Brunswick Ga – Jekyll & St Simon Islands

Brunswick, Ga – Our next stop on the slow journey to Florida was to a new destination for us. One that we have previously sailed by I-95 when either north or southbound. Having three more days before we are booked to arrive in Florida we camped in Brunswick and then explored the islands on our two down days. In my prior post, I posted some photos that Pat took on Jekyll Island exclusively from Driftwood Beach. In this post we will explore more of the Jekyll and St Simon Islands.

Short Drive

The big diesel truck was just barely up to operating temp when we arrived at our destination in Brunswick, Ga. One hour and 60 some miles. Easy drive down a very busy I-95. Seems half of the east coast was headed to Florida. It’s that time for the snowbirds.

Brunswick, Ga. – Coastal Georgia RV Resort

Brunswick has a population of 16,000 and is located about midway between Savannah and Jacksonville Fl. It even has a historic downtown area that we did not get to explore on this mission. More info from Wiki: British colonists settled the peninsula in 1738 as a buffer to Spanish Florida. It was incorporated as a city in 1856. Throughout its history, Brunswick has served as an important port city: in World War II, it served as a strategic military location with an operational base for escort blimps and a shipbuilding facility for the U.S. Maritime Commission.

Our RV park Coastal Georgia RV Resort was recommended by Calvin and Suzanne, our RVing friends. And it is a very nice resort. Having concrete streets and RV pads plus all the usual amenities such as pool, clubhouse, and laundry. Our site was a very tricky corner back in site that was just not long enough for the coach and truck. Next time we will upgrade to one of the long pull throughs. We made it work by parking the truck up by the office.

Jekyll Island, Ga

Measuring seven miles long by 1.5 wide, we decided to drive around it on the loop road. You can get access to the island by driving across the causeway and then paying an entrance fee. Native Americans lived here before the Spaniards arrived in 1510. Over the years, the English arrived and drove out the folks from Spain. From Wiki: General James Oglethorpe established Georgia as a colony in 1733. He renamed the island in honor of his friend, Joseph Jekyll who had contributed £600 towards the founding of the colony. For many years, including the “Club Era”, the island was spelled as “Jekyl”. The Georgia legislature in 1929 passed legislation to correct the spelling to “Jekyll”, as used by the former sponsor of the colony.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The island seems to be known for two items. The first was the establishment of the Jekyll Island Club in 1888. It would open every January to lodge the world’s very wealthy for their winter vacations. Members and their families enjoyed activities such as biking, hunting, horseback riding, and tennis, and frequented the north beaches.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We took an informal tour (i.e. let ourselves in) and had a cup of coffee on their balcony terrace. The Club is a magnificent old building that served as a hotel/condo, with restaurants, bars, etc. A very cool rich wood trimmed inside.

The other thing that the island is known for is the birth of the Federal Reserve System. From the Club’s website: Under the cover of night, and using only first names to keep their identities secret, Senator Nelson Aldrich led a party of financial leaders to Jekyll Island to conceptualize a federal banking system. Coined the First-Name Club, together the group drafted the modern day Federal Reserve.

And one last bit is that the first brewery in Georgia was here on the island. Dating back to 1747.

Click here for more info. Very interesting history!

St. Simons Island

St. Simons is located about 25 minutes from our RV park. Across a bridge and a few miles we arrived. We did drive around a bit, but St. Simons is more developed and touristy than Jekyll. Parking by the waterfront near the lighthouse, we walked the area, took a few photos, walked the busy shopping district, grabbed a coffee and then fled.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

This is the kind of place that we would have liked to browse all the small shops back before the China Virus. Maybe later this year that sort of mingling will be back.

The island has a population of 14,000 people and is about 18 square miles. More info from Google: St. Simons is an island off the Georgia coast. It’s known for its salt marshes and sandy stretches like East Beach. A museum traces the history of St. Simons Lighthouse, rebuilt in 1872 after it was destroyed in the Civil War. Anglers fish off nearby St. Simons Pier, which offers views of Jekyll Island and migrating whales. North, boats travel to Little St. Simons Island, home to birds like spoonbills and gannets.

Wrap Up

We are now at our first winter location in the small town of Clermont, Florida. The weather has been pleasant, but cool at times. It was 80 degrees when we arrived but then dropped into the 60’s for daily highs. Still not bad.

I finished my Grisham book and then read an interesting book called Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance. About a young man growing up in the depressed hillbilly culture of eastern Kentucky and southwest Ohio. Having everything imaginable thing against him, he managed to escape the cycle and graduate from Yale Law School. It does have some strong language that I do not care for.

We recently watched the Virgin River series, another called Selena, and the Crown series plus the Victoria series. The PBS royal family shows were very good. Now we are watching Supergirl that is better than I thought.

Every Sunday we watch a sermon streamed on YouTube instead of attending live during the pandemic era. We both miss being with others on Sunday mornings, but hope that changes for the better sometime this year. Florida now has the vaccine shots rolled out, but very high demand and waiting lines. It is free and first come first served for those 65 and older. I’ll wait a couple more weeks for the riff raff to diminish.

Other than the above, we spend our time walking 2-3 miles a day, doing small maintenance chores around the RV, talking to neighbors and preparing meals. We are now settled into our “Florida home” routine. All the while trying to stay sane in this crazy world of recent times.

Take care and God Bless.