Crooked River State Park, St. Marys, Georgia
Then Abimelech brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.” To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.” Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls so they could have children again, for the LORD had closed up every womb in Abimelech’s household because of Abraham’s wife Sarah. ~ Genesis 20:14-18 My first reaction was, ‘Why should Abraham be rewarded for his lies? And why should innocent Abimelech and his household be punished?’ I think this lesson shows us that at times unrighteous people can behave more righteously than those of us who claim to be righteous. Abraham and Sarah were in the wrong and everyone knows it – including Abraham and Sarah. (That’s why Abimelech told Sarah he was giving money to ‘her brother’ and not ‘her husband’.) And even though Abimelech had innocent motives in taking Sarah, he still took her, which was wrong. In addition to all these things being handed to Abraham, he had the added shame of being tasked with praying for these people he’d wronged. Another reminder that his “little lie” caused a lot of damage to innocents. Was God trying to teach Abraham (and Abimelech) a lesson? I think so. And I think it’s one we can also learn from. The ripples of our sins reach a long way – often even to innocent people. But when we sincerely repent, God forgives. He always keeps his promises. And He loves to bless us in ways we cannot fathom!
We participated in a whole passel of activities today!
We rode our bikes around the Park and stopped to check out the Nature Center. A nice, young, and very informative Ranger was working the room. We enjoyed talking with him, but as we were leaving another family showed up and we heard him begin the same spiel again. Wonder how many times he has to do that a day; and if he wishes he were out in the field somewhere. 😊
This is a Diamondback Terrapin.
Isn’t he cool looking?!?
How huge his feet are!! And look at those claws!
And it smelled sweet – like honeysuckle!
We went back home and traded our bikes for the Jeep and drove to Historic St Marys.
One of Georgia’s oldest towns, St. Marys was established in 1787 as Buttermilk Bluff and was incorporated in 1802. Savannah is the oldest being founded in 1733. Georgiaencyclopedia.org has this to say about St Marys (I only shared a portion):
Established on the site of an abandoned Timucuan Indian village, Tlathlothlaguphta, St. Marys sits on land confiscated from two brothers of royal governor James Wright. Their Royalist sympathies resulted in their banishment after the American Revolution (1775-83) and the loss of their huge estates. The history of the town’s name is not clear. Accounts differ regarding the origin of the name itself—some say it is named after the St. Marys River, while others say it comes from a seventeenth-century Spanish mission, Santa Maria, on nearby Amelia Island, Florida. (Histories also differ regarding whether the new town was known as St. Patrick’s for a few years—until 1792—or whether that name actually referred to another town close by.) After the departure of its royalist owners, the land belonged to Jacob Weed, an early planter and state legislator. Weed sold 1,672 acres along the St. Marys River to nineteen other men, and the twenty laid out the new town together in 1788. Early maps show the streets were 100 feet wide, interspersed with two 16-acre public squares. Each one of the twenty founders was authorized to use the squares and received a mixture of good, marshy land in his purchase.
Soon after the town was laid out, the area became home to Acadian refugees (later called Cajuns). The French-speaking Acadians, having been deported from Canada by the British, had settled in many places, including the French colony of Saint-Domingue on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Some fled Toussaint L’Ouverture’s slave rebellion there, arriving in St. Marys in 1791. St. Marys was established by an act of the state legislature on December 5, 1792. It was not officially incorporated, however, until November 1802.
Wartime Involvement
The strategic location of St. Marys on the Atlantic Coast just above Florida led to its involvement in several of the major military conflicts in U.S.history. Troops were sent from New York to the area during the American Revolution. It was captured by the British during the War of 1812 (1812-15), and Union gunboats shelled its waterfront buildings during the Civil War (1861-65). Its military connections have continued with the establishment of Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base. ~ georgiaencyclopedia.org
You may remember it from three years ago, or you may not.
It’s sunnier and much warmer than last time. lol
We found a place to park in the street and began our walking tour of the town. Right away, we noticed a guy in the median, painting one of the historic homes. Seemed real nice from our vantage point across the street.
As we walked, we came across other painters scattered about the town. One lady we stopped and talked to, told us today’s the 10th annual artist’s recognition day and there’s a reception with awards going to the painters today. Ah ha! We had no idea.
This is the woman we talked with.
She’s painting the fishing boat, Miss Peggy.
There was also a small street market going on, so we ambled around the tiny booths and checked out their wares. We came away with honey (from a guy who “grows his own bees”) and two “New Orleans Style” pies. I’ve heard of sweet potato pie for many years, but never tried one. This gracious lady provided the perfect opportunity, since she was selling little tart-sized ones for only $2. It was good – if you like sweet potatoes, because that’s exactly what it tasted like – mashed sweet potatoes. I happen to love sweet potatoes, but Blaine does not. That’s okay! More for me! Unfortunately for him, I also happened to love the full-sized chocolate chip pecan pie he picked out. As I told my mom, “It’s so good, you want to wallow in it!” It’s perfect! Not real sweet like so many pecan pies are, and gooey, and the crust is tasty and flaky. And a steal at just $12!
She also gave us a free cup of fresh lemonade to carry around with us! What a sweetie!
We walked around carrying our prizes for a bit, and when Blaine took our stuff to the Jeep, I ducked into an art gallery shop. It houses several rooms and each room was dedicated to a different artist. Some were good, some not so much. Here’s a pencil sketch of one of the things I saw.
We continued our walkabout, and ran across a Rolls Royce on one of the neighborhood streets. Certainly not something we would’ve expected to find in this small town. 😊
We have tickets for a ferry ride to Cumberland Island National Seashore for Monday, and it leaves from here, so we stopped by the National Park office and looked through their small museum – most of it centered on the infamous Carnagies who built summer homes (aka mansions) on the island, and the wars that took place in the area.
And then enjoy the smile on your face. : )
So glad someone in our National Park Service has a sense of humor!
There were photocopied and stapled pages on a stand so you could look through it.
I don’t know where it came from, but it reminds me of the Br’er Rabbit stories by Uncle Remus
that were written in the late 1800’s.
I don’t know if she commissioned it, or if the Park Service did.
It’s definitely a different type of portrait.
But then I think of the layers and layers
and being covered from head to toe in the hot, sultry summers, and I quickly change my mind. : )
Are you as surprised as we were?!? Pretty cool!!
I think I might join the Royal Navy, given the choice!
The day culminated with homemade burgers and fries for dinner! Blaine’s actually looked like the ones you see advertised on TV (that never live up to the ads, by the way)! How he fit that into his mouth is a mystery.
With full bellies, we felt the need to walk a bit, so we waddled over to the boat dock area once again. But there was a storm brewing.
We saw some lightening streaks, but not as much as we would’ve liked. : )
The skies are supposed to continue emptying on us off and on all through tomorrow.