St.Mary's, GA

Wednesday, November 16

The town of St. Mary's was somewhat of a pleasant surprise.  Given the run-down condition of the marina, we were expecting something similar from the town.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

When we checked it out briefly the night before, we found the town is clean and well maintained, with numerous good resturants and a very nice public park.    The Riverside Cafe was a particularly nice Greek-themed resturant.  They've been in business for 18 years, so they're obviously doing something right!

Town Park

Shortly after dawn, a small horde of retirees on golf carts went scurrying around town, spearing and collecting any trash lying about.  And although the storm waters from Matthew had been up to two feet high in the buildings, we saw very little evidence of it, as almost all the businesses were repaired and back up and running.

The end result is a very picturesque town.  Spanish moss literally drips from the giant, old-growth trees, and unspoiled marshlands abound.

Spanish Moss

Marshland Panorama

We also found out that St. Mary's is the site where Cruisers converge for Thanksgiving for a big blow-out.  Unfortunately for us, Thanksgiving was still a week away, so we were going to miss it.

We spent the day browsing through antique shops, and going through the local submarine museum, which has two floors of exhibits, one dedicated to WWI era subs, and the other to nuclear subs.

Watched another spectacular sunset, and then finished off the day with a meal of locally caught shrimp and oysters.

Tomorrow, we head to Jacksonville, FL, where our friend Bill will leave us and catch a plane home.