St Simon's Island: Thurs Dec 3rd

After school today, we drove from Jekyll Island to St Simon's, which is a LOT more commercial and far busier. St Simon's has the National Historic Site: Fort Frederica, which was a southern stronghold for the English battling with the Spanish from the south, trying to defend (and gain) territory.

We were a little alarmed when we first saw Jake and Caitlin's Junior Ranger book, it was thick and they were told they had to complete it all. However, once they started to look through it, we realized it was probably one of the best we've come across. They were each given a bag to carry around that contained an old style compass and eyeglass, along with appropriate games and clothes for the time period. The boys wore soldier's hats and the girls wore mop caps and they followed a route that took us around the Fort's grounds, as if they were running errands for the Captain, it was a really neat way to keep them motivated and interested. We really enjoyed our time there and learnt a lot because of the book.

After receiving their badges and being sworn in again, we were interested to learn about the Kings Colors flag which only contained the flags of the English and the Scottish, it was yet to become the Union Jack by adding the flag of Ireland. It's amazing how much Dave and I are learning as a result of this trip and the Junior Ranger programs.

We headed to the opposite end of the island to climb to the top of the lighthouse. Unlike many lighthouses, this one is in place to guide people into the harbor and towards the light, rather than away from it. There were 127 winding steps so it wasn't too bad, with a very narrow ledge at the top, we didn't linger long!

We stayed near the beach for a while, playing tag on the playground (I lost, much harder for me to get through the gaps and down the slides than the kids!) and watching another beautiful sunset.

Driving back onto Jekyll Island when it was dark, afforded us with wonderful views of their lights. We all thought the palm trees converted into pineapples by the lights were the coolest.