St Simon to Jekyll Island, GA

The creeping crud seems to be on the way out.  Keith and I luckily had a very short ride from St Simon, GA to Jekyll Island, only about 7-8 miles.  This allowed us to sleep in a bit and have about an hour boat ride.  Since we were both not quite up to snuff, this helped us recuperate.  We got into Jekyll Island around 11 AM. 

The marina allowed us to have a golf cart for some exploring so off we went for lunch.  " The Love Shack" has BBQ, yardbird, and shrimp.  I had pulled pork and Keith had shrimp.  I thought yardbird (chicken) was funny.  The BBQ was great with a choice of 8 sauces.  There is also a shrimp festival here on Friday and Saturday.  The shrimp with Santa hats was cute.

After lunch we took off riding around the island.  The first English settlers came in the late 1730's when General James Oglethorpe (founder of the colony of Georgia) appointed William Horton to establish a military post in the area.  By 1738 Horton had made his permanent residence on Jekyll Island.  He developed a plantation cultivating barley and indigo as well as the first brewery in Georgia.  His plantation house was built of "tabby" a common building material of the time which is  a mix of lime, oyster shells, and water.  The remains of his 2 story house is one of 2 remaining, original, colonial era structures in the state of Georgia.

  After Horton's death in 1748, the property passed through multiple hands until around 1800, when Christophe du Bignon purchased the property.  Du Bignon arrived from France with his family in 1792.  They were refugees of the French Revolution against the wealthy.  He developed a prosperous plantation based on African slave labor.  Upon his death in 1825 his son inherited the property.  Although initially very prosperous, changes to plantation life came and eventually the family abandoned the plantation.  The Du Bignon cemetery contains the remains of several family members.

In 1875 a nephew of the du Bignon's became the owner of the Jekyll Island land and with help from a wealthy investor they made plans to turn the island into a winter resort for the rich.  They built the Jekyll Island Clubhouse.

Completed in 1888 it hosted some of the world's wealthiest people.  The 18 cottages were also built over the years by prominent people such as J.P. Morgan, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, and Pulitzer.  From 1888 to 1942 the clubhouse was open every Jan. for the winter season.  The club was said to have families representing 1/6th of the world's wealth.

The Annex was built in 1901 as an addition with 8 suites on two floors with enclosed parlor rooms with river views.

Today the clubhouse and Annex as well as the cottages have been restored and are historic sites.  Rooms are available at the Clubhouse and Annex as well as several other resort hotels now on the island.  Golf, tennis, horseback riding and water sports are all popular activities for current vacationers.  The island is now a year round vacation destination for many families.

Riding the golf cart back to Southern Style.

Relaxing in the cockpit of Southern Style looking south on the Jekyll River.

My new friend, Skipper, from the boat next to us.