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Georgia's four Golden Isles are rich in possibilities

Sunday, March 03, 2002

By Thomas R. Fletcher

SEA ISLAND, Ga. - The beach is nearly deserted.

I see a middle-aged couple with deep, dark tans - aging sun lovers soaking up the late-season sun.

I see a family. A dad casts his fishing line, preoccupied with his angling activities. Mom gets one daughter a drink from the cooler. As she hands over the soda, she sees daughter No. 2 venturing out into the water. Mom bursts forth in a run, snatching daughter No. 2 from the water just as a wave breaks. Dad reels in his line.

It is mid-October, and I'm hauling my kayak out of the sea after a three-hour tour. We launched our trip in the Bloody Marsh of St. Simons Island, and we are pulling out on Sea Island. St. Simons Island and Sea Island are just two of Georgia's beautiful Golden Isles.

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The ocean breeze moderates the temperature, making the Golden Isles an attractive year-round destination. The Isles are located in Georgia's southeastern corner. Four barrier islands -- also including Jekyll Island and Little St. Simons Island -- make up the Golden Isles. I visited all of them.

Sea Island features the internationally acclaimed resort, The Cloister, with general, golf, tennis or spa packages available. It's popular with honeymooners, and George and Barbara Bush spent their honeymoon at The Cloister and recently returned to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

In addition to the many packages listed, one may fish, go skeet-shooting, go horseback riding, or simply lounge by the pool or private beach.

Dinner in The Cloister's dining room is a coat-and-tie affair, and it is recommended that reservations be made at least six months in advance.

Jekyll Island is named after Gen. James Oglethorpe's benevolent friend Sir Joseph Jekyll. Oglethorpe's interest in alleviating the conditions of those imprisoned for debt led to his seeking a charter for the resettlement of debtors in America and founding the Georgia Colony in 1733. Sir Jekyll had generously contributed to that venture.

On the Island are the ruins of Horton House. Dating to 1742, it was constructed by one of Oglethorpe's officers, William Horton.

Jekyll's main draw is the 240-acre Jekyll Island Club Historic District which in 1978 was named a National Historic Landmark. It is in the district that one finds the "cottages" of such family names as Rockefeller, Morgan, Pulitzer, Vanderbilt and Crane, to name a few.

The Jekyll Island Club was made up of some of America's richest families, and it opened its first season on the Island in January 1888. Families began constructing their cottages shortly thereafter. The "cottages" are not cottages by standard definition. The Crane cottage, for instance, featured 17 bathrooms.

The Jekyll Island Clubhouse was constructed for the Club's social affairs. The restored Clubhouse is today the Jekyll Island Club Hotel. After the Club faded away, the state of Georgia took over the island in 1947, and the Jekyll Island Authority manages the island.

Trolley tours are offered through the Historic District. Cost of tickets is $8 for adults, $6 for children.

Jekyll Island has many miles of white sandy beaches, a campground and several hotels. An 11-acre water park attracts children like a magnet.

Ever wondered what it would be like to have your own private island? You and 29 of your closest friends can book Little St. Simons Island. Little St. Simons is a privately owned 10,000-acre island, accessible only by boat. The Island offers accommodations for a maximum of 30 guests (a staff of approximately 20 cares for those guests).

Guided tours of this pristine barrier island are led by a staff naturalist. One may choose the mode of exploration: on foot, by bicycle, by boat, or on horseback. I greatly relished the experience of photographing a piece of driftwood on the deserted beach. Stretched before me were miles of beach, and not another person in sight.

Little St. Simons Island has an abundance of wildlife. On one of the guided tours, we observed a wood stork, an alligator, an armadillo, deer, and a beautiful bald eagle soaring overhead.

Little St. Simons Island includes three full meals per day, served in the dining room. Packed lunches are available for those exploring the island. A schedule of planned activities is posted in the activities room. Guests may sign up for those or go their own way.

Little St. Simons Island is a wonderful place to relax and learn something about barrier island ecology along the way. The staff is always ready to help or answer questions, yet they are amazingly unobtrusive. With the guest-to-staff ratio, it's conceivable that guests and staff might be falling over one another, but this is not the case at all. Ten thousand acres is a pretty large area for 50 people to wander around.

St. Simons Island is the most populated island of the group. Here 81 holes of golf, miles of public beach, and many other activities are available. A $10 Trolley Tour covers all the island's major attractions.

"This tour is so good, you'll want to pay me more when it's over," the driver tells us.

St. Simons Lighthouse is the focal point of the village. This historic lighthouse, first built in 1810, was destroyed by Confederate forces to prevent its use by Union troops. Rebuilt in the 1870s, the lighthouse now houses the Georgia Museum of Coastal History. Entrance fee is $3, and the view from the top of the lighthouse is well worth the money.

St. Simons Island has its own historical sites, including Fort Fredrica National Monument, managed by the National Park Service. When granting Gen. Oglethorpe his charter, the British had more in mind than starting a debtors colony -- they wanted a buffer between South Carolina and the Spanish in Florida.

In July 1742, Oglethorpe decisively defeated the Spanish in the battle of Bloody Marsh. That battle turned the Spanish forces back to Florida for good. The marsh waters were said to have run red with blood that day, hence the name.

John and Charles Wesley, the founders of Methodism, held services under the live oak trees on what is now the Christ Church grounds. Next to the Church is "Wesley Woodland Walk," a quiet wooded park dedicated to the Wesleys. The woods provide an area of solitude for quiet meditation.

Among the many shops in The Village on St. Simons Island is SouthEast Adventure Outfitters. It does more than sell equipment -- it provides guided kayak tours of the local marshes and rivers, other barrier islands and even the Okefenokee Swamp.

I chose the three-hour tour through Bloody Marsh, out to sea, and landing on Sea Island. I observed many species of birds as we quietly drifted through the marsh. Those three hours rushed by, as did the three days I spent in the Golden Isles. I recommend going for a week.

Thomas R. Fletcher is a free-lance writer from Cowen, W.Va.