Way Up...in the Tybee Island Lighthouse

We decided to go to Tybee Island, located about 18 miles from Savannah. It is a popular vacation spot and the easternmost point in the State of Georgia.

We passed the salt marshes along the way. The salt marshes stretch in a band four to six miles wide between the mainland and coastal barrier islands. A major reason for Georgia's extensive expanses of salt marsh is that its coast experiences the highest tides along the southeastern shoreline.

Georgia's salt marshes are some of the most biologically productive natural systems on Earth. The  environment helps to make the salt marshes primary nursery areas for blue crabs, oysters, shrimp, and other economically important fish and shellfish. Young shrimp and other marine organisms also use salt marshes as shelters and hiding places from predators. In addition, salt marshes help filter pollutants from the water and act as buffers against offshore storms.

This is part of the intracoastal waterway. Some of these people have a long walk to their boats!

The turtle is a popular symbol on Tybee...

We decided to climb the 178 steps in the lighthouse to get a nice panoramic view of the Island.

There was a landing every 25 steps so you could pretend to look out the window and catch your breath.

The view from the top...

Stephanie and Kim at the top...

And not to be outdone...out popped Jim. Well done!!

Stephanie and her dad...

There are some beautiful homes and rentals here...

This large cargo ship didn't appear to be that far off-shore...

Fort Screven was commissioned in 1899 and served as a valuable part of coastal defense until it was decommissioned in 1947. Part of it now serves as a museum.

We decided to tour the Lightkeepers' cottages. We watched a 15 minute video featuring one of the children of the last lightkeeper who was there between 1933 and 1948. She said it was a great place to grow up and whenever they went up in the lighthouse they had to sign the guestbook, so they would always sign some movie star's name thinking their father wouldn't know it was them. Cute!

This was the summer kitchen which was built in 1812 and used by all the keepers and their families until 1910.

This was the Head Lightkeepers cottage built in 1881. He had two assistants who lived in cottages nearby.

Just about all of the furnishings are original and were donated to the Historical Society by the family of the last lightkeeper when they set about restoring the cottages.

A phone like Uncle Oscar's! Ring, ring, ring...

They have volunteers from the Historical Society to answer questions and give you information about the way the family lived at the time.

This was a pretty nice cottage, compared to some that we have seen!

The last lightkeeper was George Jackson and they had 4 children, two boys and two girls. A collection of their toys...

Pretty nice bedrooms for the children...

The parents slept downstairs. Notice the icebox outside the door...

George Jackson had a twin brother and they were orphaned at a young age. They were raised by different families and when they finally reunited 48 years later, it turned out that his brother was also a lightkeeper. What are the odds of that!

The front of the lightkeeper's cottage...it was a really worthwhile visit...

We didn't have time to go through the museum as it was getting close to closing time, but you have to walk that way to get to the beach. Stephanie and I trekked over...

And this explains the turtle signs. Sea turtles come each year to lay their eggs before heading back to the ocean.

The boardwalk to the beach...

It was low tide. The sand was so hard that people were bicycling on it.

Go, Stephanie! I took a burst of 12 photos of her jumping and got a kick out of playing it back and forth. Jump, Stephanie, jump!

I wasn't that smiley when the water washed over my feet. It wasn't bone chilling cold, but it wasn't warm.

Tybee's City Hall with the storm surge elevations on the side...

It was a great day!

No Internet, No TV...a Week at the Beach in Bathurst, NB

We decided to spend a relaxing week at Youghall Beach in Bathurst, NB. I grew up in Bathurst and consider it my hometown. We both lived there for almost 30 years before moving to Toronto, and finally retiring in Fredericton, NB.

You can see Bathurst in the northeastern part of the province of New Brunswick.

The cottage was...well, shall we say rustic and be kind. We knew there was no internet or TV and we were actually quite looking forward to that. We weren't exactly counting on an infestation of fruit flies. They became Jim's nemesis and kept him busy all week figuring out ways to trap them.

The fireplace looks quite lovely, and it was really chilly some mornings. Unfortunately, most of the heat went up the chimney, but it looked nice.

Lots of old books and old pictures to look at. We really enjoyed playing Scrabble every night and both did quite a bit of reading.

The porch overlooked the water and we spent most of our time there. The glass part jutting out at the end of the porch was a cabana of some type and someone lives there, but we never saw him.

Access to the water was a challenge, but it didn't spoil our view. They have had to bring in a lot of rocks for a breakwater to stop the erosion.

It was very peaceful. We were at the end of the beach with very little traffic.

A lovely sunrise to wake up to. Most mornings, we were up early and sitting on the porch wrapped in blankets enjoying our coffee.

An angry storm rolled in one evening...

And it poured for a short time, but otherwise we had great weather.

We walked on the beach at low tide. Lots of crabs and other shell fish come in with the tide, so the gulls have great pickings.

I loved the impressions in the sand...

This reminded me of a tree...

This huge breakwater sure beats our rocks! Many people have built beautiful year-round homes at the beach and aren't taking any chances on losing their land.

And I just liked this...

This is one of the original cottages at Youghall and is still owned by the McLean Family. Angus McLean was the owner of the Bathurst Paper Mill in the 1920s and the McLeans were a very prominent family in Bathurst.

A panoramic of another lovely sunrise...

We decided to head to Miscou Island one day. I had never been there and we were looking for an adventure. These are the rocks at Pokeshaw. At one time, they were much closer together but erosion has taken care of that. In older photos of Pokeshaw, you can see many trees on top of the island and a proliferation of birds. It was also known as Bird Island.

Our next stop was Miscou, an island located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence at the northeastern tip of New Brunswick. I marked it with a red star below.

A bridge built in 1996 finally joined Miscou to the neighbouring island of Lameque, ending the use of a cable ferry.

Miscou was one of the areas explored by Jacques Cartier in 1534. The first residents came in the 1600s, but the first permanent resident was John Campbell who came from Wales in 1815. Miscou has a population of about 650 residents.

St. John United Church was built in 1921 close to the Miscou Lighthouse. Electricity was never installed in the church and oil lamps are still used today. A minister comes from Miramichi four or five times a year between April and September to conduct a service. The church has about 25 worshippers. There have been four weddings at the church, the first in 1913 and the last in 1997.

The Miscou Lighthouse on a spectacular sunny day. The lighthouse was built in 1856 as traffic and shipwrecks increased in the Bay of Chaleur. Due to erosion, it has had to moved further inland twice.

This is the road leading to the lighthouse with fiery red peat bogs in the Fall. Isn't that breathtaking? We could see some spots that were just starting to turn red when we were there. The people in Miscou call it the Barrens.

We climbed to the top of the lighthouse for wonderful views.

Miscou is now a favoured destination for kitesurfing and the World Championships were held there in 2009.

Look at this tiny church...Miscou Pentecostal Church. It was built in 1935 and, other than new paint, it remains exactly as it was built.

You can see it is suffering a little from frost heaving and is starting to have some indentations in the roof. Given the low number of parishioners, there are very few services.

We stuck our faces (and the camera) to the window. You can see the peeling paint, but everything still remains ready for a service...pews, a pulpit, an organ and vases.

Miscou is known for its sand dunes and lagoons, which have a variety of migratory birds. It's a popular destination for bird watchers and naturalists.

There are stories about treasures buried here at Wilson's Point.

I don't think this boat has set sail for quite a while!

And now wind farms are popping up...

Target practice...

After a lovely visit, with my wish to see Miscou granted, we left and headed back to Bathurst. These fishing boats were lined up in Lameque. Fishing is the major industry, with lobster and herring as the main catches.

This gives new meaning to a drive-in church! As you are approaching this church in Paquetville, it seems like you will drive right into it!

We both really enjoyed the time we spent at the beach and decided to rent this cottage next year. It's much more modern and has easy access to the beach.

Our cottage might have had some shortcomings, but you couldn't beat a sunrise like this one.

Until next September when we return...