PicklesTravel

The Beaches of the Talbot Islands are more likely to be deserted than densely populated!

I am not a fan of loud, busy beaches with sky scrapers, stores, and hotels powering over you, so if that’s what you’re looking for, these beaches probably won’t be too fun for you!

Here are a few of the best empty, “wilderness beaches” near the JAX airport/Jacksonville, Florida area and south Georgia.

Cumberland Island
Peace and Serenity is what you’ll find on Cumberland Island

My favorite place and beaches are on Cumberland Island. The park service regulates how many people are out on the island with their ferry rides and there aren’t that many boat docking spots for those with their own boats, so it’s easy to feel like you’re on a deserted island when exploring Cumberland. Plenty of history and beauty to be seen inland when you’ve had enough of the beach!
and gulls…

Jekyll Island
Low Tide on the Northern End of Jekyll Island

My second favorite place for beach walking is Jekyll. At low tide the beaches here go on forever and provide for some really nice walking, sand-dollar-searching and good old relaxation. When not interested in the beaches there are things for the whole family to do, including a sea turtle sanctuary, where you can learn about the efforts being made to save the lives of sea turtles. When you get done with that take a historical tour of the beautiful Victorian homes and learn about the history of Jekyll Island.
Fishing Pier at Jekyll Island

Fernandina Beach – especially near Fort Clinch State Park
Gulls take flight on Fernandina Beach

On the northern part of Amelia Island Fernandina Beach escapes from the grasps of civilization and becomes quiet and peaceful. While the sand is a bit more coarse than Jekyll and Cumberland, there is still plenty of fun to be had. After the beach tour go and check out some of Fort Clinch State Park- it’s amazing and offers some beautiful views of the ocean.

Little Talbot Island
Driftwood Beach, Little Talbot, lives up to its name

Walking through the soft sand on the Driftwood Beach of Little Talbot is always worth the stop. It’s illegal here to pick up driftwood and bring it home, and so it stays. The shapes and sizes of some of the trees that have become a part of the view is well worth the walk! If you’re a fisherman, there are plenty of excellent fishing spots along here as well!

Big Talbot Island
There is nothing better than a walk in deep, soft sand

Equally beautiful is Big Talbot Island, which you’ll find right next to the Little one.

2008 Republican National Convention- Held in St. Paul, MN

Photojournalism according to Wikipedia is a particular form of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story, [...] usually understood to refer only to still images.

There are many amazing photojournalists out there, all of whom can tell the story of an entire moment, event, day, or even year through their images. Below are five of my favorites

Pete Souza – Petesouza.com
As the Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza spends day and night covering the life of Barack Obama and all that Obama does, sees and lives. As photojournalists are concerned, he is probably my biggest hero, with both the best job and the worst job a photojournalist could hope for. He has to be alert to every tiny thing that is happening and ready to shoot in an instant- constantly ready and constantly there- wow! There is no down time or rest when you’re in charge of documenting the head of a country. Each and every one of his images will be seen on a grand scale and each one tells the story of an era- the Obama presidency!

David Burnett – Davidburnett.com
Not only does David Burnett take amazing photojournalistic shots of life as it happens but he also has fun. He experiments with his photography and does a great job of showing that the equipment isn’t what matters- it’s the photographer who makes the shot. For example he almost always carries his HOLGA 120N and frequently shoots with an old Pacemaker Speed Camera. I love that he always seems to find a different angle or perspective for his shots, not the standard look everyone else captures.

Benjamin Krain – Benjaminkrain.com
Benjamin Krain has fantastic abilities with the use of light. The light becomes just as important to his visual stories as the subjects themselves. His images tell a fascinating story with no need for more detail other than a title.

Vivian Maier – Vivianmaier.blogspot.com
To take a slight step back in time – Vivian Maier was an amazing street photographer. While she didn’t have a “job” as a photojournalist I would say she more than captured the stories of every day people in her images. While her images aren’t usually the “shocking” images that photojournalists are known for, each image is true to the day and age in which she was photographing them.

Heidi Schumann – HSfoto.com
Heidi Schumann does great work at capturing the spirit of the subject she’s photographing. Her images tell the story through the eyes of her subjects and allows you, the viewer, to connect. She makes the story personal.

One the best things about these photographers and other photojournalists is that the image you see is the image they took. A photojournalist loses once they start altering their photos. In the day and age of digital photography I find it a breath of fresh air when retouching is kept to a minimum of color, white balance, some exposure and cropping. A fascinating article on photojournalists that have taken retouching too far.

If I were to describe a magical wonderland, Cumberland Island is what it would look like.

Dungeness Manor
Dungeness Manor burned in 1959, but luckily the ruins remain to tell the story.

Gymnasium
This wooden structure has not been maintained over the years and soon will be but a memory.

Car Cemetery

Pergola

Cemetery
Gravestone where Robert E. Lee’s father was originally interred.

Wild Horses in front of the Dungeness Manor Ruins

A day trip to Cumberland Island, Georgia is always an adventure. Arriving 30 min prior to ferry launch, in St. Mary’s, Georgia you get instructions about how to keep the island beautiful. (Pack up all your trash, bathroom locations, etc.) The Ferry, Lady Cumberland, brings up up to the dock on Dungeness Ruins or Sea Camp.

The Cumberland Lady docked at Sea Camp

Looking back at Dungeness Dock

A tour about life on Cumberland Island is in the works when you disembark at Dungeness dock, though I skip it and run ahead in order to beat the crowds at the ruins of what was once the home of Lucy Carnegie. (Photo Essay on Dungeness.)

Looking into the sun at the Dungeness Manor Ruins

Wild Horses are never far from the scene on Cumberland, even with horses being a normal sight, something about them being wild makes them far more intriguing than their domesticated counterparts… Or maybe it’s just the setting.

Wild Horses on Cumberland Island

“Car Graveyard” of Dungeness Ruins

After Dungeness Manor and the “Car Graveyard” it’s off to the beach. Walking through the dunes is a bonafide work out, but well worth it, just to see the beautiful white sand and to feel it slip between the toes of your sandals (there are pokers, don’t walk barefoot just yet!)

Cumberland Beach is wide, expansive and never ending! I could walk on the beach forever. I’m not much of a sun-tanner, so instead I walk, feed the gulls, and pick up shells- “Sand Dollars” and “Shark Eyes” are my favorites to collect on Cumberland.

Excited Seagulls on the island

“Earnings” come in the form of sand dollars

The walk on the beach up to the Sea Camp entrance back to the rest of the island is a leisurely one. You don’t want to get back too soon, as then you’ll be playing the waiting game (and probably swatting off the pesky gnats).

Path at Sea Camp

If you get dropped off at the Sea Camp Dock you might be in luck! There are bike rentals available- first come first serve!

One of the lucky few that rented a bike

The circuit- Ferry Drop off at Dungeness dock, to the beach. Follow the beach up to Sea Camp and then inland to the Sea Camp Dock is about 3 to 4 miles of walking- so wear comfortable shoes!

Sea Camp dock after a long day

Shootouts: Time Trials for individuals

RedBull has created a truly thrilling sporting event with “Crashed Ice“. Serious ice skating, rough ice, hairline turn, steep slopes, crowds and historic buildings, what more could you ask for!

For the first time ever, it’s in the US, and no other than St. Paul, MN- the perfect way to start off our Winter Carnival season!

The Track:
I’m not sure of the length of the track, but I am sure that I would not want to be on it.
Jumps, Steep Slopes, Sharp turns, Hairline Steep Turns on the side of buildings and so much more…





To see a map of the layout, click here.

My favorite part of the set up though was the cameras. They had them on pulleys and wires, with weights and remote controls as well as standard methods to track the skater from start to finish- amazing.
Camera and system operated on a remote control, to rotate the camera to follow the skater
The Camera system in action

Check out more details here for the final events!