Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah

This silhouette of Henry at sunset reminds me of all the wonderful memories we have from our RV trip traveling south from Washington to California on Highway 101.

Henry watching the sunset over the Pacific Ocean in Washington

I have literally thousands of images from our 2013 RV trip to Alaska. We saw amazing landscapes and wildlife and visited many unique places. I chose this image because it brings back happy memories of our fun filled week in Haines. We took the time at the end of each day to enjoy this spectacular view from our campsite.

Watching for whales at the end of the day in Haines, Alaska

The last image reminds me to take the time to stop and enjoy a sunset when I get a chance. I call this tree the bird tree because I often see herons, egrets, wood storks, roseate spoonbills, and other birds perched on the dead limbs. The tree is located on the road to our neighborhood. I’ve driven past it many times over the years and have captured many beautiful sunsets here but this one is my all time favorite.

My favorite sunset image

Many thanks to Tina for this challenge Lens-Artists #341 – Personal Favorites

Winter Birds in Coastal Georgia

Feeding and watching the birds is a favorite pastime of mine. I have many bird pictures in my archives but I chose a few recent ones for Terri’s Sunday Stills challenge.

Great Egret
House Sparrow at the feeder

Northern Cardinal

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Snowy Egret, Cormorant, and Seagull

Many thanks to Terri for her Sunday Stills challenge Feeding and watching the birds