IT'S THE JOURNEY

Saturday, April 25, 2026

ON TO ST AUGUSTINE FLA

APRIL 22

The drive from Jekyll Island to St Augustine was under 3 hours, with a stop at the beach on the way.

We stopped at Guana Reserve Beach on a narrow strip in land that stretches for miles from Jacksonville to St Augustine. The beach was beautiful, with some lovely shells and a scattering of bird life.

Sifting through the shells for a few keepers.

Made it to St Augustine, our most southerly point, where Michelle was able to rendezvous with high school friend Denise.

APRIL 23

We arranged the next day to taking a walking tour of the historical part of the town touching on the the high points of its 500 year history. We had a delightful tour guide, who had a firm grasp of this history and made it entertaining.

We then had time to explore other parts of the town on our own.

This one time resort had an enormous pool that has now been converted into a restaurant.

Then headed over to see the old Spanish Castle, which has survived multiple regimes over the course of its history.

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It is a beautiful location and a well preserved structure that has survived centuries of war.

The fort is constructed from blocks of local cochina, a sedimentary compression of seashells that are touch enough to build with, but compressible enough to easily absorb the blow from canon fire!

APRIL 24

We had another day of fine weather so took a bike ride down the beach. Turned around after 7 mile with plenty of beach still visible ahead of us.

Saturday, April 18, 2026

APRIL 17

Today was a driving day. Plans were adjusted due to a flat tire on the Ollie! Had a spare and made a stop in Florence SC to get the the tire repaired.

Florence was a rather depressed town, but it had a bar right on the street!

And it has a bookstore. Always a favorite for Michelle.

We ended the day at Ellerbe Farms, a grass lot by the side of the road next to a farm with a hodge podge of offerings. Bought the pickled okra.

APRIL 18

Spent the morning driving to Jekyll Island, a state park accessed by causeway and bridge. It is a lovely, peaceful island most of which has been preserved by the park system.

We are staying in the island's only campground

We launched straight out onto the well protected bicycle trails that run through the whole island.

First stop was the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, with a nice little museum and a look at the center's efforts to rescue and rehabilitate sea turtles.

These guys were hoping we would fall off our bikes here.

APRIL 19

We spent the day exploring the island, which is perfect for biking. The island is small, there are trails everywhere, and very little car traffic.

First stop was driftwood beach

It was a maze of dead trees littering the beach, many of them still standing. Making our way through was like a fun house on the beach.

We later visited the Jekyll Island Club

A century ago this was the playground of America's ultra rich. People like J P Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer and William Rockefeller had homes here and would move down with their families for the winter months.

Some of the trees here are older than the resort!

APRIL 20

The weather today was perfect for a kayak tour of the Cathead river and the canal system that connect it to an antebellum rice plantation. The plantation is long gone, leaving passages overgrown with trees, spanish moss and vines. There was the occasional alligator and bird life as we followed our guide's lead.