Fort McAllister State Park, Richmond Hills, GA

We were exhausted after all the visiting, eating and celebrating while we were visiting with the family.  Savannah, GA was our intended destination but the campground where we typically stay was full and they didn't know when an opening would come up.  No problem, that is why we have wheels on our house. 

Alternative Destination Fort McAllister.
 Located south of Savannah on the banks of the Ogeechee River, this scenic park showcases the best-preserved earthwork fortification of the Confederacy. The earthworks were attacked seven times by Union ironclads but did not fall until 1864—ending General William T. Sherman’s “March to the Sea.” Visitors can explore the grounds with cannons, a furnace, bombproof, barracks, palisades and more, while a Civil War museum contains artifacts, a video and gift shop.

Nestled among giant live oaks, Spanish moss and salt marsh, this park is a beautiful location for camping, fishing, boating and picnicking. Seven cabins sit on stilts near the marsh, surrounded by palm trees and palmettos. The shaded campground is bordered by tidal Redbird Creek, a boat ramp, fishing dock and nature trail. A large picnic area offers river views and playgrounds, while another boat ramp provides access to the Ogeechee River.

The wheels were rolling early on December 1 heading south.  I had called Ft McAllister SP to see if they had any sites available and they said come on down.  There was a film crew taking over the whole campground for the making of a movie.  I don't know what the name of the movie will be but a Ranger said they film many horror movies in the area.  The film crew left behind these two pieces of equipment on the causeway.

We arrived after dark and checked in with the office and made our way to the campsite.  I had to use the spotlight on the mh along with the docking lights to wind my way through the narrow road with huge trees along each side of the road.  It was pitch black and all I could think of was that I would miss a turn and be in trouble.

The pull through site we had was parallel to the road and had a narrow opening to drive into.  Did I mention there were trees along both sides of the road?  We finally parked the mh and got setup for the night.  Water and 30amp electric only were available.

It was too late to fix dinner so we went to the Fish Tales restaurant for dinner.  It was a quaint place on the river with a marina attached to it.  We entered the front door and it was the bar area and of course everyone turned around to see who we were.  Satisfied we weren't a threat, they turned back to their drinks and chatter.

The dining room was in the back with a view of the river (pitch black outside), so we didn't see much.  I had a hankering for a nice grouper meal but at $19 I decided on all you can eat baby catfish.  Gerry ordered crab ravioli in cajun sauce.  The conch fritters appetizer was good, but not up to the Florida Keys standard.

I should have asked to see the "baby catfish" dinner before I ordered it.  They really were babies and we would have used them for bait back in Illinois.  It was difficult to remove the meat from the fish since they were so small.  They were tasty and the beer was cold so it ended up being a nice meal.

Gerry's crab ravioli turned out to be very good and she enjoyed it very much.  The glass of shock top beer hit the spot also.

The restaurant had a lot of character with nautical things all over the place.  The tables and chairs were painted different colors and fit in very well.  It was decorated for Christmas and had lights all over the place.  I'm not sure what the dough man guarding the door fit in with the decor, but it looked neat.

 I wanted to check the bait tanks outside but they were locked down really good.  I should have gone back during the day to check out the place but we decided to rest up and just relax.



The hurricane that came through the area the first of October really clobbered the State Park.  There were huge sections of trees that were blown down all over the place.  The road leading into the park had huge trees cut up and laying along side of the road.  All the damage was caused by the wind and very little water damage.  That was a surprise to me since the park is an island and right on the ocean.

Used to be full of trees

Over 400 trees were destroyed during the hurricane.

Foggy day in the park

I went geocaching while we were there and picked up a number of caches.  They were very easy finds since I think they were directed toward children finding them.  Hey, I'm not proud, I will look for them also.  One cache was near a sign warning about alligators in the area.

Sunday night there was a parade of boats all decked out for Christmas.  We saw a couple but there wasn't any parking and we weren't sure how long the parade would last.  And we still had to fix dinner.  

All in all we were there for 5 nights and enjoyed the peace and quiet along with the nights being black from lack of street lights.   That helped us sleep better, too.

We had made a reservation for Fort Clinch SP in Fernandina Beach, FL and pulled out early in the morning for the 122 mile drive down here.  It's been 4 years since we've been in Florida and it feels good to be back even if it is only for 3 weeks or so.  It's 74 degrees with 86% humidity as I type this.  

That's what we've been up to, how about you?

Oh, btw our visit count has gone up a lot these past few days.  For some reason Russian visitors have been driving up the count by 200-300 hits a day.  I think it's a bot that is trying to crack my logon password.  If they get in, I can't imagine they would be interested in the actual blog.