Friday, February 25, 2011

02.25.2011 post

I first discovered St Marys by way of the Internet.  When my daughter told me the Navy was going land her and my grandchildren here I did a search and was immediately captivated by what I found.  That was more than ten years ago.  Since that time I visited St Marys often, then inevitably, made this lovely place my home.  I now work as a hostess at the St Marys Welcome Center and have worked as a docent at Orange Hall.

 

I can tell you firsthand that there is something very special about this little corner of the world; something healthful and wholesome.  In the current issue of the St Marys Magazine, Alex Kearns has written an article that eloquently describes what I feel about living here.  She says, ”Those who visit for the first time sense this delightful and gentle force (of spirit) and are inexorably drawn to return again.”  I have often told visitors to our city that the only risk in coming to St Marys is that no one ever come here just once, they always return.  “The senses come alive here, and it is impossible to remain aloof when surrounded by such exquisite sensory riches,” is how Kearns expresses the experience.  St Marys is not only a place of beauty; it is also a place of spiritual richness.

 

 

Suzanne Thomet

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Bike Ride Across Georgia

The St. Marys Convention & Visitors Bureau hosted a reception for participants in the Bike Ride Across Georgia (BRAG) on February 23 at the new Welcome Center in Downtown St. Marys. We’re proud and honored that this group would choose St. Marys as a destination in their most impressive rides across our state, and we hope they will come back again and again. Here’s their agenda, and doesn’t it sound like fun? For more information about BRAG, visit www.brag.org.

 

Tuesday, Feb. 22 - Arrive early enough at St. Marys and bike 3 miles to the St. Marys Submarine Museum and the Cumberland Island Museum in downtown St. Marys.

 

Wednesday, Feb. 23 - Ride the 33-mile St. Marys Loop Ride, led by local cyclists. Visit the oldest church in Georgia, a War of 1812 site, the U.S. Navy Submarine Base, including the USS Bancroft Memorial, the Sugar Mill tabby ruins, and Crooked River State Park. 
 
Thursday, Feb. 24 - We will take the ferry to Cumberland Island. Bike (you can rent one on the island) or just walk the 5-mile recommended leisurely hike on the island. Either way, Cumberland Island is one of the most beautiful places on earth and is a photographer's paradise. February is the time to see it, without the heat and the bugs. 
 
Friday, Feb. 25 - Ride your bike to downtown St. Marys. Then take the ferry to Fernandina, FL.  We will have optional lunch at the Gourmet Gourmet restaurant, then head out to visit Ft. Clinch.  After Ft. Clinch, we will bike to the Atlantic Ocean for a beachfront snack. Then make our way back to the ferry for our return trip to St. Marys.  33 miles total.
 
Saturday, Feb. 26 - Head by car to the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge and Okefenokee Adventures. We will arrive in time for lunch and an overview of the swamp by Chip and Joy Campbell. Then we start paddling the swamp by canoe or kayak on our guided tour of this third photographer's paradise of the week. After our tour, we will continue by car to Waycross, GA, where we will spend the night at the Jameson Inn, one of BRAG's sponsors. 
 
Sunday, February 27 - After breakfast at the Jameson Inn, check out and head home to BRAG about your week's winter adventure in Georgia. 

 

 

cid:649DA16D-4029-4A9F-947C-D40B9DDE9C1D@local

Barbara Ryan, Chair

St. Marys Convention & Visitors Bureau

912-729-1103

Barbara@stmarysmagazine.com

 

 

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

New Welcome Center Open

Please visit us at our new Welcome Center at 111 Osborne Street. We’re right beside the Riverview Hotel just ½ block from the waterfront. Hope to see you soon!

Barbara Ryan, Chair

St. Marys Convention & Visitors Bureau

 

Mardi Gras Celebration March 5