April 26th, 2009

We woke up this morning to distant Fernandina Beach! It was finally in sight! We arrived to our final destination two days early. Harvey Gamage, another Ocean Classroom Tall Ship, was here to greet us. While we waited to clear customs, we explored the other ship and gave the grand tour of ours. After we provisioned for the next few days, we took off to Cumberland Island in Georgia right behind Harvey Gamage.
Later on, students from both ships met on land for a barbeque on a local camp ground. We shared stories of all our adventures and listened to theirs. It was so wonderful to see some new faces and talk to new people that can relate to everything we’re doing. One of the students from Harvey Gamage faced our worst fear and ate a cockroach. However, the best part of the whole day was ICE CREAM!!! Many students took their ice cream and walked down to the beach. The sand was so soft like white powder. A few girls took a dip in the ocean when it got dark. The water was cool and so refreshing. After a great day, we had an excellent walk back to the dock. We walked down a path in the woods that was lit up with hundreds of fireflies. A few of the girls saw armadillos and lizards. We were singing familiar tunes and had smiles on our faces, for we only had two days left.

Kayla Altobelli- Libercent