A Pictorial Tour of Jekyll Island

Bob and I went to Jekyll Island while TC & Taylor went to a

Skate Park in Jacksonville. After driving around the island and

having lunch we decided to take a tram tour. This picture

is after the tour while we were leaving the "Big Hotel".

In the beginning Jekyll Island was a place where the millionaires

built their summer homes. They would come down with their

servants for the summer. As time went on some of the servants

remained on the island year round. Above is a picture of one of the

mansions that have been restored. Sadly there are no remains

of the servants quarters.

Another restored house

A typical sign is front of restored houses

There is still an active croquet league in existence today. As is

customary when playing the game the participant must wear an

all white attire. Here on the island they take their croquet very,

very seriously. This picture is on the front lawn of the Big Hotel.

Bob enjoying a few minutes in the court yard.

There is a nice little fountain next to the table.

This is a view from what they call the

Millionaires Hallway of the hotel.

The day would not be complete without a picture

of the bar.

This is the formal dining in the hotel

A sidewalk leading up to one of the homes. Notice

the flowers in bloom along the walkway - at the

end of February! Imagine what this place must

look like in summer....

This is a picture of the Rockefeller's summer home.

The big front porch faces the ocean with a beautiful

view of the sunset. In all these homes they have kitchens

that were never used. All of the meals were prepared

up at the hotel and brought over to the house or

on a day/evening with no company the families

would take their meals at the hotel.

Cars were not allowed on the island. The reason

for going there was to get away from the

hustle and bustle. So people began using these

battery operated two seaters as a way to

get around. This one is in the Rockefeller's driveway.

Another look at the croquet players

enjoying their game on a sunny

winter day. Ah! the life of the

rich and famous.

The good Colonel is missing

Today the Darien news reported that the good Colonel Fallopius Curmudgeon Douglas has gone missing from the Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation. http://www.glynncounty.com/History_and_Lore/Hofwyl_Broadfield_Plantation/

Immediately Bob, TC and I went to the plantation to see if it was true and I am sad to report that it is! His portrait once prominently displayed in the theatre has vanished. Locals are reporting a suspicious car from Missouri hovering around the plantation all day yesterday. You know who you are - please return this priceless portrait.

The "Brothers" have arrived

Look very, very carefully at the picture above -

had a good enough look? Move on down to the next picture....

That would be TC outside of the building - again look long and hard....

Do you recognize these fellas?

Almost the same folks ....

OK - what do you think that was? Read on

The boys and I had a full day in Savannah - well more like a half day but nevertheless we enjoyed seeing the town. On our way home the boys insisted we stop at a place they found yesterday called The Old School Diner. The pictures above are of that restaurant. Puffin n' Stuffin' was the smoking section of the restaurant. The gentlemen of color in the picture is the Chef himself! A wonderful, nice, funny, enchanting man. This place is unbelievable to say the least. The parking lot is carpeted - I'm not kidding. I wish I had a picture of the parking lot! The chef is from New York and opened up the place in 2005. Today we arrived right when it opened and the Chef saw us in the parking lot and he insisted on giving us the full tour. Why oh why didn't I take some pictures of the inside? The place is a house and he has a number of rooms set up for eating but he uses real furniture like you use in your house. Each room is different and everywhere - everywhere are pictures of the patrons. Chef is very proud of the fact that Ben Afflect has eaten has his establishment. The latest celebrity to frequent place is the football player from the Blind Side. On the outside the fence is made of old pallets. It looks like someone dropped a bomb and then instead of cleaning up they just called it a restaurant. Anyway the boys were very intrigued by this place and wanted me to see it. While on the way to the restaurant we saw about 30 fires on the side of the road. Bob said "We need to call someone about this" I said "It's a controlled burn" Bob said, "controlled burn? how come no one is here watching it? You better at least call Lin and have her call the someone." So I called Lin, she agreed with me but said she call the fire in just in case. While we were "visiting" the Old School sure enough we heard sirens. On our way home again Bob says "Don't you think we should stop and help?" I said "Look, I'm sure you have to have some kind of training before you go out and start fighting forest fires." Bob said "Bullshit. There are fires everywhere and they need help. Tim, pull over." So course it was the Clark Boys to the rescue. They just got out of the car, asked a man if he wanted help, grabbed shovels and started putting out the fire. The pictures below are of the boys fighting their first fire.

One of the fire trucks

Bob helping the other fire fighters - oh I forgot to

mention this is a volunteer fire department.

Bob helping with the hoses

TC & Taylor after they have finished saving lives

Well....saving the marsh land

Look closely and you will see TC & Taylor

working among the flames

Bob performing bravely for the cause

A picture of our brave men along with one of

the real trained boys who by the way is

named Sam Clark and he owns Clark Construction.

And that my good friends is a typical day on the Bluff.

p.s. on a side note - "The Brothers" are wearing me out! They are up at

6AM rockin' and ready to go, go, go. I've been on the Bluff

for six weeks now and I'm out of touch with the world.

Taking a walk on the "Bluff"

Life in a Fish Camp

While out walking I stumbled upon this old, abandon

store. It is now used as a place to rest but it's for mainly for storage.

There are lots of rules if you want to use this particular dock

Horse Shoes....waiting for summer to begin

Lots of sitting is accomplished on the Bluff

A long necked bird just watchin' the day go by

A pavilion cleaned up and ready for spring

Don't touch that moss!!

Scarlet in her glory!!

Next time you find yourself down south underneath the live oak trees don't go touching the moss - it's filled with "red bugs" and they will eat you up alive! This is what I have been told and I'm just going to flat out believe it! I only have a little over a week left of my journey. How did it go so fast? I've been to so many places and I've seen so many things since I've arrived. I will certainly miss this place. I was up at the Boat Shid the other night and Greg, the owner, asked me how I was enjoying my stay - I replied "I'm having a good time, this is a wonderful little spot in the world." It made him smile hearing that "an outsider" liked it here in this out of the way place. I really like his wife, Becky and go up to the Shid to visit with her. She's about my age and just a nice person. She's a school teacher by day and a bar fly by night! Not really, Greg bought the bar about five years ago and she said if she wants to see her husband she has to come here to do it. She said it was a hard transition. They have three kids who are grown and gone and this is something Greg decided to do so they moved to Shellman Bluff and bought the Boat Shed. She's a far better women than I. I also like the bartender, Brenda - now she is a hardworking women. She paints houses during the day and now tends bar two nights week. She said that painting has been slow and she needed to pick up some extra cash so she started tending bar about a month ago. The painting business is picking back up and now she's finding herself working days and nights. Amazing.

Last night on the news it was all about a KKK event somewhere here in Georgia - they are protesting three things - Illegal immigration - specifically Latinos, the deficit and prayer in school. I myself found it to be a sad representation of the south. I was happy that it was a peaceful demonstration but it bothered me that something with so many bad memories and feelings would still be around today. And people bitch about the liberals! Enough of the politics - just wanted to give you a taste of Southern Georgia news.

I have spent over a month basically living in one room. A clothes basket full of clothes - four pair of shoes (ok five but i never got to wear one of the pairs!). Basic make up, a few hair products, some books, my computer and my knitting and guess what??? I love it! There is no housework to do because - no house. I have found that people are the same wherever you go. Most people want enough money not to have to worry about it, laughter, love and a cocktail or two along the way. People in the south are very friendly. Be it a big city or small town everyone says "hello" and "yes mam" and "no sir". The rest of states could learn something from that...

Now that the weather has warmed up and the sun is shining I get to sit on the dock everyday and watch the tide come in or go out. I see dolphins jumping and once in a while an otter. Fish are nipping at the top of the water all the time. It's peaceful and brings with it a feeling of calm and joy. Whether alone or with someone it's a nice place to be. I think I will come back next winter.

YOU MAY WONDER WHY.....

You may wonder why I'm not posting more stories on my blog - I'll tell you why - writing is hard work! It takes a lot of time and thought. It is much, much easier to sit, watch tv and knit!!!! BUT this week I will try to post something....

Sister has arrived!

I picked Peggy up at the Jacksonville airport Thursday - we had a full day! The only snag in an otherwise perfect mini-vacation is that for the first time in 20 years snow was in the forecast!! Peggy almost froze to death - she kept saying "I didn't bring any warm clothes. I have to wear this red sweater everyday because it's the only warm thing I have." Unfortunately for us the weather just keeps getting colder with more and more wicked, cold rain. Our first stop was Jekyll Island, a beautiful place. Even the dead of winter the beauty will take your breath away. We spent a good amount of time of the island and then headed to Darien to have a late lunch at the Purple Pickle. I gave her a pretty good tour of Darien and all Peggy kept saying was "darling" "Oh, this is so cute!" She enjoyed lunch and then we headed home. As we left Darien she began to notice that the surrounds were beginning to - I don't know - how should I say it? Deteriorate? I told her to sit back and enjoy the ride, and oh what a ride we had! By the time we got to Shellman Bluff she was damn near speechless. First I took her to see Paula's house which is on a golf course. It is a mansion and it is beautiful so are the rest of the houses in her neighborhood. She could not believe that these big, giant houses were nestled in among everything else she had witnessed. At that point I felt she was ready to experience my neighborhood. We left the "projects" got back on the hardtop and headed over to my neck of the woods. As we turned off the road into what appears to be a front yard Peg's mouth dropped open and she said, "Oh, My, God" "I could not have stayed here" deeper and deeper we went into the yard of neighbors. I laughed and said "Trust me you will love it before you leave". Soon enough we were at Lin and Jimmy's beautiful home on the river. You have to remember the south is experiencing the coldest weather they have had in 20 years - Peggy looked at the House and commented that it was pretty and then I parked and we came in. She loves the little cottage - it is cute and comfy and just nice place to be.

pictures of the cottage.....

A view of the court yard that joins the three houses

The gate that gets you into the court yard

The only bush blooming in the court yard but isn't it pretty?

Upon entering the gate you enter the court yard

The dog washing station!

Caroline in the kitchen

this is what you see when you walk in the door

preparing dinner

My spot

Scarlet's "spot"

A vase that Caroline bought for me

in Savannah....

A Friday Night Jump Up

Eddie, Lin & Robert

enjoying the Jump Up

Eddie, Lin & Meegan

Jimmy

As best I can tell a Jump Up is another word for having your friends to dinner. Lin & Jimmy hosted a jump up Friday night. The food was great and the company even better. It was an evening of cocktails, laughs and southern charm. As I indicated Jimmy & Lin were the hosts. Guests included Meegan a transplant from upstate New York - Meegan recently had a home built here and is in the process of migrating south. Her other half, a gentleman that goes by the name of Mac will join her when he retires. Eddie and Dee spend their winters here at Shellman Bluff and call a small town in Massachusetts their home. I'm told they have a nice boat that has hosted its share of river parties. When they aren't on the river they are riding their Harley's all over south Georgia. The last guest was a gentleman by the name of Robert Corham, an author that hails from Atlanta. Robert has a retreat at Harris Neck where all of his many books come to life.

A Night Out

I'm just now starting to think "what have I done? why am I here?" Did I do this to avoid the St. Louis winter? Did I really think I would write a book? Monday and Tuesday were cloudy, rainy days and I spent a lot of time thinking about this "adventure"I'm on. I decided that I had no earthy idea what I was looking for and I didn't think this thing through. I should have listened to Beav when she said "Did it ever dawn on you to rent the place for two weeks and see if you like it? Then if you do - go back and stay six weeks?" Now that was a good idea, but ....If I can't go all in then I'm not interested. So here I am in my little cottage in the woods of Georgia.

Yesterday I took Miss Scarlet to St. Simon's Island and let her run on the beach. The we drove around and looked at all of the cottages and shops. Next it was off to Darien and the Purple Pickle for lunch. Last stop - home. I wanted to make sure I had enough time for a little nap before going out with the girls. Paula (Lin's friend) invited Lin and I to her house for soup and salad and then we went to Hunters for a few games of Left, Right, Center. I promise that soon, very soon I will post pictures. Paula's house was b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l. LRC was a lot of fun because I won one of the games! $33! And all of the people could not have been nicer or friendlier. I think they were so excited to see someone new. Everyone knows everyone else. Anyway I might be closer to scratching something else off of my bucket list. If you know me - you know my dream has always been to go sailing. Last night I met a man U-Be (Uncle Billy) and he has a sail boat and said he would take me out sailing. Then I was talking to Gerald (think Barracks Guy) and he said that for as long as Billy has had that sail boat "he ain't never seen it out". So we'll see what happens but I know I am going to get a ride on a sail boat sometime during this trip. The weather is pretty crappy for boating right now but hopefully that will change next week. Paula also won a game of LRC - so two of us went home with a win. We all had pretty much to drink but home is less that 5 mins away. Of course they are the darkest roads I have ever driven in my life. Those creepy moss trees are everywhere - they are like a scary story to me. After arriving home I look out at the river and see a bright orange quarter moon hanging low in the sky and reflecting on the water. It was amazing. I ran inside got Scarlet and walked down to the dock. By the time I got out there the moon had moved behind clouds but the river was still magnificent. So I stayed out there for awhile just enjoying it. One really nice thing about being here is that you feel so safe. Lin keeps the keys in the golf cart so that whenever i want to use it it's available. Half the time I never lock my car or the house.

This evening Jimmy and I are going to the Boat Shed (Shid) for a burger. They have some excellent burgers. Then I'll burrow in for the night and watch all of my favorite shows! Tomorrow night Lin is having a Jump Up - we will be ordering from Speeds and eating at her house. Hopefully one of these days the sun will shine and I'll be able to hang out down at the river. I'm wondering - should I start fishing?