Category: Fun

While on our snowbird tour, we enjoyed our time in the campground at Jekyll Island State Park in Georgia so much we returned for a second stay. There was a good reason for that.  We have enjoyed every stop on our trip with Gracey (travel trailer), but Jekyll Island is so beautiful, and with so much to do in the area, we wanted a second chance to explore. In this post, we’ll give readers a glimpse into our first visit.

As is evident in the picture above large trailers and motorhomes fill the campground.  They arrive from a variety of regions, but predominately they come from the northern states and Canada, towed or driven by snowbirds seeking to avoid harsh winters back home. When walking the trails through the campgrounds, it is fun to count the number of different states and Canadian provinces represented.

On our first pass through the area, the skies were very clear, but the weather was cold and windy. Nevertheless, Helen (adorable wife) was determined to walk Driftwood Beach, just a very short distance away. This scenic beach is so named because the northern end of Jekyll Island is slowly eroding and deposited on the southern end of the island.  Large, dead trees end up tossed onto Driftwood Beach and resemble a tree graveyard. It makes for some great pictures, and some interesting beach walks although we found no shells or shark’s teeth.

Near the campground is the historic Jekyll Island Club and after leaving the beach, we toured it by car. The resort, founded in the late 1800’s, became the winter getaway for some of the country’s wealthiest families.  Names like Vanderbilt, Morgan, Pulitzer, and Rockefeller were among those on the membership roster and on the deeds of beautiful homes on the streets near the resort. The home on this picture belonged to the Rockefellers. A picture of the resort also is shown.  Please note that a group is playing croquet and dressed in traditional white clothing.

Snowbirds camping at Jekyll Island are a very busy bunch.  A whiteboard just outside the door of the community building listed all of the activities available to campers.  On a daily basis, coffee and donuts were available for early birds, and the room filled up pretty quickly with campers eager for conversation. A bus was always available to shuttle golfers to nearby courses or to take campers to town in Brunswick, or Saint Simons. Exercise enthusiasts had the opportunity for Zumba sessions or yoga classes, while another group immersed themselves in quilting or knitting. Since we were not going to stay very long on the first visit, we chose to do what we do best—find a great place to eat.

The name of the eatery that we heard most often was Southern Soul Barbeque in St. Simons.  Listed among the “Best in the South” by Southern Living Magazine in 2017, Southern Soul would be hard to pass up for anyone who considered themselves a barbeque junkie, and we qualified. We arrived in the late afternoon to order meals for take-out.

After salivating over the menu, Helen chose a brisket sandwich with coleslaw and fried green beans.  The sandwich was good and smoked well, and the green beans were an interesting twist to vegetables. She enjoyed them with a side of ranch dressing.  I had to get a slab of ribs, fried okra, and potato salad.  The ribs were meaty, and the sauce was very tasty and tangy. In all honesty, however, I’ve had better ribs.  I suspect that they were cooked a day or two earlier and refrigerated then re-heated…disappointing.  The potato salad was excellent. I ate everything nonetheless.

The disappointment with the ribs was a minor issue and did nothing to take away from our stay at Jekyll. On the drive to St. Simons I had to stop and capture a picture of one of the marshes that do much to enhance the beauty of the Island. On the return trip, I stopped to take the picture at the top of this page as dusk approached.  We’ll have more on our second visit to Jekyll Island and St. Simons in a future post. For now, I hope you enjoyed the pictures. We’re having fun just…Easin’ Along.

We were in the second week of our snowbird trip through Florida and Georgia.  Mayport Naval Station near Jacksonville, Florida was our home for the week. The weather had improved tremendously, and we were enjoying our stay very much.  Nevertheless, by the third day there, we were ready to spread out a bit.  It was time for a day trip.

Helen (adorable wife) had decided that we would go to St. Augustine, about a one-hour drive south by way of highway A1A. We both had been there before to visit friends, but neither of us had spent any time touring the sights. We planned to grab a trolley and take an in-depth tour of the historical district…then eat seafood.

With the weather cooperating nicely, the drive down A1A was delightful.  The ocean was in our view for a large portion of the drive and the time passed quickly. Helen spent some time on Trip Advisor as well as the AAA Guidebooks to obtain information on sights to visit, and by the time we arrived had determined that we could get a great feel for the area on the trolley tour. Soon the Castillo de San Marcos came into our view, and it was time to go exploring.

After parking Bert (Gracey’s tow vehicle) and walking a few blocks, we purchased tickets for Old Town Trolley Tours at a sidewalk booth adjacent to the trolley stop. We did not have to wait long for the trolley, but I did have time to take a few pictures of the activity in the historical district. It was busy for a mid-week day.

We boarded the trolley in the middle of the tour route and, after a few safety instructions (don’t jump out of a moving trolley) we were off. The trolley guide was an amiable sort, and it was obvious that this was not his first tour. The wind immediately picked up, and I was glad I had a jacket on. Thankfully, the sun was warm.

One thing became apparent almost immediately.  St. Augustine has stunningly beautiful architecture. As the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the United States, it’s architecture has many European influences, particularly Spanish, but also English and French. It was the French architecture that captured us first as we passed Memorial Presbyterian Church, built in 1889 by Henry Flagler, co-founder of Standard Oil and given much of the credit for the development of St. Augustine as a tourist destination.

Mr. Flagler’s contribution to the architecture of the area was evident everywhere, and one tour stop after another featured buildings commissioned by him at the turn of the 20^th century. Since I’m not an expert on architecture, I’ll let pictures, accompanied by a few words, tell the story of Flagler’s contribution.

Ponce de Leon Hotel, built in 1888 and constructed of poured concrete and coquina stone. Thomas Edison wired the hotel for electricity.  The Ponce de Leon has been the home of Flagler College since 1968.

The Alcazar Hotel completed two years after the Ponce de Leon, and also built by Henry Flagler, is now the Lightner Museum.

Other architectural styles were just as impressive to this retired homebuilder, including Gonzales-Alvarez House, built in 1723 and is considered St. Augustine’s oldest house.

I loved the many Victorian homes along our route.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The oldest drug store was built in 1739 and moved several times.  It is now a museum and free of charge to the public.

 

The Bridge of Lions, built in 1925 during the development boom, is a marvelous structure by day, but we understand that it is dazzling at night during the Night of Lights festival held each year.  The picture below portrays it well.

 

 

The Bridge also leads to O’Steen’s Restaurant, a place recommended by almost everyone we spoke to about the best places to eat in St. Augustine. Once we completed our very enjoyable trolley tour, we jumped into Bert and drove across the bridge. By now, it was mid-afternoon and well past lunchtime.  O’Steen’s would be both our lunch and dinner stop.

Our friends had warned us that there is always a wait regardless of the time of day, and sure enough, there was a line at three o’clock, our arrival time. Helen placed our name on the waiting list.  The hostess suggested that we walk next door to the Bizzare Bazaar and browse through the flea market while we waited.  A loudspeaker for the restaurant is inside in the building, and we should hear a call within fifteen minutes for seating.  Readers know that flea market browsing is our thing. I purchased an old James Bond DVD for Gracey for a dollar.

O’Steen’s specialty is fried shrimp and hushpuppies, and we each ordered a dozen. We were not disappointed.  The shrimp came fried in an extremely light batter without a hint of the greasy taste that some can have.  The hushpuppies were large and served very hot and very good. For sides, I had green beans which were just ok, and a macaroni salad that was the best I ever had. By the time we finished this meal, we were too stuffed for dessert, but the pies served to the guests around us were very tempting. We thought about it but passed.

Before returning to Mayport, we made one stop at the Castillo de San Marcos, a fort built in 1672 by the early Spanish settlers which enabled them to hold St. Augustine for many years.  The view of the river from the top of the fort was beautiful and, once again, we were impressed by the architecture.  The fort is now in the hands of the National Park Service, and our National Park Senior Passes were all we needed to enter.

At the end of our walk through Castillo de San Marcos we stopped to hear a portion of the lesson given by a Park Ranger.  We would have loved to hear more, but it was time to drive back to Jacksonville. Our side trip had been a success.  We left comforted with the knowledge that it is still possible to grow old and look good…time to be Easin’ Along.

After a relaxing three days in St. George Island, Easin’ Along moved our snowbird camp to Jekyll Island, Georgia for two days.  At that time, we could only reserve two nights, but we had always heard that the area was a lovely place to visit so Helen (adorable wife) booked the two nights.  While there, we were able to secure three more nights at a later date and returned during some great weather. We will save both visits for a later post on Easin’ Along.

Our destination after Jekyll was Pelican Roost Campground operated by Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville, Florida. Our drive down Interstate 95 took only two hours. We arrived in mid-afternoon and were assigned a great campsite near the end of the RV Park with a great view of the bay in front of us. By walking a few steps toward the street, we could see an aircraft carrier resting alongside the harbor (above). Mayport was going to be an excellent place to spend the next five days.

On this trip, we’ve learned that snowbirds are active people and active people organize activities.  The campground at Jekyll Island had plenty of events to keep campers busy, and Pelican Roost was no different. On two Saturdays each month a group of campers organizes a pancake breakfast as a way to meet and greet. Our first morning was a Saturday, and no one loves pancakes more than me so, I was all in.

The breakfast was well underway when we arrived, and the meeting room was full of chatter.  Most of the campers appeared to be in our age range. I can’t recall the charge for breakfast, but it wasn’t much. I asked the lady collecting money how she used the funds, and she told me that she used it to purchase the food so that the breakfast was self-sustaining.  All of the workers are volunteers.

Jeff and Barney, two brothers and Army retirees from near Buffalo, NY, always cook the pancakes. We met them shortly after we checked in. Both serve as campground hosts and helped us connect the cable TV provided by the campground to Gracey (our trailer).

I enjoyed meeting them. Jeff and Barney have spent several winters volunteering at Mayport while escaping the harsh winters back home. They make great pancakes too.

After the hearty breakfast of pancakes and bacon, Helen and I decided that we needed to stretch our legs. She did a little research in the AAA Guidebooks and learned that the Riverside Arts Market is held every Saturday near the center of town. Browsing is one of our favorite activities so, off we went.

The Riverside Market was more of an art and food market with two long rows of booths set up on a paved surface. The Market site is under a downtown bridge and was bustling with activity when we entered. Several of the vendors catered to pet owners, and dogs of every variety nosed up to the booths looking for the latest in pet treats. We have no pets, but I did purchase one treat for me…a loaf of fresh cheesy-bacon bread from one of the artisans near the end of the second row. It was a great addition to Gracey’s pantry and didn’t last long once there.

After a few days of lazy beach walks and a trip to St. Augustine (later post), I realized that we had not found a single shark’s tooth to add to our collection. It was time to correct that. The day began with a fairly dense fog, with the sun peeking through on occasion. The beach, a short walk from the campground, is very wide at low tide and somewhat deserted. Helen took the opportunity for a long walk, and I almost lost her in the fog. I, on the other hand, made finding a shark’s tooth my sole purpose. Luck was with me on this day, and after some heavy eye strain, I uncovered two inside of a pile of tiny shell fragments.  On her return, Helen told me (tongue in cheek) how proud she was…it’s the little things that make life fun.

As we left the beach, we came upon several folks carrying a Pelican in a laundry basket. We had to know what was going on. The Pelican had been spotted at the water’s edge splashing wildly. A beach walker noticed that it had two broken wings and had returned to the campground to get help in rescuing the bird. Two campers came to the aid of the distressed Pelican and were on their way to leave it with a veterinarian. The Pelican sat quietly in the basket and appeared grateful.  

Our time in Jacksonville ended all too soon. Pelican Roost was a great stop on our snowbird tour, but it was time to hook up Gracey and head south to Melbourne for a visit with my sister and brother-in-law. After a cold start, we were almost to the halfway point in this journey but ready to proclaim it a success. The people were friendly; the sun was warm, the pace was slow, and we’re just Easin’ Along.  Retirement is the best gig going.

Note to our Military Living readers: Pelican Roost and nearby Osprey Cove campgrounds are excellent facilities and we heartily recommend them for vacationing military personnel. The well-maintained sites have full hookups for RVs, both large and small. The showers are clean, and the laundry facilities are free. We encourage you to check them out at militaryliving.com.