Jekyll Island Visit

September 22, 2026

On September 12, Bruce and I drove the 9 hours and 20 minutes to Jekyll Island, GA to meet up with Bruce’s sister. We left the house at 9:00 AM with an estimated arrival time as 7:20 PM. It took us a bit longer than it would’ve if we had gone through Atlanta, GA. We took back roads part of the way and passed through Eufaula, AL. Eufaula is a beautiful little town next to the Walter F. George Lake. We made stops along the way for food, gas, and bio breaks.

We got to Captain’s Paradise, (The house Bruce’s parents lived in.) at 7:35 PM. Bruce unlocked the door and we brought in our luggage. We brought our sheets and pillows so we didn’t have to wash the sheets before going to bed. We put the sheets from the house in the wash. I put away the food we brought. After the sheets were washed, I made up the bed for my sister-in-law. I knew she was going to arrive in the midnight hours. She was driving from Michigan.

On September 13, we got up and after Bruce cleaned out the coffee pot, he made coffee. Later in the morning, my sister-in-law came out with her dog, Lola.

Lola has the body and looks of a beautiful golden retriever, with the short legs of a Dachshund. She is adorable and very sweet. My sister-in-law has Lola well trained. Not only can Lola do the normal commands, she can do tricks. My favorite is the happy dog dance. Lola runs in a tight circle with a joyful face.

We figured out what we were going to do for the week. Then we walked to the beach. The weather was perfect and there was almost no one else on the beach. With so few people on the beach, Lola got to run free until she was called back. September is a great month to be there.

We did random stuff. I don’t remember exactly what.

On September 14, my SIL and I went shopping for things the house needed and groceries. My SIL planned a small drinks party for friends on the island the next day.

On September 15, Bruce did stuff around the house. My SIL cleaned mold from the beams in the house. I shelled shrimp, made meatballs, and made pinwheel appetizers. My SIL got washed up and started working in the kitchen as well. She cooked the shrimp and made shrimp cocktails.

We set out the pretty glass severing platters filled with food and my SIL set up the kitchen drinks station. We were ready for guests. The guests were invited from 5 to 7.

Our guest arrived on time, bringing homemade dishes for appetizers: zucchini fritters with a yogurt sauce, baked brie with almonds, and another dish. I know the another dish was delicious, I just can’t remember what it was.

The party was fun and the guest left right on time. We cleaned up and put away the leftovers.

On September 16, we decided to go to Driftwood Beach by way of the northern tip of the island. First, we walked onto the fishing pier and talked to a few people fishing. One couple bought their small cute dog with them. We enjoyed talking to them and admiring their little dog.

After hanging out at the fishing pier for a bit, we continued onto the beach. We crossed the marsh on wooden bridge to reach the beach.

As we walked along the beach, we saw a stranded boat.

We enjoyed seeing the signs for the sea turtle nests. When the sea turtle eggs hatch, the biologists turn the nest signs backwards.

I always enjoy the sea oats.

We reach a section of Driftwood Beach that had the iconic dead trees.

We started walking back to the car and noticed a team trying to get the stranded boat free. A smaller boat from the marina with two large engines tried to pull the boat free. The lines attached to the boats got tangled, so the smaller boat had to get the lines untangled. I got so caught up in watching the smaller boat trying to pull the beached boat, I didn’t take any pictures of it.

As we continued onto our walk, Bruce got ahead of us, so he missed out. As my SIL and I approached the bridge to cross the marsh, a couple of ladies called out that they could see dolphins by the fishing pier. We turned and briefly watched two dolphins swim in a porpoising pattern. The dolphins disappeared before Bruce got a chance to see them.

The marsh view from the bridge is beautiful to me.

We drove to Horton Pond to see if the alligator were sunning themselves on the wooden island in the pond. We didn’t see any alligators, but we did see turtles.

After dinner, we headed to the west side of the island to watch the sunset over Jekyll River.

It is interesting how the clouds reflect in the river.

We could see the beautiful Sidney Lanier Bridge. At the time of its opening, it had the third-longest span of any cable-stayed bridge in the United States and Canada.

On September 17, my SIL had a real estate agent and a rental agent from the same agency come out and look at the house. She needed information about from a selling and a short term rental. It was interesting. Apparently, renting will either pay the mortgage or the expenses, but not both.

We did a lot of yard work. I pulled down Spanish moss from the dogwood tree and cut back the greenbrier vines, along with blackberry canes underneath the dogwood.

Someone needed to be more careful about the landing spot of the Spanish moss.

While I was removing Spanish moss, Bruce blew leaves and branches from the roof.

My SIL asked us to spray down the north side of the shed that was covered in green. I sprayed the cleaner on the shed and got a shower.

We had dinner plans with Bruce’s friends from Savanna, GA. We met at the Marshside Grill in Brunswick, GA. Everyone agreed their food was good. After we finished eating, we walked on the restaurant’s deck and leaned over the railing.

We saw an animal that we guessed was an otter. We never got a really good look at it since it moved so fast.

We walked down to the pier from the deck. We got different view of the bridge than we normally see.

We said goodbye to Bruce’s friends and went back the house.

Being our last night on the island, we took a night beach walk. Lola discovered a crab.

Lola had fun chasing the crab. Once cornered, the crab stood on its back legs and raised its claws. We decided it was time to leave the crab alone.

We packed as much as we could to go home.

On September 18, we finished our packing and with a wave and a pat, left Captain’s Paradise for Blackberry Homestead.

We made it home around 6:30 PM. While Bruce unloaded the car, I moved the bucket brigade back outside and mopped where they had been. I found a hornworm on one of the peppers. Bruce went out and mowed the backyard up to the garden.

We had a beautiful sunset.

In the twilight, I could see a hummingbird feeding from the verbena flowers then resting on the hummingbird feeder.

My SIL and Lola arrived two hours after us. Lola got out of the car, peed, and headed straight for the front door. She wanted water and food, now! After she ate, Bruce and SIL took her out back and Lola happily ran around. She enjoyed running around out front when Bruce and his sister went out front. Without prompting, Lola came back to a door to come in. She made herself right at home.

I had the air mattress set up for my SIL. We stayed up talking until late before deciding we really needed to get some sleep.

It was a fun week and I felt we helped out some.