Much of the intracoastal in Georgia is tidal marsh. Although Georgia has only about 100 miles of coastline, it is all along barrier islands and has almost 1/3 of the Atlantic tidal marshes in the US.
A navy cruiser in drydock. This one's for you, Steve A., as you know what it's like to have to wait for repairs to your ship. We also pass King's Bay Naval Station, where we stayed a couple of weeks ago.
The fishing/shrimp boats continue to fascinate:
Fort Clinton State Park on Cumberland Island:
Carnegie bought land on Cumberland Island, as the "old money" on Jekyll Island (more later) wouldn't allow him into their club. The Carnegies ended up owning much of the island and that land is now administered by the national park service.
We docked at Jekyll Island mid-afternoon (where Mary threw a line into the water, instead of into the hands of a boater waiting to assist-neither of us can remember the last time that happened, but it IS Friday the 13th!) and went up to the marina restaurant for lunch. In the hour we sat there, we saw a squirrel leap to the deck we were on, scamper onto the next table, and grab a chicken tender that was almost as big as he was. The deck overlooks the swimming pool, where we saw a bird sitting on the line separating the deep and shallow ends. He took a couple of drinks then treated himself to a whole bird bath. A young raccoon also slipped out of the brush and took a sip of the chlorinated water. We though that was enough entertainment for one lunch, but the excitement wasn't over. A man who had been sitting by the pool got up and walked to the end of the pool, where he stepped onto the styrofoam that was covering the hot tub and fell through. It was marked by orange cones, but he must not have been paying attention. Luckily he wasn't hurt.
John went for a bike ride to scout the best routes and we had an evening snack at the restaurant and enjoyed the live music. Saturday morning, on our way to ride, a boat was being lowered into the water. The forklift operator told John that they normally put boats up to 30 feet in this way, but with 32 foot boats, it gets a little "tippy".
The bike routes on this island are wonderful and offer much variety:
Wouldn't Tarzan love these vines?
Low tide-there are hundreds of little crabs scurrying busily in the mud:
We drove over this I-95 bridge a couple of weeks ago:
Look at the birds sitting on the boat, in addition to those following:
We toured the historical museum and rode through the historic district before riding more of the bike path back to the boat. We rode 5 1/2 miles today, Mary's first ride since injuring her ankle and hip (the old one) slipping on the boat when we first arrived at Patrick Air Force Base.
More excitement-Mary was standing at the stern of the boat, talking to a gold looper who has the good fortune to have a seasonal slip on this wonderful island, when Jill said, "That boat is sinking!" An 18 foot runabout had docked in front of our boat and the occupants had gone up to the restaurant. In the 20 minutes they'd been gone:
Mary grabbed the boat hook and called John down from the bow, where he'd been lazing in the sun. People came from other nearby boats to help and most items were recovered, salty and wet, before the occupants made it back. Towboat US used lift bags and a diver to recover the boat, which did not have its plug in place, but not before the revelers had plenty of time to drown their sorrows at the restaurant, while waiting for the boat's owner to arrive.
Saturday we rode 8 1/2 miles, and walked along the beach. This unfortunate jellyfish did not make it back out with the tide.
North Carolina and Florida generally have tides ranging from 1-3 feet. Because Georgia is further from the continental shelf, tides here can be 8 or 9 feet. At high tide, none of this beach exists:
Is this palm tree supposed to look like a pineapple?
The Jekyll Island Club was formed in the late 19th century by some East Coast millionaires including Morgan, Pulitzer, Goodyear, and Rockefeller. This is the most elaborate of the "cottages" and it has 17 bathrooms-amazing for the time except it was built by Crane, as in Crane plumbing fixtures.
Jekyll Island Clubhouse:
This apartment building held apartments for 6 of the members who sometimes wanted to get away from the clubhouse before their cottages were constructed:
Can you imagine a more gorgeous setting?
  We enjoyed the Georgia Sea Turtle Center:  Passport and Mary Frances resting at Jekyll Island:  |
| We are at Isle of Hope near Savannah and plan to stay here for a few days. |
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