Jekyll Island, Georgia

Jekyll Island is about 20 minutes away from the Hostel in the Forest and used to be the playground for 1/6 of the world's wealthiest families at the time. Apparently names like Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer, Everett Macy, Marshall Field and Cornelius Vanderbilt all used to congregate on Jekyll Island to escape the peasants but then left due to complications from World War II. (A local told us that they were advised by the U.S. government to leave but I'm not sure if that's true)

At the information center, a very sweet elderly woman directed us to Blackbeard's Seafood for a delightful meal on their oceanfront deck. After 4 pm, if you sit on the deck, they have a special: 1 appetizer, 2 entrees for $25. This fit nicely into our budget and it was a great way to see the ocean. Our view from the table:
The food wasn't spectacular but the view was. It was very quiet on the deck and was indicative of just how quiet all of Jekyll Island is. Since it's not overdeveloped and overcrowded, everywhere you go is very peaceful and relaxing.

After we ate, we walked across the street to the mini golf/bike rental kiosk. We decided that it would be hilarious to ride a tandem bike around the island and so this happened:
For $14, we had this baby for 4 lovely hours. (I say they were lovely hours, but Ryan insists that I wasn't peddling, so he'd probably write "torturous hours") Since I rode on the back of the bike, I didn't have to steer which perfectly freed my hands for taking pictures and tickling Ryan when he dared ask if I were peddling. Note to tandem bicyclers: if you try to swat away your wife's hand, you're more likely to hit the handlebars and curse than actually make contact with said hand)

We rode past a wedding, restored mansions and a pier on the way to the Fishing Pier at Driftwood Beach. We had heard from a staff member at the hostel that Driftwood Beach was gorgeous and we were not disappointed. I always thought of driftwood as wood that "drifts" onto the beach...but many of these trees were completely whole and one was even still standing! It was very quiet and absolutely stunning.

On the way back to the bicycle rental kiosk, we saw a mama deer and her baby...I took pictures but they didn't turn out very well and I didn't want to keep trying because I thought I might scare them onto the road or into a passing vehicle!
The ride back seemed like a completely different island. The way we took to get to Driftwood Beach went from plantation to wetlands to beach and the way back was strictly beach. It was beautiful and again, so quiet! The buildings and homes on the island mostly seem to have been built between 1950-1980 and then immaculately maintained but never updated.

We got our bicycle back to the kiosk just as it started getting dark and decided we should hurry back to the hostel for dinner.

(If we had had more time, we would have gone to The Georgia Sea Turtle Center, www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org. This place looks amazing and it's incredible what they're doing for these turtles. Luckily, it's only 1.5 hours away, so we can go back! )