A Day Trip to Jekyll Island

In googling things to do around Savannah, I found out about Driftwood Beach which is located on Jekyll Island. We waited until it was a nice day and the tide would be low and then headed out for the 90 minute drive.

There are just so many pretty drives in Georgia.

Fancy entrance...

And a long straight road towards the island, which ended with a toll booth. $6 please...

Over the bridge and wheee...down the other side onto the Island.

On the way to the beach, we came across a sign for Horton House. It seemed like it might be interesting and old, so we stopped to check it out.

It turns out that William Horton was another settler who came across with General Oglethorpe from England. An adventurer, indeed!

This drawing shows what the house would have looked like in the 1700s...

And this is what remains today.

As we've seen in other buildings, tabby is incredibly strong and durable.

The walls were constructed of tabby and then covered in stucco. You can see the layers of oyster shell.

Carrying on to Driftwood Beach, it was like driving through the haunted forest...

And this is where you can walk onto the beach. Although it wasn't raining and it was low tide, it would not have been a pleasant walk. It was so windy and cold that you could hardly get out of the car to take a picture. This large ship was sailing away, most likely carrying new cars that we had seen lined up at the Port Authority.

The beach looked interesting, but we decided to save the walk for a day when it would be enjoyable, rather than just a tick off the list of things to do!

A deer stepped out of the woods and was keeping a close eye on the people and the dogs down the road.

And then two of his buddies appeared. The first deer never took its eyes off the dogs.

Further up the beach were a few shops located in trailers. We got out to take a look at the beach...very long and very deserted.

We took a different route back out and came across these old houses. This one had a sign so I checked it out. The cottage then...

And the cottage now. It appeared to be a book store.

We then passed by this place. All of a sudden we were asking ourselves "what exactly is on Jekyll Island?" This was a totally different side of the Island. After we got home and did a little googling, we found out that Jekyll Island was a winter retreat for the wealthy from the northern states, who built these mansion-sized cottages.

This is the Jekyll Island Club, which was first opened to the public in 1888. Fifty-three members purchased shares for $600 each, and a limit of 100 members was imposed to preserve the club's exclusivity.

This is the duBignon Cottage. The duBignons arrived from France in 1792 escaping the French Revolution and started a plantation on the island. One of the last shipments of slaves from Africa arrived here to work on the plantation.

Being as we only found all this out after we got home, we decided to return on another day to do more exploring and get back to that beach. The area is surrounded by miles and miles of salt marsh.

Leaving Jekyll Island you can see the huge bridge to St. Simons, another island worth visiting on a day trip.

So many places, so little time! We'll be back...

The Old Sheldon Church Ruins in Yemassee, South Carolina

Thanks to the For 91 Days in Savannah guys, we had a few new day trip ideas. Today was the day to visit the Old Sheldon Church ruins. A view of downtown Savannah as we left...

Crossing the Savannah River via the Talmadge Memorial Bridge...look at that gorgeous blue sky!

And in no time, we were in South Carolina...

Country roads...

And here we are...

Isn't this beautiful? Amazing that these columns and walls are still standing after more than 250 years.

Amen...

Although the signage says the church was burned twice, information has now come to light that this wasn't the case. Apparently the church was gutted and the materials were used to rebuild homes that were burned by Sherman's army in 1865.

Brick beneath the stucco covering...

This is the grave of William Bull who was Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina from 1738-1744, and who assisted James Oglethorpe in founding Georgia, and laying out the city of Savannah.

Some of the graves scattered around the church...

Loved this old tree stump and roots...

This looked like something from an old spooky cartoon...

This tree has forced its way through the fence...

Interesting...

Many members of the Bull family died at a young age...

This tree was amazing with its branches sweeping down to the ground.

With one last look at the church, it was time to leave. What a magical place...

This amazing work was done by a tree surgeon. Jim's father used to do this type of work in the southern US in the 1920s.

There was actually ice on the water at the base of the pump. It was nice and sunny, but another unseasonably cold day.

The church is located about 17 miles from Beaufort, so we popped into Blackstones Cafe for my fix of biscuits. Mmmm...

Jim is looking quite relaxed...

The salt marshes of South Carolina, part of a huge ecosystem providing fish, shrimp and crab.

Such a great day...there is so much to explore!