Life in the slow lane
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008
Looking for a bit of excitement, a taste of glitzy nightlife?
Jekyll Island isn’t for you.
If you’re interested in lowering your blood pressure, though, Jekyll- about an hour and a half south of Savannah- might be just the balm you need, a splendid destination for a day trip or a weekend getaway.
On Jekyll, the smallest of Georgia’s barrier islands, you can chase a little white ball through sand traps, play tennis, or glide along 20 miles of bike paths. If all that sounds too arduous, there are miles of beach where you can simply veg out, soothed by sea breezes.
Brunswick’s Ernie Williams was enjoying his own favorite low-key pastime Saturday, idly hanging a pole from the fishing pier at the island’s Clam Creek Picnic Area. His son, Trey, sat next to him.
“My daddy taught me to fish on Jekyll,” Ernie said. “Like his daddy taught him. Now I bring my boy out here.”
“Caught anything?”
“Not a (colorful adjective) thing,” he said, laughing. “Sure glad we don’t have to depend on this for supper.”
Folks have been fishing around Jekyll since roughly 2500 B.C., when small groups of hunter-gatherers started visiting the island. In the late 16th century A.D., the Spanish were impressed by the numerous right whales in the area and called the island Isla de Ballenas (”Island of Whales.”)
In the 1730s, General James Oglethorpe, interested in protecting Savannah against the Spanish in Florida, dispatched troops to build fortifications on St. Simons Island. After one of the soldiers, William Horton, was granted 500 acres of land by the colony’s trustees, he established residency on nearby Jekyll Island Sir Joseph Jekyll, a prominent Oglethorpe supporter in England). You can still see the ruins of Horton’s house, one of Georgia’s oldest structures, on the island’s north end.
Jekyll’s most prominent historical structure, however, is the Jekyll Island Club, founded in 1886 as a winter retreat for such mega-rich Northern industrialists as Marshall Field, J.P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer and William Vanderbilt. Surrounding the Queen Anne-style clubhouse, several of the club members built grand winter homes - their so-called “cottages” - now restored and open to the public. The clubhouse is now an upscale hotel.
In 1972, the Jekyll Island Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places; in 1978, the 240-acre district was elevated to National Historic Landmark status. Guided tours of the area are available at the Jekyll Island Museum on Stable Road.
Golfers will find three 18-hole courses on Jekyll (Pine Lakes, Oleander, and Indian Mound) and a nine-hole course (Great Dunes). Tee times can be made up to six months in advance. The Jekyll Island Tennis Center features 13 clay courts. Other activities include horseback riding through Jekyll’s maritime forests, kayaking, miniature golf, and the Summer Waves water park, where children can splash through 11 acres of refreshing rides.
For many folks, though, Jekyllis best absorbed in slow motion. Birdwatching is a popular pastime; the island has a sizeable yearlong population and serves as a resting place in the spring and fall for migrating species. Other visitors love to simply amble along the beach, collecting shells.
Some don’t even move that much.
Atlanta’s Kathy Williams and Bonnie Bell, for instance, spent most of last weekend nestled in their cozy beach chairs, gazing out at the Atlantic.
“Just the two of us and a little liquid refreshment,” Williams said.
“Sometimes that’s all a couple of girls need.”
Reprinted from Savannahnow.com
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