…And Down on the Ground

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Let’s talk about St. Simons Island for a moment. This is a place that does tourism RIGHT. (And yes, it’s Simons, not Simon’s.) After the tour of the museum and time spent admiring the view at the top of the lighthouse, I walked over to the St. Simons Pier, next to Neptune Park. Can you say free parking and free admission? Many of the “touristy” areas along the coast, especially quaint little villages like this, charge out the wazoo for everything. Not here. The parking at Neptune Park is free, and so is the fishing/observation pier. While it’s not one of those “fancy” piers (like the Daytona Beach Main Street Pier), the idea that you can just stroll out to the end and watch people fish or admire the view without a fee is simply marvelous. A T-shaped pier, it’s covered for part of the walk perpendicular to the shore and open on the part parallel to the shore. (There. You’ve used geometry today. ) The top photo is from the end of the pier, looking back to the shore. On the bottom, you can see another photo of the lighthouse I had been in earlier. Neptune Park, according to the informational sign, was named for a former slave, Neptune Small. After the Civil War, his former owners gave him land (where the park now is), and he lived there as a free man until his death in 1907. It has walking paths along the shore and in the shade, as well as playgrounds and a whale sculpture you can do a photo op with. By the time I finished the pedometer said I’d walked four miles yesterday. With all of the beauty and history to see, it certainly didn’t feel like it! PHOTOS: (Top) The pier (Bottom) The lighthouse in the distance.