Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Visiting the little town of St. Marys

DSC_0509

DSC_0495

DSC_0510

We really didn’t have any plans for Sunday, so after getting home from church, I some ribs in the crock pot for dinner, and we went out for a drive.

 

 

Just across the border into Georgia is the little coastal town of St. Mary’s, right next to the King’s Bay Naval Submarine Station.

Kings Bay Naval Base

DSC_0517

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a surface Sailor, Nicolas won;t be stationed there. but many of his fellow Nukes call this base home.

We continued into the historical downtown district of St. Marys, along the river.  St. Marys is the gateway to Cumberland Island, home to a herd of wild horses.

Cumberland Island Visitor Center

We had thought about going, but not soon enough – the boat to Cumberland Island only has two trips over to the island, and both are in the morning. 

Oh well, we made due with the St. Marys Submarine Museum instead.

St. Marys Submarine Museum

The Museum was two floors of submarine models and artifacts from US Navy submarines – early submarines on the first floor and nuclear submarines on the second floor, as well as a video of life aboard a Navy submarine and a working periscope.

Working periscope

The periscope was really cool – you could spin it around 360 degrees and see boats on the river and the entire area surrounding St. Marys.

We looked at the collection of submarine artifacts – we were amazed at some of those early submarines,

Early Submarine Cross-sections

and how much they have grown in size as technology has improved.

USS Silversides – this one is a Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

USS Silversides -- this one is in Michigan

Upstairs, we looked at the numerous displays donated by crewmembers of various subs – there were a lot of subs!

Crew Displays

USS Georgia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Missiles

After looking through the displays and models, we watched the video of life on a nuclear submarine.

Library Area

It was directed at kids, but was very interesting and informative, even for adults.

The Museum was very nicely done . . . and I’m still glad Nicolas is going to be on a carrier instead of a sub!

Nuclear Submarine Models

Across the road from the Museum is a nice little park, next to the Cumberland Island boat dock.

Fountain

 

My handsome sailor

We walked through the park, and along the edge of the river.

Sailboats

Fishing Pier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swings along the river

There were several swings along the walkway, overlooking the river – we had to try them out!

Enjoying the swings

 

Nicolas, too

From the river walk, we turned up the main street.  It was Sunday, so all of the little shops were closed, but we walked along and admired the old, historic buildings.

DSC_0494

DSC_0503

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DSC_0506

 

DSC_0508

DSC_0507

It was a very cute little town!

DSC_0502

Back home, our ribs in the crockpot smelled really good!  We crisped them up on the grill for a few minutes while I cooked some vegetables inside, and the 3 of us enjoyed a delicious dinner!  I usually cook ribs in the oven, but I used the crockpot this time so we could go out for the day.  They turned out really well, so I think I’ll use the crockpot from now on.

On Monday, we just hung out at the RV Park.  Nicolas cleaned up his car, and then got on the road back to Charleston after lunch.  Rain was expected later in the afternoon, and we wanted him to get home before it arrived.  We were really glad to spend his days off with him, and he enjoyed it, too! 

3 comments:

  1. We stay at Fort Clinch SP on the Cumberland Sound just across the water from St. Mary. One of the coolest things we have ever seen is watching the Nuclear Subs being escorted in and out of the waterway. Huge escort boats, small gun boats, a fire boat and this huge, all black (no number) submarine moving through the sound...AMAZING!!! You really have to stay at Fort Clinch in the beach side campground and see it yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Excellent photo of Nicholas --- I am borrowing that one to put in my collection of "Friends I have Met"
    Glad you had some time together. Miss you guys

    ReplyDelete
  3. cool! this little town reminds me sceneries from some tv series

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for reading! We'd love to hear your comments!