Jeykll Island, Georgia bike trail

We have arrived to the "main event" of the this road trip vacation: Jekyll Island, Georgia! When we found this hotel on Google (because it's one of the chains in our rewards program), I wasn't expecting it to be anything more than your run-of-the-mill, bare-bones Days Inns, albeit oceanfront with its own beach access. However, this was actually a resort that was built in 1969, originally called "The Corsair", as the pictures hanging on the wall in the breakfast room told us. They have done a pretty astounding job of upkeep on this 50-year-old motel.

Days Inn Jekyll Island

Here are vintage ads from 1969 they had hanging in the breakfast room. Very cool!

One of the reasons we chose Jekyll Island as our destination was because when Steve was very young, his family (parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and both grandmothers) rented a beach house on Jekyll for a week. While he was so young he doesn't have many memories of the trip, we do have old slides that his grandmothers took during the trip. It was fun to try to recreate some of their pictures. We guesstimate their trip was in 1970 or 1971-ish.

Of course we got a wonderful bike ride in as well.  Jekyll Island has about 22 miles of smooth, paved trail that loops the entire island and takes you right by all the scenic and historic spots the island has to offer! 

New bridge overhead, but we are standing on the original highway they would have driven on in 1971.

Great egret. Gorgeous plumage!

Standing on a portion of the old bridge

Interesting shell work

Concrete pilings remains of The Boathouse from the historic Jekyll Island Club

Remains of the capstan winch from The Boathouse

Jekyll Island Club clubhouse

Bridge connecting Jekyll Island to St. Simons Island in the background

I was fascinated by this abandoned swimming pool, once part of Chicota Cottage

One of two concrete lions flanking the steps leading into the abandoned swimming pool.
Chicota Cottage Corinthian Lions

Beautiful glass on this door!

If you could sit on this bench with someone for one hour, who would you choose?

Horton House ruins

Jekyll Island Pier - End of Clam Creek Rd

Wilson's Plovers are threatened shorebirds and their nesting sites are roped off

Tons of tiny crabs near the Wilson's plover nesting site

Driftwood Beach

This part of the trail features magnificent ocean views

We also got in some beach time and toured the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and the historical museum.