I slept in this morning; everyone else went for a walk and got tea/coffee.
Eventually, we loaded up the van for the day and made the 30-minute drive over to Jekyll Island. The entire island is a state park, sort of. Except that some 800 to 900 people live there, also. And there are hotels/resorts. Either way, you have to pay $8 to get through the gate on the only road that goes to it.
Our destination: the bike rental company in the parking lot of the Days Inn & Suites.
We took our beach cruisers south, on the lovely bike path, with the aim of circumnavigating the island on the 16ish-mile loop.
It was perfect biking weather, with a strong ocean breeze to keep us cool. The path meandered over boardwalks through marshes, through parks and lines of oak trees draped with Spanish moss, and through the historic district.
We did most of a lap around the Jekyll Island Club, so I could find the cafe and get my afternoon cappuccino.
Christie had seen mention of the annual treasure hunt while perusing the web for something, so we stopped a few places to search for the plastic orbs. The event runs January 1st through the end of February, so we just made it!
One of the places we stopped to look around was the Horton House.
Mostly, we took an extended break for water/snacks and stretching, while Christie searched the area.
Back on the trail, they made the mistake of letting me lead, so we took a detour up a side trail to Driftwood Beach.
Not really wanting to pause our bike circuit (or, more importantly, delay lunch), we voted to come back later in the day, in the van, to see the beach.
The ride down the east coast of the island was scenic, but a bit windier than the other side, and also lacking in shade trees. We found a bit of shade at a beach access boardwalk, and took a short break to watch the waves crash on the beach.
We returned the bikes some time around 2:30 PM, then drove down the road to Zachry's Riverhouse for light lunch.
After lunch, we still had a few hours of daylight left, so we drove roughly the same route we had biked, but in the opposite direction, to stop and see the beaches we had passed. Also to look for treasure globes.First up was the St. Andrews Picnic Area & Beach.
The beach was beautiful and empty, but there was a sign advising against swimming due to water quality issues. Shannon helped Christie search for treasure, while Sabrina and I just went for a walk.
After that stop, we took a lazy ride back up to Driftwood Beach to explore it on foot. It might be more accurately called a tree graveyard.
Christie probably got some very artistic shots.
The tree-heavy stretch is maybe 1/2 a mile, and we walked most of it (twice). But around 5 PM, the bugs starting coming out, so we fled back to the safety of the van.
Back on St. Simons Island, we unloaded, cleaned up, and considered our options for a light dinner. We ended up at Ember, up by the Winn-Dixie.
Earlier, our lunch venue had teased the possibility of key lime pie, but they were out of it by the time we were ready. Because of this, some of us were on a mission to find key lime pie, and Ember didn't have any. Instead, we sought out another location for dessert, down the street at Fiddlers, not far from the brewery we tried on Saturday night.
Everyone agrees that we need a day of relaxation tomorrow, so we might find a quiet spot to sit and read. Kayaking has been pushed to Wednesday.
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