Day 28. Southern Exposure. Travel from St. Augustine, FL to Brunswick, GA with a stop at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge for lunch and a boat ride into the swamp, or that was the plan. 153.7 miles according to the trip log and for most folks. About 10 miles further for the Joneses. We are now getting smarter and telling people not to follow us unless they enjoy going the wrong way. We took the east belt line around Jacksonville instead of the west belt line. As it turns out it probably was more scenic since it went out on the coast, and seemed to have had less truck traffic. There was another motor home following us and continued to follow us as we made the wrong turn. They stuck on our tail until we lost them when we were engaging with a semi. They eventually did show up at Okefenokee. But our warning stands: Don't follow the Joneses.

It was fun visited Okefenokee because the volunteer coordinator that "hired" us for Santee NWR in South Carolina is in the process of moving to Okefenokee. She was off-duty moving her household, and we had known that before arriving. It was still good to see where she will be working and the big new job that awaits her. She was a jewel to work with and will do well at Okefenokee. Shannon also visited with the volunteer couple working in the visitor center. They are from WI and this is their second year at Okefenokee. It is also now on our list as a possibility in future years.

But I easily get distracted and off the story line. The plan called for lunch at 11:30 and a boat ride into the swamp at 12:30. At about 11:00 it started to rain hard accompanied by lots of lightning. The guide that would have taken us on a 90-minute boat ride, gave us a 10-minute talk describing some of the things we would have experienced if we had taken the boat ride. We did have lunch, but no on-water activity. Bummer. It's worth coming back to do some day.

As I write this, it is raining and has been raining for most of the day. Predictions are for rain all night and tomorrow. They say they need rain here; however, we don't need rain. Could have waited a day or two. It is also cold. High in the 60's. That's cold after getting use to the 80's. I have now had two days of having to wear long pants and my legs are starting to lose their beautiful FL tan. We are having a real sacrifice here.

Tomorrow we spend the day on Jekyll Island. We will probably be bundled up and have rain coats, but dammit! we're going to enjoy it anyway.

Yesterday it was St. Augustine, oldest city in the United States. It was near here that Ponce de Leon claimed Florida for the Spanish crown in 1513 and searched for the Fountain of Youth. We did find the Fountain of Youth, tasted it, and did silly things like what you see in the photo. I did notice after drinking from the fountain that I had more spring in my step and all the women looked a lot better than when I went into the spring house. Something must be working.

We toured the city via bus with stops. We had a guide in colonial dress telling us the history of St. Augustine. We stopped by the fort, Castillo de San Marcos, that guarded the city and were present for a canon firing. There were earlier wooden versions of the fort that had burned, but when this stone version was built it was never taken. The stone the Spanish used to build the fort was mined nearby and called cochina or "little shell." It was a soft rock composed of shells. It would harden when exposed to the air, but was still soft enough that British cannon balls tended to stick in the walls and not penetrate the walls. The British finally gave up and went back up to Georgia. The British did burn the town, but the fort and garrison remained.

We visited what JFK said was the holiest acre in the United States. It is the location of the first Mass and the first mission constructed in America. Our guide can be seen in costume; a 17th century merchant that could have been either Spanish or British.

And, Shannon and I visited Matanza National Monument the day before. This was a watch tower that guarded the mouth of the Matanza River which was the "back door" to St. Augustine. The Spanish did not want anyone to sail up the river and attack St. Augustine. The fort had been restored by the NPS and showed what life was like stationed at this location during the 17th century. The word "matanza" means "slaughter,: and was named that because the Spanish stopped a fledgling French attempt to colonize FL by slaughtering most of the French, both soldiers and colonists. St.Augustine was important to the Spanish and the Spanish did not want French or British intruding because Spanish ships had to pass along the FL coast on their return trip to Spain. Rich plunder for all.

Rain is still coming down. We may be floating by morning. At least there's no snow in the forecast. Tomorrow we'll see what Jekyll Island has to offer. In any event, we were glad to be out of FL and coming to GA seemed almost like coming home. It was a strange feeling. The thing about FL that made us not unhappy to move on was the heavy traffic we encountered wherever we went. It's a beautiful state with lots to see and do, but after awhile rural roads through pine plantations passing double wide trailers looks pretty good too. The azaleas are absolutely peaking here in GA, and we are starting to see some dogwoods flowering. So, it's been a pleasant surprise to see GA again after a month away. We continue to travel on our way with eyes and mouths wide open.