March 21 – 22, 2015 Turtles and Forts

This morning, 21st, we packed a lunch and off we went to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island.

This center was established in 2007 as an institution “devoted to the rehabilitation of injured sea turtles and preservation of the delicate balance of the oceanic ecosystem.”

There is a wealth of information here:

 http://gstc.jekyllisland.com/about-us/

http://gstc.jekyllisland.com/departments/

The Center is housed in the old power plant that was built in 1903:

The first room we entered was the gift shop and registration.  That room opened up to the gallery/museum.  When we registered, we were given a card called “My Sea Turtle Journey”.  At each station, we were to get the card stamped.  What a great way to understand the turtle’s life.

This was the first time I heard about the Sargasso Sea.  It is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and was named in the 15th century.  Very interesting and more information can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargasso_Sea

The hospital:

The turtle above was brought in and they found out that he is very weak and not eating.  They were doing blood work to see if they could isolate the problem.

Here they were weighing and identifying the hatchlings:

This is the other part of the hospital. In front of each of the pools were stories about each turtle as well as their names:

Can you imagine seeing a 12 foot turtle – Yikees!

This little guy had to have his front arm amputated – it got caught in fishing line.  Poor guy.

Feeding the hatchlings – yes, they are live crabs:

What a wonderful time and learning experience.

Our next stop was the Clam Creek Fishing Bridge to see what that area looked like at high tide – WOW! what a difference from yesterday.

We decided to have lunch there and watch the ships go by.  This ship was the one at the docks yesterday.  It is on it’s way to its destination:

The picnic area:

Since it was still early and beautiful weather, we decided to go to Fort Frederica National Monument on St. Simons Island.

Our first stop was the visitor center where we watched a movie on historical significance of this fort and town.

“Established in 1736, the fort guarded Georgia’s southern frontier.  More than a fort, the town was home to colonists seeking to start a new life.  At its peak in the 1740s, some seventy houses lined Frederica’s dusty streets.

Fort Frederica is best remembered today for repulsing a Spanish invasion of Georgia in 1742. Despite its successful defense, the garrison was disbanded following the conclusion of the war.  The town slowly faded afterwards.”

More information can be found here: http://www.nps.gov/fofr/learn/historyculture/index.htm

From the visitor center we walked to the town and fort:

The town was located here:

Starting in 1947, the National Park Service and the Ft. Frederica Association, a citizens' interest group, sponsored a series of archaeological investigations at the Frederica site. Using information from 18th-century maps and journals as guides, the archaeologists excavated sections of the fort and village.

One of the foundations:

A closer look at the wall – yes, they are oyster shells.  The “concrete” was a mixture of shells, lime, and sand:

Broad Street ends in the walkway to the fort:

Looks like this boat is soon to be in trouble – :

We found this little guy on the fort wall:

Our last stop was the Bastion.  We have found quite a few of the older forts built with these bastions:

What a great day learning about our history and our turtles.

On Sunday, 22nd, we woke to rain and a very cloudy day so we staying home.  I finished all my blogs and emails so if you sent me an email and I have not answered, please send me another.

Tomorrow we continue our journey north so stay tuned and enjoy today.