FTJ 125: Enjoying the Golden Isles

Before I forget, here are a few photos of our good friends, Claudette and Dave Reed, who live in Hilton Head.

Claudette and Dave joined us for brunch. It was a lovely day, so we ate outside.

Pals for half a century. Can you imagine?

Oh, and I forgot to include this restaurant sign, from Bluffton, SC, outside of Hilton Head. An oddity -- and a name that conjures up so many dirty double entendres.

From Hilton Head, we traveled to Brunswick, GA, and the "Golden Isles" of Georgia. We were totally wowed by two of these barrier islands -- Jekyll and Saint Simons. We liked the latter so much, in fact, that we are seriously considering spending a few months there -- putting the RV in storage and immersing ourselves in the island life. Who knows? We could end up there, spending our golden years in the Golden Isles.

But first, Jekyll Island. Besides beautiful live oaks and stupendous golf courses, Jekyll is the home of a turtle rescue center and the Jekyll Island Club, a ritzy club/hotel developed at the turn of the century (late 1800s) by 53 well heeled members/investors, among whom were Marshall Field, Henry Hyde, J.P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer, and William K. Vanderbilt. Many of the millionaires, such as J.P. Morgan, anchored their sizable yachts off the island for the summers. Quite impressive.

Beau at the Jekyll Island Club. We are thinking of becoming members -- NOT.

A beautiful bar inside.

The historic area on Jekyll is a charming collection of old buildings, many of which have been converted to boutiques and specialty shops.

A typical drive on Jekyll. Love the Spanish moss.

At the turtle rescue center.

Saint Simons is more developed than Jekyll, with a cute downtown area and lots of retail complexes along the length of the island. It seems very lively and friendly. And relatively affordable, at least in terms of rental costs.

Saint Simons Island has a pristine lighthouse at its southern end...

...and a spectacular beach to the east. The rock-hard sandy expanse reminded us of Carrabelle beach in Florida, another of our favorite places.

Before we departed, I had to take this photo of one of the Saint Simons residents. Adorable.

Yeah, whadda YOU lookin at?  OMG, so cute.

We're now looking over the Atlantic Ocean from our site at Beverly Beach, FL -- a return trip to a favorite place as we make our way down the coast.  It was in the low 80s today and gorgeous.

Hey, all you turkeys, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tanks, Panky

FTJ 124: High in the Low Country

After 17 days at Myrtle Beach, we went traveling again, arriving at Hilton Head Island, SC, on Wednesday.

We are now relishing being on the water here at Hilton Head RV Resort and Marina, a beautiful RV park perched on Skull Creek, part of the intracoastal waterway. 

Paying a bit more than our budget to have this marvelous view. Too bad we don't have a boat...

The resort is top notch, with a marina and a high-end restaurant.

The resort marina.

Pool and restaurant.

As for any exciting "travel" news...eh, there isn't too much to report. We are relaxing lately, I guess. 

Old Friends

Last night Beau's grammar school buddy Dave Reed and his lovely wife Claudette had us over for dinner, and we had a great time filling them in on our adventures. It was wonderful seeing them.

Today we drove around the island a little. Seems to me that HHead is a beautiful collection of very upscale, secure gated communities. A bit confusing to get around because the signage is so discreet (hidden) that it is tough to find anything.

We did manage to get to a beach, where the low tide had created a wide tidal marsh, nurturing all kinds of bird life.

Egret in the tidal grasses.

Enough for now. Next up, Brunswick, GA, and Jekyll Island.

Have a great weekend.

Tanks, Panky

FTJ 123: Yes, Virginia, There IS a Beach -- and It's Pretty Darn Nice

It's been a while, so this will be a (sort of) quick catch-up. We continued south from Maryland, with stops at Virginia Beach, VA; Emerald Isle, NC; Wilmington, NC; and Myrtle Beach, SC, where we are currently..

Nothing too exciting or dramatic has happened during the past few weeks, thankfully. Virginia Beach was REALLY lovely -- much nicer than either of us had anticipated. Our quick stop in Emerald Isle revealed a fantastic beach, but the WIND was incredible there. And our Wilmington stop was for a visit with Mat. Great historic town, and we had a good time hanging out with Mat and his new lady friend Sally Jo for the day.

At our next stop, Myrtle Beach, the first five days were really nice, with temps in the mid/upper70s and sunny. Gawh-juss. We enjoyed the phenomenal beach, other than some pesky flies that swarmed us, depending on the wind direction. But a few days after our birthdays, the cold snap hit, and we woke to temperatures in the 40s (or high 30s) and daytime highs of only high 50s, low 60s. Bummer. Doesn't look much better for the week ahead, unfortunately.

We are not really complaining, though, considering how the Northeast got whacked with that Nor'easter and snow before November. SNOW?? In October? What the heck is with the weather?

Photos from our stops:

Virginia Beach's Cape Henry lighthouse -- the first lighthouse authorized by the U.S. government, in 1792. When it was built, it was more than 500 yards from shore. Today, it is only 250 yards from the shore.

The new Cape Henry light.

The boardwalk, Virginia Beach.

A beautiful day at Virginia Beach.

Buddy enjoys lunch from a beachfront restaurant. He had souvlaki.

Emerald Isle, North Carolina -- wow, both the wind and the surf were UP.

Emerald Isle, nearly deserted.

In the historic waterfront district of Wilmington, NC -- Mat, Sally Jo, and Beau.

Myrtle Beach, a Year Later

We loved Myrtle Beach last year. This time around, though, we were going to stay at another RV place, for a comparison. But when we arrived in town, we realized the new place was 20 miles from the center of the action and from where we wanted to be. 

Luckily, the place we stayed last year had availability and we were able to book there instead. It's fine, but we have a sneaking suspicion that the other place -- that we canceled -- might be a lot nicer. We are going to check it out later this week.

An oddity in Murrell's Inlet, about 20 miles from Myrtle Beach.  I am sure it is a very lovely establishment, aren't you?

The spectacular Myrtle Beach.

Brrrr....

A nice waterfront bar on the Myrtle Beach boardwalk. --  which is a really lovely public space. The boardwalk seems almost new, and the shorefront buildings are all rehabbed and kept up. Very impressive.

We met up with Mat and Sally Joe again in Myrtle Beach. They decided to come down for the weekend. Our sightseeing with them included the Ripley's Aquarium, a small but very impressive attraction.

Mat and Beau at Ripley's Aquarium, Myrtle Beach.

A disgusting Moray eel -- another oddity of sorts.

I think this is a sawfish, a type of shark.

We all loved the aquarium's tunnels underneath/through the tanks, where the fish swim all around you and over you. A smaller version of what you find at the Atlantis hotel in the Bahamas. So cool.

I am sure you are all waiting anxiously for the next summary.

Tanks, Panky

FTJ, Entry 122: Of Castaways and Ponies

(Still blogging, folks. I am sure this will slow down once we reach places we are staying for a month.)

We loved our RV resort in Berlin, MD -- the Castaway. Right on Sinepuxent Bay, with Assateague Island in the distance.

Ah, the tiki bar. Reggae music, tropical drinks on the beach. The good life, baby!

Pony Up

We were in a great location -- Ocean City one direction, Assateague Island the other. I was most excited to get to the island, just down the road and over the bridge. For years I have wanted to see the wild Assateague ponies, and now I have.

Wait a minute! Thought this was the bridge to Assateague Island. Did we make a wrong turn again?

We took a short hike just to scope out the island a bit (and I was hoping to meet up with a pony). In this photo, the tiny curved object above the land on the left is just one of many kite surfers off the island's beach. Man, it was windy.

The tide and wind conditions resulted in the flooding of some parts of the island, which is uninhabited -- although we did see a few park buildings. Note the yellow traffic-marking stripe under the water. The bay is very shallow, so any southerly breeze pushes the water up to the north, where it narrows considerably, and therefore the bay floods frequently. See the photo a few shots below, of the roaring current exiting the bay.

It was so windy the sand from the beach felt like little razors hitting your skin. You can't tell from this photo, but I was in pain.

Buddy cleaned Beau up after our picnic lunch by the shore.

Our first pony sighting.

The wild Assateague ponies were pretty much everywhere on the island. You have to walk around horse poop on roads, parking lots, sidewalks, the beach -- the animals have the run of the place and it's great.

A mare and her youngster in a parking lot.

We drove right up alongside this guy, and he never stopped munching on the grass.

A fellow has to find something to scratch an itch.

Love this shot of a pony near the beach.

The Assateague boat launch area was pretty much unusable the day we visited, the result of the wind pushing the water through the bay.

On the Ocean City Boardwalk

A quick pictorial of Ocean City, which is a charming honky-tonk like area on the shore in Maryland. Beau would want me to note that the water was really churned up by the wind the day we visited (a front was passing through), and he enjoyed watching the shoreline wave action.

The boardwalk seems to go forever, in both directions....

Cool clouds behind the Ocean City Life Saving Station.

This is the roaring current shooting out of the Sinepuxnet Bay inlet. The waves are probably 6 ft.

On to Virginia Beach. To get there we had to go over and under the Chesapeake Bay. Two bridges, two tunnels. I was a bit nervous, but then found it was no big deal.

I'm an old hand at this traveling thing now. Wonder when we will settle down -- don't you?

Tanks, Panky.