Hi again,

I don't think we're flying and don't know how much more expensive (over $4) gas will get by then but we're looking at staying in Kingsland, GA and doing day trips. Problem is, we won't be doing ferries probably so we're looking at St. Simons, St. Augustine, and maaaaaaybe Ponce de Leon, but seems looking on line that Sapolo and Amelia are out as well as probably St, John's River since it's on Mayport Naval Station. Will be doing the Golden Isles and barrier islands and don't want to go broke on gas (sheesh!) so guess that's about it. Anyone else feel that we can get to these others without going around our rump to get to them, or having to take a ferry or have a $600 camera with an extra lens (which I don't have)?

Steve

St. Johns River is on the Mayport NS, but it is just a few yards from the fence. Depending on how snugged up the gate is, you can easily get a camera lens thru that spot in the fence.

Amelia Island isn't that far off the highway, and you may be able to arrange a visit. Otherwise, you can take a nice picture across the marsh.

Since you are going in October, you will have to deal with decreasing sunlight hours, so you can't stretch the day like you might at the end of summer. It is possible to get to St. Augustine and Ponce in one day. With proper planning, you might also be able to get a look at Amelia or St. Johns, but probably not both.

Steve,

We traveled from St. Simons Island, GA into Florida in February of 2007 (search for CT-GA-FL-VA-MD-NJ-CT-February, 2007--the pictures are no longer there, but the narrative remains). We were able to see Amelia Island on a 1 day trip and Ponce de Leon, St. Augustine, and St. John River on a 2nd day trip. St. John River is on the naval station, but is viewable from a side street. A page fence is all that separates the street from the base and Stan was able to get some really good pictures.

Sapelo does require a ferry trip, but is well worth the few dollars the trip cost. We opted to take the trip that offered a guided tour by bus of the island. The tour guide and most of the passengers were more into the island's history than we were, so we got off the bus and walked to the end of the island where the lighthouse and range light were located.

Hope the biting flies are not doing their thing when you're there. We don't have to mess with them in February when we usually go to GA, but we've been there in warmer months and stay inside or smother ourselves in bug spray.

The problem is that the Sapelo ferry requires a 4 hour stay on the island. So, best bet, you could do Sapelo, Amelia, and St. Johns River in one day. The next day, get an early start, and hit St. Simons, St. Augustine, and Ponce Inlet. You DEFINATELY want to do Ponce Inlet. Its amazing, and they have a working Fresnel Lens on display.

Personally what I would do is take the first day and drive to Ponce (142 miles - takes about 2.5 hours) and after I'd visited that lighthouse (which takes some time - there are a number of places on the grounds to visit), I'd have lunch somewhere, and then drive back and visit St. Augustine (which is about halfway back).

Then on another day, I'd go down to Mayport (takes about an hour) and see if I could see that lighthouse, and then take the free auto ferry across the St. John's River (I don't understand about not taking ferries) - continue on 1A up to Amelia Island (another half hour drive). You can see the lighthouse there (from the outside) from two locations - one is across the marsh from Fort Clinch, and the other is in town. You could have lunch in Fernandina Beach and then drive another hour and spend the afternoon at St. Simons on this day

You could instead also do St. Simons and Tybee island on a separate day.

^^^
If they are going to Tybee, they could see Cockspur, and the Savannah Harbor Light as well.

If you go to Savannah, that will take alot of time, since Ft. Pulaski is the best way to see the Cockspur light. Ft. Pulaski is about a 3 hour stop, and well worth it..plus, its about a 30 minute walk to the Cockspur light from the fort.

Actually there is a good spot to view Cockspur from a little marina/ boat docking area just after you cross over the creek after the entrance road to the fort. Not the best drive and not great parking, but you can make it into a 10-15 minute stop and get very decent pictures.

One thing that has to be taken into account when travelling I-95 through northern Florida. The road can become a 3 lane parking lot for almost no reason. Be prepared for unexpected delays.

Also, if you were to try to visit both Amelia and Mayport, taking the ferry between the two, I wonder if it would be better to go south to do so since the light is only a few blocks from where the ferry lands. On the other hand, if the route to the ferry is marked reasonably well, you may be able to find the ferry fairly easily and make a slight detour once there to see the light. Depending on which end of the day you are there, I would imagine the traffic could be very heavy going south in the morning, north in the afternoon (just a guess presuming people would be commuting to the Naval Station).

I'll have to agree with Dave on Cockspur.

I was actually at Ft. Pulaski last week and while you do get a good view of cockspur the view is much closer at the little Marina.

I did that last year while on my apparent annual pilgrimage to SC/GA. There is a sign that says private property but I had driven down once bedore and asked permission when I got to the end of the little road.

Ft Pulaski is an interesting visit if you have the time, though. If you have been to Ft Point in San Francisco for the Ft Point LH or Ft Tompkins on Staten Island for the Weed Battery LH they were built on the same plans as Ft Pulaski (a total of 48 forts were built using the same plan and most were never used for thier original intention)

Dennis

^^^
If you scroll up in the "My Lighthouse Travels" thread, take a look at my photo of Cockspur. I was about 50 yards away from the lighthouse. Had it been lowest tide, I could have walked up to the lighthouse. The path to get there is on the north east side of the fort's property. This is the best place to see that lighthouse. I took a dolphin cruise from that marina, and we went by the lighthouse, and we got close, but still not as close as I got in that photo.

Actually, here's the photo...

Okay, I'll see if I can cover some of this:

1) My girlfriend likes lighthouses, but doesn't want to spend 100% of the time "chasing" them, so too many ferries eats up too much time, and perhaps money, for other things.

2) We've been to Tybee, Ft. Pulaski, and Cockspur when we went to Savannah and HHI as well as Beaufort. I think I found that little cut-off for Cockspur but unfortunately it was with my off-brand digital camera and with all kinds of "no trespassing" signs, I went in, stopped, took a picture through some bushes and left before I found that I got the ghost of Cockspur as the camera focused on the leaves in the hedges that I took the picture through and blurred the lighthouse, but it's not worth the long drive out of the way just for that (unfortunately)

Other than that, I'm in and out ...and still reading!