An Even Better Jekyll

Jekyll Island: Golf...

After the Gilded Age millionaires (Morgan, Vanderbilt, Pulitzer, etc.) left Jekyll Island and their “cottages” for destinations and mansions more tony, the State of Georgia converted this smallest of the state's barrier islands into a state park in 1947. Three years later Georgia established the Jekyll Island Authority in an attempt to put the island on a solid financial footing. For the next few decades Jekyll Island became a low-cost, tranquil getaway for the middle class, which found its beaches, golf courses and bike paths quite tony enough.

Bike Trails...

But several years ago it became obvious that the island's decades-old infrastructure and man-made assets were in decline, and in need of repair and long-term upkeep. To generate the needed money the JIA initiated a revitalization program that this year has seen major changes to Jekyll. There is a new, big and fancy Westin Hotel,  a “Main Street” that includes shops and a pub/sports bar. There is now more than two or three good places to eat on the island.

and a Little Thing Called the Atlantic Ocean

And while long-time residents complain of the loss of tranquility, Jake and Stone found plenty of relaxation and repose. While realizing that Jekyll in times other than the dead of winter might be quite different, they both felt that the charm of Jekyll had only been burnished by the new facelift, and were thankful for being able to get a good martini at at least one other place than the redoubtable Jekyll Island Club Hotel.

Wednesday, January 13: Wanting to go more than halfway from Jersey to Jekyll on their first day's drive, Jake and Stone stopped in Hillsville, VA. Here the Holiday Inn Express was not the usual good HIE experience, but the Mexican food and beer at the nearby Rio Grande Mexican Grill was cheap and good.

Thursday, January 14: After paying a week's entrance fee to the park ($26), their drive to the island proper was highlighted by their first bird sighting – an eagle no less! Their little 2BR apartment (yellow 4-apt building, here) on Brice Ave was a minute's walk to the beach, and though less upscale than their previous digs, proved to be adequate to their needs and a very good overall value.

First on the to-do list was the usual big and cold martini at the small and warm Jekyll Club lobby bar. This has long been our couple's favorite watering hole and this first night was hyper-typical of the convivial scene usually found around this 10-seat arena.

They fell into conversation with Tony, who was earnestly “traveling the world for peace with tea,” (see his site: Humanity.org), but on this night Tony was also celebrating a friend's test results of being cancer free. Toasts all around!

"Harry's at the Reserve"
Observation Deck at Westin Hotel

Seated next to Stone at the bar was a woman who pointed out an elderly, nattily dressed chap several seats away quietly sipping his drink. “Harry Anderson,” she whispered. “Ninety-four years old. His family built the Cherokee Cottage [20 rooms, 8 baths] here on Jekyll. Read the book The Strenuous Life of Harry Anderson, to find out all about him.” As Jake and Stone were leaving the bartender told them that Harry stays every year on Jekyll from January through March, and that the observation deck at the new Westin Hotel, Harry's at the Reserve, is named after him.

After the eagle sighting, Tony, and Harry, it seemed this first night was now certainly out of wonderful surprises -- until Jake and Stone stopped in at the Wee Pub on “Main Street” near the new Westin Hotel. Stella Artois on tap! and perhaps the best fish and chips ever!

It seemed only proper on such a miraculous first night that they return to the Jekyll Club Hotel for a quiet sunset view while seated on the large veranda. Then it was off to their almost-beachside quarters to sleep – if not “the sleep of the just,” then the sleep of the grateful, whose slumber is equally untroubled.

Friday, January 15: Much as their first drink is always at the Jekyll Club, our duo's first breakfast is always at the Waffle House in nearby Brunswick, GA. The two venues are a sort of yin and yang of their trips to Jekyll, with the yachtsmen and world peace entrepreneurs of the Club now being replaced by truck drivers and moms with kids in tow. Together the disparate two scenes form a sort of Jekyll Tao.

After breakfast the nearby Winn Dixie provides all the fixin's necessary for their apartment stay. The day turns rainy, which is OK by Stone as she delights in a long beach walk back on Jekyll down to the “Main Street” shopping area where she enjoys a haircut and local gossip at Kay's Beauty Salon. The rain stops long enough for Jake to have round of golf on a wet and windy Pine Lakes course. Then it's a quick dinner for them both and out to the movies in Brunswick, GA, where they see “Brooklyn,” which they both enjoyed.

After the movie it was time to try a martini at the new Westin. Here the long bar serves as the entrance to the Reserve restaurant, and who should they see at the bar as they walk in but Tony (of humanity.org) talking to two women. He had been a ladies' favorite at the Jekyll Club bar last night, so Jake couldn't resist kidding him about his wine-and-women path to world peace. Being a man of a liberal and benevolent nature, he smiled and raised his laptop as evidence in a trial he was bound to lose – “But I'm really only here for the fast Wi-Fi,” he laughed. The bar at the Westin is top-shelf, and like the hotel, very stylish. As was the martini. Tony was still talking to the two women as our couple left. But then the majority of humanity is, after all, women.

In Front of the Crane "Cottage"

Saturday, January 16: Jekyll's lone convenience store is a combo Flash Foods/DQ Grill and Chill right at the island's entrance. Here the java was hot and cheap, and the ride from the apartment down Beachview Drive afforded the bonus of a sunrise over the Atlantic. After breakfast with the brought-home coffee, Jake and Stone headed out on a long bike ride around the northern end of the island, down the island's western flank through several miles of trees ribboned with Spanish moss, and finally down to the Jekyll Hotel. Here they had pastries, tea and coffee from the hotel's Club Cafe on the hotel's backside veranda.

After biking back to their 2BR Jake and Stone strolled through the Brice Lane “neighborhood,” where a resident invited us to pick two oranges from his tree. (Full of seeds but tasty.) Dinner was hamburgers prepared on the provided BBQ. Sweet.

Sunday, January 17: As sometime Unitarians, Jake and Stone usually try to visit a UU place on their vacations. This Sunday they went to Brunswick for breakfast at an IHOP (after their hoped-for breakfast place was closed), then attended a very nice MLK-Day service at the UU of Coastal Georgia. The service was lead by an energetic great-grandmother, Jane Page, who splits her duties with UUCG and the UU in Statesboro, GA.

(In a bit of happy coincidence, the Pastor Emeritus of UUCG is none other than the Rev. William “Bill” R. Phillips. In 2007, just after they had both retired, Jake and Stone took a long motor trip down to Florida. Along they way they stayed one night at Rev. Bill's Jekyll residence (the rent went

Green With a View

to the UU building fund). That visit was their introduction to the wonders of Jekyll (the Rev. showed them around Jekyll's historic district in his golf cart) and serves as the starting point for all of Jekyll that has followed.)

After a snooze back on Jekyll, our duo had a wonderful twilight round of husband-and-wife golf on the best nine holes on Jekyll – the GreatDunes Course. (Stone was really killing the ball all late-afternoon long.) Then it was back to the ranch for some drinks, dinner, and some Sunday NFL football before bedtime.

Swing Time

Monday, January 18: Having heard that dolphin spotting on Jekyll was most likely successful from St. Andrew's beach, Jake and Stone headed south to the the island's tip. It was very windy, with not a dolphin in sight among the waves and whitecaps, but their beach walk was rewarded with relatively rare sighting of white pelicans gliding over the ocean. A short walk through the beachside woods gave them access to a primitive long-roped swing, which they enjoyed like kids, until some genuine children took over the play. A visit to the nearby Tidelands Nature Center proved to the best $4 (each) they spent on the island.

After lunch and a snooze it was movie time again, this time The Big Short. In the same mall as the movie complex was the Copper Pig BBQ & Smokehouse, which they had heard described as a “red-neck sports bar.” The pulled pork was tasty and the beer nice and cold, but there was little evidence of a rural/country flavor until several kids delighted their parents by trying to stay on the mechanical “bucking pig” inside the restaurant, while outside the restaurant several more kids squealed in delight as they fed the live “gators.”

Gators Waiting to be Fed

Tuesday, January 19: Near the exit for Brunswick on I-95, Jake and Stone had spotted the largest Denny's they could remember seeing, so this morning they gave it a shot for breakfast and found the service, food and atmosphere quiet pleasing. While Jake played 18 holes at Jekyll's Indian Mound course, Stone once again biked the paved paths and walked the low-tide beach. After an afternoon of relaxation and reading, this typical Jekyll day was finished with drinks at the Jekyll Club and dinner at the Driftwood Bistro with the best shrimp and grits of the trip.

Jacksonville-Baldwin Trail

Wednesday, January 20: Jacksonville (FL) is a little over an hour's drive south. To the west of the city is one of Florida's oldest bike trails, the Jacksonville-Baldwin Trail. Here our duo found a wide and paved path that is well marked and runs for 14.5 miles through rural landscapes. At the trail's midway point is Camp Milton, Florida's most important Civil War site. Today is part of a historic preserve and park. The trail itself was fun to ride, and its canopy of trees gave plenty of shade. The trial's only drawback was its straight-line nature, but overall it provided Jake and Stone with a good, if not overly interesting ride.

Back in Jekyll, Jake and Stone did some shopping at the brand new Jekyll Market, which is a mainstay of the “revitalized Jekyll Island.” It is quite large (especially for Jekyll) and offers lots of stuff, including some six-packs of Jekyll Beer, which make for handy gifts.

Thursday, January 21: Another standard Jekyll day. The morning featured a 10 mile bike ride, with coffee and pastry at the Club Cafe making for a needed rest. After biking back to the ranch, Stone again explored the beach and read, Jake played 18 holes on Oleander, the third of Jekyll's 18-hole courses. Because it is often wet, Oleander is the least favorite layout at Jekyll, and on this day the play was slow as well.

Recreational Golf in a Park-like Setting 

(Jekyll's three 18-hole golf courses are all similar. All are player-friendly with very wide fairway, but quick greens. The costs are reasonable and the setting is wonderful -- tall trees, lush fernery, bird, deer and n occasional gator. Jekyll's golf is hardly spectacular, but it is very recreational, and that is a good thing.)

Before dinner our couple repaired once again to the bar at the Jekyll Hotel where conviviality was again in full flower. Dinner this night was at Tortuga Jack's, where the new owners seem intent on making this Baja Mexican place worth of its beachfront location. The food was good, and the service was earnest if not particularly coordinated. On the beachside of this eatery a new tiki bar is being installed, which should add to the festive atmosphere, especially in the (likely crowded) summer.

Glory Beach (Parts of the 1989 movie "Glory" were filmed here

Friday, January 22: With rain predicted for most of the day Jake and Stone make a return early-morning trip to St. Andrews Beach, stopping along the way for a windy walk on the long and deserted Glory Beach. St. Andrews Beach rewards them with not only a great view of a heron, but close-up, thrilling views of two dolphins cruising a low-land inlet not 30 yards from the beach.

As the rain starts, The Revenant proves to be a long enough(!) movie to let the clouds be gone by the time Jake and Stone exit the theater. Back in Jekyll it's a sunset bike ride around the Clam Creek trail, then back to the ranch for a dinner of pork, yams, veggies and wine. The night ends with a quick but delightful moonlight view of the beach.

Saturday, January 23: Frost this AM on our couple's car! My oh my. And it was windy also. And there was talk of a historic blizzard back home. When the going gets tough, the tough get going... to Savannah!

Another good thing about Jekyll is that it is but 80 interstate miles to one of our duo's favorite cities, Savannah (GA). When they finally ended their cold and windy walk to Goosefeathers (downtown parking can be a bit of a challenge on Saturday) their glasses fogged up from the sudden warmth of this go-to breakfast place. By the time they had finished their soup, eggs Benedict, oatmeal and coffee, they were properly armed for the weather, which actually got considerably better as the day went along.

Jake and Stone visited the UU church on the west side of Troupe Square. When they had visited last year the building was being worked on; now it was completed and looked great. Continuing their idle walk around town they stumbled upon the Owens-Thomas House on Oglethorpe Square. Finished in 1819, the house is one of the best examples in all of America of English Regency architecture. In 1825 Marquis de Lafayette stayed here, and the very worthwhile tour lets you stand in the room where he stayed, see the bed he slept in, and view the balcony from which he addressed the adoring crowds. A Savannah must-do.

Their ambling took them next to a stroll down Liberty Street, where they discovered Byrd's Cookies. After some free samples, they bought four bags. The day concluded with another happy discovery. After finding out that their planned place for lunch was out of business, they were directed right across the street to The Ordinary Pub, at 217 ½ Broughton Street. The squeezed-in address belies what lies behind the little single door and down a bunch of steps, at the bottom of which is a large basement, multi-roomed gastro-pub. Apparently a hang-out for SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) kids, it was just the place for a late, out-of-the-ordinary brunch of mimosas, beer, “Mac 'n Chz,” and eggs that was so filling the subsequent dinner back at the ranch was necessarily a light affair.

First of Two Whelks

Sunday, January 24: Another frosty morning, which calls for another visit to the Waffle House and some light grocery shopping at Winn Dixie. While Jake reads, Stone goes on an extended walk, the beach part of which provides several bird sightings and then the best part of the day – Stone finds not one but two whelks, which only appear on Jekyll's beaches after a big storm.

After watching Denver beat the Pats in game one of this big NFL Sunday, Jake and Stone start game number two with martinis at the Westin bar. Carolina quickly gets this game in hand and our duo falls into conversation with the bartender, who happened to go to school with the brother of Stone's favorite PGA player, Davis Love III. He assured her that DL III is as gentlemanly as he seems. Back at the ranch, pizza in the oven completes the day and night.

Monday, January 25: Jake and Stone start the day with a sunrise drive down Beachview Drive to get coffee at Flash Foods Then it's a bike ride up Beachview Drive to see their lodging place last year in Villas by the Sea. From here they walk down to the beach to view on-going construction work on The Cottages, Jekyll's new upscale residences, many of which have already been sold, even though not one is yet occupied.

A Red-tailed Hawk Takes Off

Jake gets in another round at Indian Mound, where his game is lackluster, but the bird watching is great. He gets up close and personal with a red-tailed hawk before it takes flight, then sees one of his favorites – the pileated woodpecker, and one new bird – the wood stork. Stone bikes again to the Jekyll Club Hotel, noses around the shops, and has her usual tea on the hotel's back veranda. Burgers on the grill complete the day.

Tuesday, January 26: Today is our couple's 36^th wedding anniversary. First is another sunrise drive for java, then a great round of golf at Great Dunes (Stone killing it, yet again), and then a fancy dinner at the Reserve at the Westin.

Sometimes a Cigar is Just a Cigar

Wednesday, January 27: Another day of golf for Jake at Pine Lakes, and biking for Stone, this time southward to some east-west paths that run through some lovely woodlands. Left-over pizza for lunch and some preliminary packing for tomorrow's exit. A nap, then dinner and a last-night cigar on the deck.

Thursday, January 28: The good times continued at their Jersey-bound road-trip stopover in Roanoke, VA. The HotelRoanoke and Conference Center is a historic, upscale, Tudor-style hotel that dates to 1882. It sprawls across a hilltop overlooking Roanoke

Walkway View at Sunset

and its railway lines. Walking about the grand hotel allows for many discoveries: the cozy elegance of the The Pine Room Pub, official pictures of three previous Misses Virginia who each went on to be Miss America (1979, 1999 and 2010), terrazzo flooring, wall and ceiling murals, and antique phones that can still be used as house phones. To stay here and not take a walk around is to miss a great opportunity.

A great opportunity for good food is also available but a 10 minute walk from the hotel. The Market Street Walkway, a glass enclosed pedestrian overpass with nice views, quickly gets one to downtown Roanoke where the restaurant Lucky provided our duo with a delicious last dinner and drinks.

Before their last night's sleep in Jekyll, Jake and Stone casually looked over some real estate pamphlets and on their laptop for next year's rental nominations. Perhaps on the river side of the island next time. Perhaps some place else. Whatever and wherever, it will be a memorable time, and a perfect spot to celebrate #37.

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