Georgia, Where We've Been

Jekyll Island

by Olivia
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Jekyll Island

Jekyll Island is a state park off the Georgia coast. Only 1 mile across by 7 miles long, it is a destination for peace and quiet in a picturesque rugged environment. People are allowed to live in the state park, but they can not own the land they’re living on. They can only lease it from the state for the time they live there. Everything is well kept. Houses, lawns, and walking paths are all in pristine condition. 

At one time Jekyll Island was an exclusive hunting club for some of the wealthiest Americans – the Rockefeller’s, Morgan’s, Vanderbilt’s, Pulitzer’s. Today it exists as a sanctuary for anyone looking to take a step away from the hustle and bustle of busy life and relax in nature.

One of the many sites on the island is a little beach to the north known as Driftwood Beach. This beach has been eroded over time and the trees and slowly toppled over by the waves and the sand beneath them gives way. This makes for some rather breathtaking scenes in the early morning light.

This tree was one of my favorites. With the sun directly behind its branches, it looks like the tree is tip-toeing through the misty water off to the left of the frame. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. 

On the west coast, where I spent a lot of time growing up, the palm trees are planted to accentuate the landscape and are well manicured as a result. Palm trees as we’ve seen here in Georgia and Florida, grow like unmanaged weeds. They’re everywhere and in every disheveled state of being. But that’s how they look in their natural state and my younger California mind is still trying to wrap my head around it.

While we were traveling along the south in Mississippi, Alabama, and the panhandle, (and also in Key West), the kids were seeing the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Now that we were no doubt on the east coast, the kids finally saw the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. As much as they like seeing the ocean, they really miss the huge waves of the Pacific and the body boarding they got to do in California. 

Jaden found this huge black rock on Driftwood Beach. We’re not sure what kind of rock it is, but he found a smaller piece to take home and hopefully will crack it open. He was hoping it was obsidian. Anyone have a guess as to what this might be?

Faith Chapel is located in the state park. I was told it had amazing stain glass windows that would be able to be seen inside, but sadly it was closed when we visited so that will have to remain unseen.

This old tabby constructed house was one of the first on the island. It served as a residence for one of the first residents to Jekyll Island.

Our campground had a pool that was not closed for the season. It seems this whole winter whenever we made it to a campground that had a pool, it was either closed for the season, had pump problems and therefore closed, or some other reason we could not enjoy it. Finally, the kids got to enjoy this one. It was really cold water though and Ellie went back to put on her wet suit to keep her a bit warmer. They had a blast though!

 

 

 

 

Southern Retreat RV Park

It was actually my intention to stay near Savannah, GA for our trek up the coast, but the campground I was trying to reserve didn’t have room for us when it was time to reserve it. So with little time left, I had to change plans and was able to find this one and fortunately they had one space left for us.

We were, however, placed directly under a tree, so Starlink was not as great as we were hoping. The satellite was being blocked by the leaves just above us. Our backup systems kicked in though and kept the internet coming in just fine. 

The roads were a little cramped and the spaces tight, but it otherwise worked fine for us. 

There’s a restaurant attached to the campground near the office in the front. We didn’t give it a try, but it did look good. Those staying in the park were offered 10% off their bill.