Last Updated: May 2026
Leaving Florida behind and heading north toward Greenwood, South Carolina to visit Sandy’s brother Eddie, we made two stops along the way: a night at St. Marys, Georgia near the Cumberland Island ferry landing, and then two nights in Savannah. One of those stops was forgettable. The other was one of the highlights of our entire winter.
St. Marys, Georgia
St. Marys sits about 35 minutes north of Jacksonville, Florida — a historic coastal town dating to 1787, once a trade and paper production hub, and now best known as the gateway to Cumberland Island, the southernmost barrier island in Georgia. The National Park Service runs a ferry to the island daily at 9 a.m., returning at 4:45 p.m. We seriously considered making the trip — Cumberland Island is famous for its wild horses, untouched beaches, and the ruins of the Carnegies’ Dungeness mansion. But dogs aren’t allowed on the island. Jake stays. We all stay.
We walked the waterfront instead. St. Marys is a quiet, pleasant town, and on the day we visited most of the stores and restaurants were closed — presumably because half the population was out on the island. One of the more distinctive things about the town is the way shell pieces are embedded in the streets and along building walls throughout the historic district.
That bronze disk is a geodetic survey marker — a mean sea level benchmark used to determine finished floor elevations for construction planning, flood insurance calculations, and other engineering applications. They’re embedded all over coastal Georgia, and easy to walk right past without realizing what you’re looking at.
Orange Hall
One of the more striking buildings in St. Marys is Orange Hall, a Greek Revival mansion built in the early 1800s by Reverend Horace Southworth Pratt, a Presbyterian minister. The name comes from the large sour orange trees that once encircled the entire property. The house has had a layered history typical of antebellum Georgia — fortunes made and lost, Civil War occupation, changes of ownership — and now serves as a historic house museum. It’s well worth a stop if you’re passing through.
As for the KOA near St. Marys — on paper it looked excellent. In practice, it tripped our surge protector on arrival, had low water pressure, no usable wifi, and broken cable. All of that would have been manageable if not for the deafening road noise from Interstate 95 and the fact that we were hemmed in among the long-term campers, whose sites were packed end-to-end with cars, motorcycles, storage units, and laundry. Everyone we met was extremely friendly. The campground itself needed a complete facelift.
Savannah
The Savannah South KOA was the complete opposite experience. Large site, quiet surroundings, lovely views, no issues with electricity, water pressure, or wifi. A big lake out front with a resident population of Canadian geese and swans. We pulled in and immediately felt like we could breathe. After the St. Marys experience, it felt almost extravagant.
We only had one day to explore the city, which was not enough. Savannah’s historic district is one of the most architecturally beautiful in America — a carefully preserved grid of squares, each anchored by a park or fountain, surrounded by old brick buildings hung with Spanish moss and studded with historical placards. The whole city feels like it’s been suspended just slightly outside of time.
Even the police station had vintage police cars on display out front — Sandy stopped to admire them, still nursing the ankle she’d been favoring for weeks.
The Cemetery
We walked through Colonial Park Cemetery, one of Savannah’s oldest burial grounds. By day it’s a quiet, shaded space full of weathered markers and historical placards telling the stories of those buried here. By night, it’s one of the most popular stops on Savannah’s famous haunted ghost tours — the city is widely considered one of the most haunted in America, and the cemetery delivers on the atmosphere. We were there in daylight; we still found it genuinely eerie in the best possible way.
Gas Lamps & Carriage Tours
Throughout the historic district, gas lamps line the streets — a detail that feels completely in keeping with the city’s refusal to fully acknowledge the present. At night, the effect must be extraordinary. The streets were busy with tours of every description: walking tours, bus tours, horse-drawn carriage tours. We were visiting the day before Easter, which brought its own decoration — one of the carriage horses was outfitted with a full set of bunny ears and a bunny tail, completely undignified, completely delightful.
We had lunch at Six Pence Pub, a classic British-style pub in the heart of the historic district. We kept noticing people stopping to take pictures of us while we were eating and couldn’t figure out why — until later, when we learned that Six Pence Pub was a filming location for Something to Talk About (1995), the Julia Roberts and Dennis Quaid film. Apparently that table has some history.
River Street
River Street runs along the Savannah River on the northern edge of the historic district — a stretch of old cotton warehouses converted into shops, bars, hotels, and restaurants, with cobblestone streets and a constant view of container ships making their way upriver to the port. It’s touristy and unashamedly so, but genuinely lively and worth an afternoon. We’d have happily spent a full second day in Savannah. One day was not enough.
Visitor Information
Savannah’s historic district is located in the heart of the city, easily accessible from I-95 (about 15 miles west) or I-16. The Savannah South KOA is located at 4915 Ga-204, Savannah, GA 31409 — a good base for exploring the city with a rig. The historic district is best explored on foot or by carriage tour; parking is limited. Six Pence Pub is at 245 Bull St., Savannah, GA 31401. Colonial Park Cemetery is at 200 Abercorn St. and is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. For St. Marys, Orange Hall House Museum is at 311 Osborne St., St. Marys, GA 31558. Cumberland Island National Seashore ferry reservations can be made through the National Park Service at recreation.gov — note that dogs are not permitted on the island.
Practical Tips
One day in Savannah is genuinely not enough — budget at least two if you can. The 22 historic squares each have their own character and history, and trying to rush through them defeats the purpose. Ghost and haunted history tours run nightly and are consistently highly rated; book in advance if you’re visiting on a weekend. Horse-drawn carriage tours are a leisurely way to cover the district without walking, particularly good if anyone in your party has mobility considerations. The riverfront is more crowded but worth an evening stroll. If you’re stopping at St. Marys en route, check the Cumberland Island ferry schedule in advance and consider whether the timing works — it’s a full day trip and one of the genuinely spectacular barrier island experiences on the East Coast, just not one you can do with a dog.
