Written by Chuck Spicer
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27 August 2010
Volunteers Visit Sites on and around Island
There is no possible way that during every hour of every day a paid employee can be sitting at the “answer desk” in one of the many “visitor centers”, parks and attractions along the Forgotten Coast. There are so many hours and so little money. So volunteer help is enlisted.
So how in the world do the volunteers know all of the answer? They don’t but they sure try hard. Using their practical local knowledge or placing a phone call to someone who just may be a little more well-versed in a particular subject. In the case the of the reasonably new St. George Island Visitor Center & Lighthouse Museum, the volunteers are going on “field trips” in order to expand their personal knowledge of the surrounding sights and attractions.
The volunteers (many who are also members of the St. George Island Lighthouse Association) have been on several such trips. The latest was an adventure to the St. George Island (Dr. Julian G. Bruce) State Park; the brand new Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR) soon-to-opened facilities in Eastpoint and to the brand new St. George Island Plantation Homeowners Association clubhouse.
Visitor Center Executive Director Elaine Rosenthal hired a (John) Crooms Transportation bus for the sojourn. And at 9:30 am about 15 volunteers piled onboard. Amazingly only one was on “island time” and arrived just 10 minutes late. Others were to be picked up along the route.
Park Manager Mark Knapke boarded the bus at narrated the trip along its winding roads. Pointing out every campsite, boat ramp and observation deck in the award-winning 2,000-acre facility. Talking about the birds and bees and the flowers and the trees within the nine-mile-long ecological enhanced Gulf of Mexico corridor.
“Better know the waters if you are going to launch a boat. But the fishing is so great it is well worth it”
“We have reestablished our burn program to eliminate the chance of our assets getting caught up in a really massive fire.”
He chatted about his desire for the island bike path to extend through the park and about the quirky nature of the golf cart rules (allowed in park but not on road or bike path leading up to the park). And about WWII munitions and the missing William Augustus Bowles sailing ship.
One of the objects of the trip was to learn about the new “motorized mobility devices” pilot program being tested in the park. Everyone is hopeful it will be a significant success and spread throughout the state. According to park personnel, the testimonials thus far have been truly encouraging.
The park already had ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) approved facilities. What it didn’t have was a vehicle that the disabled could drive to the beach and travel along the shoreline. Or one that would actually allow them (with a buddy) to go into the water and enjoy the lovingly lapping Gulf waves. SGI State Park has one of each. Only the relatively constant need to recharge has been a problem.
Notes from users that start, “I haven’t been out on the beach in years,” have been heartwarming.
Make reservations for use of one or both of these devices at the front gate.
The bus then traversed the new $72 million Bryant Patton Bridge to the mainland and a quick right hand turn off Island Drive into the site of the new, soon-to-be-opened Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve in Eastpoint.
Boss man Seth Blitch provided a comprehensive tour of the entire 18,500 square foot series of structures that house public viewing facilities as well as extensive office and lab space. You can read the details of this wonderful asset in a special “Sneak Peak” feature elsewhere in this issue.
Then it was off to the exclusive “Plantation” section of St. George. And a viewing (and lunch) at the majestic new Plantation Owners Association Clubhouse. Can’t remember exactly if the” CO” was coming in that day or the next but you get the idea that the volunteers were among the first to see and tour the near completed fun house.
The two-story structure has all the necessary amenities (including porch rockers ideal for “just plain relaxing”) and a meeting/conference room (with adjoining kitchen) large enough to house every member of the association. The pool certainly looked inviting.
Guards always man the front gate and visitors need a legitimate reason to be in this ultra-exclusive 1,200-acre area. There are about 550 homes (about half of them are part of the island rental pool) and about 300 lots that are yet to be developed. Some of the homes are, in fact, mansions and mighty popular for large family reunions. Some neighbors whisper the names of noted folks who own or frequent the development. Most others don’t really care.
The bus slipped into the Bob Sikes Cut area at the far west end of the 28-mile-long island and made short stops at the Sea Pine Place fire house, built by the “Plantation” and leased out to the volunteer fire department for $1 a year, and at Longpoint Road, where Plantation Airport is situated. It has a 3,200-foot paved runway and tie-downs.
It was 2:30 pm when the bus slipped back into the parking lot at Lighthouse Park in the center of the island and next to the soon-to-be-opened St. George Lighthouse Association Lighthouse Keepers’ Museum. Five hours of touring and the group hadn’t traveled more than a dozen miles in one direction at any one time.
Now you have some idea why we tell new visitors to the area that they could “daytrip” all day and night for a month and still not come close to seeing and visiting all of the attractions and attractiveness of Franklin County and the Forgotten Coast.
SEPTEMBER WAKULLA WAYS
