Finally I am getting around to continue with the blog... busy days lately, but now the tourism congress in Orlando (more on that later) is over and I have to catch up.
On our way out of Savannah we first stopped by at Wormsloe Historic Site (see pic), a breathtaking avenue of live oaks and Spanish moss, which leads to the ruins of a historic colonial estate by Noble Jones, who arrived in Georgia in 1733 with the first group of British settlers.
Another chapter of history was written in Fort Pulaski, a large military fort, our next stop. During the American Civil War it was a turning point in military history, since new technology was first used. The Union army had rifled cannons and compelled the Confederate garrison to surrender. It’s hard to imagine how they shot their canonballs over the river into the thick brick walls of the fort, but, the effects are still to be seen.
Tybee Island is also known as „Savannah Beach“ and is a barrier island located just 18 mi. away from Savannah. It’s a pretty busy (mostly U.S.) tourists’ destination and even at this time of the year the fishing pier and the beach were crowded.
Rather than watching other people get a tan (or sunburn) at the beach, we drove to the Tybee Island Light Station & Museum. The top of the tower (178 stairs!) offers is a beautiful view (see pic). The very first lighthouse at this place was commissioned by General James Oglethorpe in 1732 to guide ships safe into the Savannah River; the current lightstation dates from the early 20th century.
On wednesday morning, on our way from Savannah to the Golden Isles, our first stop was in Darien, at Fort King George, for a tour with a re-enactor. This oldest English fort on Georgia's coast was used from 1721 until 1736 as the southern outpost of the British Empire in North America. It consisted of a cypress blockhouse, barracks and palisaded earthen fort - parts of it are reconstructed.
Jekyll Island is part of the the Golden Isles and was purchased in 1886 by a group of wealthy families - as the Rockefellers and the Morgans - as a private retreat. The Club shut down in 1942 and part of the club buildings are nowadays serving as a large luxury resort hotel. The island was purchased by the State of Georgia in 1947 and there is an entrance fee to get on the island. Named a "National Historic Landmark District" there are many of the gorgeous mansions their millionaire owners called “cottages” still to be seen.
One of the main sights of the island is the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, where hurt or abandonned sea (and other) turtles are treated and nests at the beach being watched. This is only one example for the effort on the island to preserve the delicate barrier island ecosystem. Driftwood Beach, also on the island, is a very unique view: a former forest was taken over by the ocean and what’s left is bizarre formations of dead trees on a stretch of about a mile. A member of the conservation service on the island also showed us the newly constructed Horton Pond with a nice trail around. Alligators, turtles and many birds are considering this area their home and it was a very peaceful and quiet place.
Fortunately, we arrived to St. Simons Island not too late and had a little bit of time to enjoy a swim in the ocean and our beautiful beach hotel, the Ocean Lodge, a privately owned, 2008 opened beautiful boutique hotel in "mediterranean" architectural style. We got one of the 15 large suites (they only have suites there),bigger than our apartment at home! The large balcony offered ocean view, breakfast was prepared freshly from scratch in the dining room (see pic), there was a rooftop restaurant, a bar, a little pool and a gorgeous stretch of beach closeby. A perfect retreat,unfortunately only for one night....
St. Simons is the largest barrier island of the Golden Isles. Moss-draped oaks line winding island streets and ensure shade, there is a little town with shops and restaurants (we enjoyed excellent crabs at Iguanas) and another impressive lighthouse (see pic): the St. Simons Lighthouse Museum — a working lighthouse built in 1872. In Fort Frederica National Monument, archaeological remnants of the local British colony and its defense against Spain are well preserved and shaded by huge live oaks.
There are two more Golden Isles we didn't visit this time: Sea Island and Little St. Simons Island. The name was given by Spanish explorers seeking gold more than 400 years ago. They "only" found astonishing natural beauty and mild weather. The combination of marshland (towards the hinterland) and open Atlantic Ocean, of live oaks and beaches, nature preserves and quaint little towns, combined with a breeze, which was missing in Savannah, made the islands a highlight on our trip.
Jellyfish (in abundance and allegedly being caught for export and consumption by Asians) and Horseshoe Crab at the beach we walked early friday morning for the last time before heading out South to Florida.
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