Darien, GA

A bit of driving and arriving in Georgia was like changing the channel to a whole different network. Darien, GA is situated in a land of majestic oak trees, and our lodging - Open Gates Bed & Breakfast - was nestled quietly among them.

MKR Historic State Park, part 4

 

After the house tour we walked the Jungle Hammock Trail, which was spectacular. I half expected to run into a snake, but didn't. Although we were near Orange Lake, we never got a full view of it.

MKR Historic State Park, part 3

Our tour guide led us through Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' house. From front to back we saw: where she wrote, where she drank, where she dined and where she cooked. Evidently all of those things were important to her. We also saw where she slept, but I'm not sure how important that was to her. Ernest Hemingway and Gregory Peck also supposedly slept there. At bottom, her pantry.

MKR Historic State Park, part 2

Seen here are the entrance to the grounds (with an appropriate Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings quote), the Tenant House (where the hired help lived), and the Barn (where our tour began). Throughout the grounds were remnants of the citrus groves, plus plenty of birds and roving ducks.

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Park

This was the fourth Florida State Park of the trip and the inspiration for taking this route. The park is conveniently located right next to The Yearling cabins. Breakfast however was not conveniently located.  We had to take a 15-minute drive to find breakfast in Hawthorne only to return to Cross Creek. No worries - if we wanted convenience we wouldn't have come to Cross Creek. Nor would Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings have. This was life off the grid and living off the land. Our personalized tour of her house and farm provided plenty of details about the lady, her life and her work. Seen here is her house.

hickory nuts

The loud sounds on the roof of our cabin confirmed my suspicions: hickory nuts were falling onto the cabin's metal roof. To the best of my knowledge these are from bitternut hickory trees (Carya cordiformus).

The Yearling Restaurant

Next to the cabins is The Yearling Restaurant. The place is as unique as it is remote, with bookshelves, swamp dioramas and historic bric-a-brac pertaining to the area and the works of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. The food is what you might expect: alligator tail, catfish and fried green tomatoes - to name a few items.