Tag: Cumberland Island

Thirty years ago, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy exchanged vows on Cumberland Island. Much has been lost since that time. And yet some things still stand, including First African Baptist Church—with a history few have known.

I was 16 years old when John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette were married on Cumberland Island in 1996. They could have been married anywhere on earth, and they chose a remote Georgia island where all the roads are dirt and speckled with the “marks” of wild horses.

I can almost taste it: that thick, salty, marshy air that embraces me whenever I’m aboard the Cumberland Queen II on my way from the quaint village of St. Mary’s to the island that holds a holy place in my soul.

What to do, what to eat, and where to stay on Jekyll Island, Sea Island, St. Simons Island, Little St. Simons Island, and Cumberland Island.

Many of the dozen or so islands that make up the Georgia coast are notoriously inaccessible. Most, in fact, are reachable only by ferry or charter boat. Of course, that very remoteness has preserved 100 miles of relatively natural landscape, unmatched along the Eastern Seaboard. Now, researchers and students at Emory University’s departments of environmental sciences and history and its Center for Digital Scholarship (best known for its decades-long effort to document voyages of enslaved people) are creating an online portal, open to the public, that allows anyone to visit the islands virtually. The rapidly expanding Georgia Coast Atlas features flyover footage, video interviews, informative articles, historical documents, annotated maps, and other resources.

Georgia’s coast has long called to visitors with its rich cultural history and world-class hospitality. But there’s another side, a wilder side, to this 110-mile stretch of coastline and its fifteen barrier islands, which holds its own timeless appeal.

Fifteen barrier islands line the coast of Georgia. The southernmost and largest is called Cumberland.

Originally part of a sprawling estate built by the Carnegie family at the turn of the 20th century, the colonial-style Greyfield mansion is the only hotel on Cumberland Island.

From rivers to caves, swamps to beaches, our state has a lot of natural beauty. Six wonders, including Okeffenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Ellison's Cave, Ossabaw Island, and more.

When I consider all the hours I spend in traffic, it’s downright distressing. That’s why, when it comes to vacations, I opt to go somewhere serene and congestion-free—somewhere like Bald Head Island.