DARIEN – I have a habit of coming here occasionally, staying at a favorite hotel, “Oaks on the River.”   The Darien River is a ten-mile tributary of the Altamaha River, which is pronounced “Altama-haul,” by locals all the way up to Lumber City where it begins.

Darien had its beginnings when Gen. Oglethorpe, asked the Crown to send a few Scottish Highlanders to the Georgia coast to become a buffer for Savannah which was concerned about the Spanish encroaching from St. Augustine.

Initially, Darien was a timber stronghold which appealed to one Tommie Hunter who was the son-in-law of the famous Scottish golfer, Old Tom Morris.

When Hunter came with the Highlanders in 1736, he was married to Old Tom Morris’ daughter who gave birth to the famous golfer’s grandson, “Tommie Morris Hunter,” who died in infancy.  His remains, however, were sent to St. Andrews where they were interred in the family plot at the Cathedral Graveyard.

Many visitors go there annually to pay tribute to the man who has been called the father of the British Open.  I have never been to St. Andrews when I did not go by and visit Old Tom’s grave and also that of his son, Young Tom Morris.  Each of them won the Open championship four times.  After learning about Tommie Morris Hunter, I have always paid tribute to him and his connection with Georgia.

The shrimp business here is not what it once was, but it remains viable.  It is fun to walk down to the docks and see the shrimp boats at sunrise.  We are a little more than a month away from an annual event for which Darien is highly regarded—the blessing of the fleet.

Dating back to 1970, the blessing of the fleet began and thousands of visitors have found their way to this coastal town where priests pray for a “bountiful” harvest and to protect shrimpers from the dangers of the sea.

As you watch the sun come up over the Atlantic and the marshes, you are reminded that Betty Foy Sanders, wife of former Governor Carl Sanders painted a fleet of shrimp boats at these docks that became an award-winning piece of art.

When you look out to the sea, in any direction, you are given an opportunity to survey the marsh and its glorious contents. Fish moving about, seagulls overhead with cacophonous squawking—how can such a beautiful bird sound so disharmonious?  

I am a collector of sunrises and sunsets.   They remain in my mind’s eye for me to dial up wherever I need a quiet time interlude. If you are good at daydreaming the coast and the seashore are the best venues for this exercise.

I have been traveling to the Georgia coast since high school and cannot think of a more attractive place on the Atlantic seaboard.  You can’t beat the quaint villages and the lobster menus of Maine; the Outer Banks make you swoon and the Florida Key’s are stunning and impeccable.  

The Georgia coast with its barrier islands is as pristine as there is, however, and I have often fantasized about taking a boat down the intercostal from Maine to Key West.  That would be something artists, novelists, and adventurers would give the highest priority.

Enjoying the Georgia coast offers varied opportunities.   I have been fortunate to fish the “Marshes of Glynn,” and many other areas from Savannah to Blackbeard’s Island and beyond over the years.

The Great Outdoors are for everyone.  You don’t have to be expert at fishing to enjoy the natural scenery and the picturesque scenes.  However, if you have ever hooked a 30-pound spot tail bass, and he is in a bad mood, then you will never have a finer experience in life.