Tom and I have been pleasantly surprised by how many people come to visit us at Fort Frederica National Monument. But it is a great place to visit, especially in the winter. We have enjoyed everyone who has come to see us while we have been here.
This year, however, we haven’t had many 2025 visitors. Part of the problem is the three weeks we were in Ohio. John and Jackie and Steve, Amy and Emma were planning on visiting during that time period. Our not being here meant they made other plans. Maybe next year.
We haven’t been to see many people either. It just feels like our time has been too short this year. And we have been very involved socially with the other volunteers. Monday night game nights and one night a week eating out together means we have been staying close to home.
We did have some surprise 2025 visitors at the beginning of January. One day I looked up from the Visitors Center Desk and Ranger Caitlyn and her family were standing there! We worked with Ranger Caitlyn our first year at Fort Frederica and have tried to meet up with her every year since then. This visit we got to meet her husband, Blaine, and little boy, Grayson.
They only stopped by for a short visit. Caitlyn had a meeting close by and didn’t want to go back to Americus without saying hi. But it was great to finally meet Blaine and Grayson. I have heard a lot about them but busy schedules interfere with visits. Caitlyn is still a ranger at Andersonville National Historic Site and, with the way things are in the park service right now, glad to have a job.
Caitlyn and her family were the most important (to me) of the thousands of 2025 visitors we have had at Fort Frederica so far this year. But we enjoy most of the people who come to see Fort Frederica. Sometimes we have long conversations with them and some of them see us year after year. This year one couple that visited are RV volunteers at Alum Creek, just a couple of miles from our house in Ohio. They are full-time RVers and were in the south to enjoy warmer weather. They will be at Alum Creek for the summer and fall. Tom and I will stop by to visit them, because we know it can be a little lonely to be the RV volunteers.
We have also had some non-human visitors to Fort Frederica. The snakes have been enjoying the warmer temperatures the last couple of weeks. One of them is nesting in a hole in the fort wall. Another one was taking a nap in a tree after eating a mouse or mole. As long as they are not poisonous, we don’t worry about the snakes.
The sand gnats have been particularly vicious and unwelcome 2025 visitors. They will go away when it gets warmer, but right now they are very hungry. I sold a record amount of No Natz last week in the gift shop. People are happy to pay $7 for a little bottle. Anything to keep the biting gnats away.
In addition to snakes and gnats, we have our usual deer, variety of shore and song birds, and the occasional dolphin or alligator sighting. The azaleas have made their annual return and they are gorgeous.
We have enjoyed all the people and wildlife sightings this year. The visit from Ranger Caitlyn and her family was a wonderful surprise. Getting to meet people from all over is the reason we do this job.