Are We There Yet?
Jekyll Island

by Linda Holloway and Ashley Sellers
photography by Holloway Photography,
www.hollowayproductions.com

Larry and I were invited to attend a travel journalist and photographers trade show that could have easily been dubbed “Destination musical chairs.” We had the opportunity to meet convention and visitors bureau representatives from across America.
Representatives were allotted ten minutes to tell us about the uniqueness of their destination. Then the bell would ring and as “American Idol” critic, Simon Cowell, would say, “Off you go now.” About the time it seemed the destinations were all running together, I met Patrick Saylor, representing Brunswick and the Golden Isles of Georgia, including Jekyll Island. By the time Patrick had finished sharing the history and photos of the area, I was sharpening my pencil and Larry was cleaning his camera lens.

Jekyll Island is a pristine barrier island located midway between Savannah, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida. The Jekyll Island Club Hotel opened in1888 as an exclusive hunting retreat for the nation’s wealthiest financiers and industrialists of the time. Accessible only by water, the elite group arrived aboard yachts to escape the harsh northern winter, often with their children and nannies. By 1900, the Jekyll Island Club membership included names like Rockefeller, Morgan, Pulitzer and Vanderbilt.

The Club fell into disrepair after the Great Depression and the 1942 season was effectively the final season. The state of Georgia purchased Jekyll Island in 1947 and the hotel is now owned by a limited partnership. Everyone can now enjoy the beauty of the island and the Jekyll Island Club Hotel that was once exclusive to America’s wealthiest families.

Today’s Jekyll Island Club Hotel
After traveling six miles along the Downing Musgrove Causeway, take a left for relaxation. As you continue, a road leads past a row of “upscale” historic cottages punctuated by live oaks dripping with Spanish moss. The Jekyll Island Club Hotel is the center of a 240-acre historic village that is a National Historic Landmark and a designated Historic Hotel of America. With a setting straight from the cover of a history novel, the Victorian treasure, with its famed turret, is still in tact.

I have written articles about Jekyll Island Club Hotel for history magazines, newspapers and have penned two romance articles. But there is more. The Jekyll Island Club Hotel rolls out the red carpet for the younger set with its Club Juniors Program. Here, we found a destination where families can have fun in a relaxing unhurried atmosphere. This trip we decided to introduce our grandson, Gunnar, and our daughter Ashley, to a place where nature, surf and history blend perfectly for a summer vacation.

You will notice the difference in this hotel from the moment you arrive where bellmen welcome guests under the wooden Porte Cochere. A few steps away you will find the verandah. Take a moment to sit and enjoy the comforting sound of rocking chairs on wooden planks and reminisce about your grandparents’ front porch. The hotel provides five historic settings where you can choose from 157 guest rooms and suites including the main hotel, Annex, San Souci and the restored Crane Cottage and Cherokee Cottage. All of the areas are complemented by beautiful courtyards, gardens and abundance of recreation.

The near Olympic size swimming pool is one of the kids’ favorite hotel amenities. There is also a putting green and croquet on the front lawn. You can drive a short distance or the bellman will deliver you to the hotel’s private slice of beach along the Atlantic Ocean. After a day of island exploring, dine at Café Solterra, serving up delicious pizzas, or enjoy the Grand Dining Room where children are always welcome. The original millionaires of the Club were required to dine in the Grand Dining Room where they were served 10-course meals. If the dining room and hotel seem familiar, thank Hollywood. “The Legend of Bagger Vance” featuring Will Smith and Matt Damon was filmed here.

We ensured Gunnar “vacation memories” by enrolling him in the hotel’s Club Juniors program available for children 5-12 years old. The group experienced the “Back in Time” program by boarding a trolley to Mistletoe Cottage—known in the Club era as the site for the best parties. Many times these were “masked balls.” The morning’s activity, “Hats and Canes,” involved making masks, fans and cards similar to those that were used at parties more than 100 years ago. Gunnar learned how gentlemen should walk with a cane and the girls donned period clothes and hats. This was great fun while experiencing a history lesson led by docents from the History Museum.

The popular “That’s Entertainment” series of Club Juniors has a different itinerary each day. Gunnar especially enjoyed a trip to Clam Creek for a crabbing expedition with the Club Junior staff. Also included in the fun are activities such as Cooking for Kids, Stories and Dolls from Portugal, Colonial Music for Kids, crafts and an old fashion hayride. There are also puppet shows and a juggler that will keep the kids spellbound. They will want to sign up to search for treasure with “Pirate Goodie and the Magic Chest program.” The Raptors, Reptiles and Giant Insects program is always exciting.

While the kids are enjoying Club Juniors activities, take a guided tour of the hotel where you will visit the room where the Federal Reserve Banking System was established by a secret meeting in the early 1900s. History notes that the first transcontinental telephone call was made from Jekyll Island in 1915 and it is the common belief it was made from the hotel. You will want to spend some time viewing the film in the nearby Jekyll Island Museum and enjoy the photos that tell the stories of the past. The historic cottages are a must-see, and a carriage ride is a good way to enjoy scenery.
Families can discover Jekyll Island by pedaling along 22 miles of bicycle paths through maritime forest and nine miles of beach. The SummerWaves Water Park will be at the top of the kids’ “to do” list. You will enjoy 63 holes of golf, tennis and horseback riding. The Tidelands Nature Center is where you can visit a corn snake, fish, alligators and other species native to Georgia’s coast. Make sure you take a short drive to St. Simons Island where the adventure on the high seas begins with a trip to the St. Simons Lighthouse, a real working lighthouse. Bring your binoculars and once you have climbed 129 steps, search for pirates on the high seas.

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center
On our last day at Jekyll Island we visited a unique hospital where the patients dine on blue crabs. Georgia’s first center for the care of sick and injured turtles is located just east of the Jekyll Island Hotel. The Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) conducts scientific research and the “hospital” is a state-of-the art emergency facility. Since the GSTC opened in June 2007, more than 52,000 people have visited.

Here you will meet the hospital’s current patients and learn how they are being nursed back to health, and the staff also educates visitors on protecting the turtles and their hatchlings. The loggerhead sea turtle is the most common turtle species along the Georgia Coast and Jekyll Island is a prime nesting destination.

The educational stations in the Exhibit Gallery introduced us to the world of sea turtles where we learned that loggerhead sea turtles can weigh as much as 400 pounds. This summer the GSTC will also sponsor a Sea Turtle camp for kids. The hospital is in the rear of the facility where Gunnar was allowed to feed the giant patients blue crab in their tanks. One of the most popular patients, Dylan, a 9-year-old loggerhead, was once cared for at the Georgia Aquarium.

When the turtles are released back into the wild, they are outfitted with a satellite transmitter. Golden Boy was released while we were on the island, and we enjoyed tracking his journey from the GSTC’s website. If you are visiting in the summer months, make reservations for the Sea Turtle Walk where you can search for female sea turtles coming ashore to nest. With a natural built-in GPS system, they come back to the shores within 5 to 30 miles of where they themselves were born.

Gunnar was ecstatic about our nighttime Turtle Walk. We met back at the GSTC at dusk for a short presentation before we gathered at the beach. Since Gunnar had been educated about sea turtles earlier, he was spouting off facts. While we were waiting on the presentation to begin, a gentleman behind us said, “I have eaten turtle soup in the Low Country and it was really good.” Without hesitation, our often shy grandson turned around slowly and quipped in a whisper, “We are here to help these turtles, not to eat them.” What can I say—out of the mouth of babes? The staff can boast that GSTC has produced a new Eco-enthusiast!

Larry and I had actually witnessed a gigantic loggerhead sea turtle come ashore the previous year on the Turtle Walk and we wanted Gunnar to experience the same excitement. Larry explained in his kindest softest granddaddy voice “You must be very very quiet or you will scare the turtles and they will not come ashore to lay their eggs.” This was reiterated by the leaders of the Turtle Walk several times at the GSTC center. When our group arrived at the parking lot near the beach, Larry did the unthinkable…he accidentally set off the car alarm. People have often told me that Larry has some expressions like Chevy Chase (Clark Griswald) in the hilarious “Vacation” films. Well, he certainly had the “look” that night.

Hopefully, we were not close enough to the beach for the turtles to hear it. As soon as we reached the beach with our cellophane covered flashlights, Gunnar picked up a monster white Ghost Crab which promptly pinched him and he let out a scream. We didn’t see a turtle that night, but it was still exciting walking along the moonlit beach with a group on a mission to protect sea turtle nests and hatchlings. Hopefully, it wasn’t our fault that a turtle didn’t come ashore that night last July. I have chosen the title to my new book, “The Griswalds Visit Jekyll Island.”

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Fast Facts: For Jekyll Island Hotel reservations call 1-800-535-9547 or visit www.jekyllclub.com.
–The Georgia Sea Turtle Center: For more information call 912-635-4444 or visit www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org.
–For area tourist information call the Brunswick and the Golden Isles Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1-800-933-2627 or visit www.ComeCoastAwhile.com