After stuffing ourselves at brunch, we headed to Driftwood Beach to, not only attempt to walk off the calories, but to try and get another glimpse of the capsized MV Golden Ray.

Driftwood Beach is located at the northern end of the island, taking up the space in between the Clam Creek Picnic Area and the Villas by the Sea Resort.

How this area came to be is quite fascinating. I learned during my first visits to the island that the strong ocean currents have been gradually eroding the northern end of the island and depositing the sediment at the southern end. This is why the famous Jekyll Island Sandbar at Great Dunes Park, not only exists, but has shifted south, (the sign for the sandbar no longer lines up with the actual sandbar). Those ocean currents are responsible for what is seen at Driftwood Beach.

At some point in the distant past, this area was covered with large oak and pine trees. Many, many years of erosion gradually removed the soil and sediment that supported the trees. When enough was enough, they fell over and began to decay.

The result is a beach that has become a tree graveyard.

For whatever reason, you can also find non-tree items here and there.

But for the most part, this stretch of sand is littered with dead trees.

It's easy to understand why Driftwood Beach has been described as, "picturesque," and is probably the most photographed location on the island.

Driftwood Beach is also a popular spot for weddings and other outdoor events. We didn't see anyone getting married today. But there were a lot of beach visitors.

Driftwood Beach is also a popular destination for amateur photographers, of which there were many today.

Danita and I were among that group, (although I consider myself a picture-taker at best).

We continued wandering north snapping pics along the way.

I love the way some of the trees are still completely upright thanks to a large root structure clinging to what sand and sediment remains.

But Mother Nature eventually wins.

Navigating the beach was quite challenging in some spots.

I managed to capture a couple of beach visitors in mid-flight.

We continued walking north to try and get a good view of the MV Golden Ray.

As expected, I was continuously getting distracted by the beautiful scenery.

The photo above shows another area where navigating the dead trees was more difficult than expected.

This has a lot to due with the tides. At high tide, like it was during our visit, there isn't much available beach, thus forcing us to climb through the dead trees.

I kept walking north, climbing through the trees and dodging the holes in the sand.

The photos above and below were taken at an area where some parts of the beach were lower than others.

If I had to guess, I would say that at high tide, this whole area would be under water.

It looks like this is as far as I'm going to get without going for a swim.

I was hoping Driftwood Beach would give me a good view of the capsized cargo ship, and wasn't disappointed.

The incoming tide meant I was running out of available beach. So this spot would have to do.

I mentioned earlier that the sleeping ship in the photos above and below is the MV Golden Ray, a vehicle carrier owned by ocean logistics company Hyundai Glovis.

Early in the morning on September 8, 2019, the Golden Ray departed the Port of Brunswick and was headed outbound on the Brunswick River toward the Atlantic Ocean and eventually Baltimore, Maryland. About 20 minutes into the journey, the ship unexpectedly began to list, or lean to one side. Whatever was happening quickly developed into an emergency and caused the Captain to intentionally ground the ship in shallow water in St. Simons Sound where it capsized.

News stories seem to indicate that the ship suffered some kind of onboard fire. But other things like "faulty ballasting" and "cargo shift" were also mentioned. The ship was carrying approximately 4,200 vehicles at the time.

Once the Captain and 23 crew members were safely evacuated from the ship, efforts were then directed toward keeping this situation from getting worse. The first priority was to remove all of the ship's fuel.

Next to go were the propeller and rudder. Rocks were also being placed around the ship in order to slow down erosion, (which results from the previously mentioned ocean currents), and stabilize the ship.

In October 2019, recovery experts determined that there was no way to refloat the ship so it could be towed away. So a plan is in the works to scrap the ship onsite, (i.e. cutting it into pieces and hauling them, and all the cars inside the cargo hold, away), in a process that may last through the rest of 2020.

In other words, the capsized ship will continue to be a tourist attraction for a while.

I see I'm not the only one taking pictures.

Taking pictures.

There are other things to zoom in on besides the capsized ship. The St. Simons Island Light Station is visible from here. Now that I think about it, this would probably be a great place from which to view the ship.

To the left of the lighthouse is the St. Simons Island Pier.

Zooming in on St. Simons Island.

We decided to head back to the car so we could get to our next stop. I snapped a few more pics of the ship on the way.

This ship is probably going to be here for a while.

I spotted some air traffic overhead.

My 250 mm lens can't get me in as far as the 35x optical zoom of the old camera. But it does quite well.