Jekyll Island, GA

We spent the day at Jekyll Island. The whole island is now a Georgia State Park, but it started out as a retreat for the uber wealthy in the 1880s. In 1947 the state of Georgia bought the island from the Jekyll Island Club that these captains of industry had created. Their buildings are preserved as the Historic District.

As you approach the island there is an information center and State Patrol Offices. Remember the Hodags in Rhinelander, WI? There must have been a similar contest nearby since we found a decorated Georgia Bulldog. Cool! Go Dogs! (Oops, sorry Lorene and Dick)

You pay a five-dollar “parking fee” as you enter the island, but after that there is little evidence that it is a state park. There are homes, hotels, shops and even a water park.

As an island there are plenty of beaches, of course, and Barbara was obligated to go look for shells. But alas, this is not a good shelling destination. She was so excited at the first beach that she challenged the high tide to try to find shells under the wooden boardwalk. No luck. 

That luck held for the next two beaches we explored. The north end of the island is eroding away, and as it does it is leaving toppled trees on the beach. A positive outcome of this is the small alcoves of beach between the trees that allow folks something resembling privacy, and it cuts the wind. Cutting the wind today was not a great thing. It was HOT! Humid, too. Very humid.

While checking out a picnic area we found this big spider climbing a tree. Look closely at the base of the trunk. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is here on Jekyll Island. This is a turtle rescue and research facility. They have a turtle education center that is great for teaching about turtle conservation, and there is a turtle hospital. We were lucky to arrive at the hospital as they began feeding the turtles they were caring for. As they are feeding the turtles they give a little history of each animal and how they came to be there. It was time well spent, but you will need to wait for Barbara to get the pictures she took uploaded to the gallery to see the critters.

We finished the day with an early dinner at Sea Jay’s restaurant at a marina on the Intracoastal Waterway. Nice setting, but the food was nothing special.