Sabbath Ends

Sunday, February 13, 2022

We spent the first afternoon on Jekyll Island just driving around and getting the lay of the land, finding the campground, and the major attractions such as the historic district, the GA Sea Turtle Center, and some restaurants we had been told to visit.  Jekyll is a rather small barrier island, one of several, just off the coast of Georgia.  Interestingly, it is a Georgia State Park and managed by the Jekyll Island Authority.  The Federal Reserve System was planned on Jekyll Island and Jekyll was also the site of the first transcontinental phone call.  Prior to WWII the island was owned by the Jekyll Island Club and was a resort for the wealthiest of the US families such as the Vanderbilts, J.P. Morgan, Rockefellers, and Pulitzers.  Many of the cottages of those days have been maintained/restored and open for tours.  We enjoyed the many bike/walking trails all around the island which went along the shores, through the huge and many old oak trees full of moss, the salt marshes with many different birds, and to the beaches.  We particularly enjoyed Driftwood Beach on the north end of the island and spent several mornings walking along that beach while the tide was out.  The many twisted, weathered and gnarled trees created a beautiful landscape.  Not your usual beach.  Certainly not the white sugar sand beaches of south Alabama.

We visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Center which reminded us of the Raptor Education and Rehabilitation Center in Antigo, WI where we volunteered last summer, just mainly for all the sea turtles although they do rehabilitate some other turtles and tortoises  and occasionally a bird or two. Very interesting place.

Of course, we love to eat and since this was “vacation”, we enjoyed several nice meals, including shrimp and grits from the Wharf, and shepherds pie from Wee Pub Beach Resort along with some really good ice cream and gelato from the local sweet shops.

From Jekyll Island’s beaches you can see the St. Simon’s Island Lighthouse.  Friday was spent exploring St. Simon’s including the light house museum and climbing to the top of the light house.  Great view from the top!  We also spent a little while exploring Fort Frederica National Monument and realized that we need to allow more time for it if we return.

From there we began our drive south to Enterprise stopping overnight in St Augustine at the Cracker Barrel.  Our first CB overnight.  We were very surprised that there were 16 other RV’s in the parking lot when we woke up Saturday morning.  We had a good night’s sleep and a great breakfast before we made the final leg of the trip, arriving at the Florida Children’s Home shortly after lunch.  We would use the CB for overnight stops when in the van again but certainly the parking was really tight for the folks in the class A’s.  When we travel in Fred we will probably continue to use Walmart and rest areas for quick overnight stays.  We are now ready to learn what we will be doing for the children’s home over the next three weeks. Time to get back to work.