Southern Camping Trip 2026 (aboard "Elsie" the land yacht). cont. 47

1 March 2026

Jekyll Island State Park 

Jekyll Island, Georgia  

Bike day.

Marc-  We needed to get some exercise and this island has many excellent bike paths so off we went.  We had a good workout by the end of the day.

Jekyll Island miniature golf.  Next to Town Park with playground and picnic tables in abundance (perfect for lunch stop).

Our second stop was the Jekyll Island Historic District (this post office is operational).

A 1940 Buick Eight Coupe in front of the Jekyll Island Clubhouse.  

The Wharf is in front of the Clubhouse on Jekyll Creek.

Birds were active over the wharf today.

The gulls were flying over the outside deck dining area.

Yet more gulls around the fishing boat that had come in to the Wharf.

There are a number of these unique benches on the Jekyll Wharf

 (dolphins are often seen in Jekyll Creek).

A horse and carriage after picking up some guests at the Wharf.

Massive ancient live oak tree in the historic village.

We are seeing the very beginnings of Spring.  This azalea has just started to bloom.

More azaleas.

Camellia flowers growing by the Chapel.

Camellias are beautiful in bloom.

More Chapel flowers.

Cottage next to the Clubhouse.

We always enjoy visiting the Turtle Hospital".

This tin turtle found its way into our camper.

Final note on the clubhouse.  Wooden basket weave above the deck.

Marc- Although we took no photos, it did become quite cool and damp when a fog bank rolled through the campground at dusk.  

Southern Camping Trip 2026 (aboard "Elsie" the land yacht). cont. 46

28  February 2026

Jekyll Island State Park 

Jekyll Island, Georgia 

The bird sanctuary is in the back of the campground.

Sue found several cardinals feeding away.

A view of two thirds of the Jekyll Island Marina docks. that are on the edge of the ICW.

American Cruise Lines cruise ships pass just off of the docks (space is tighter when the outer dock is filled with transient boats).

American Liberty (241 feet long, 56 feet wide, 6 foot draft).  The fact that these ships pass through the ICW means that most yachts can accomplish the journey.

Marc-  We went over to visit the Jekyll Island Marina while we were enjoying our Dairy Queen treats.  The old orange cat named Moe passed on and has been replaced with two others who were nowhere to be seen.  We met a boater on a 36 foot Monk Trawler with perfectly maintained teak and an adorable dog (mostly poodle).  They come down here for the cold months from Rochester, NY.  We exchanged some notes on our canal and Great Lakes travels.  

We also travelled over to neighboring Saint Simons Island to visit a quilt shop named Sea Stitches.

St. Simon's Island Lighthouse.

This sounds like a command.

Hand pieced Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.

A sewing Lady quilt.

Back at the campground we found the community clothesline.

 They have washers and dryers here as well.

Sue - The quilt shop on St. Simons Island is very very nice.  If we come to Jekyll again, and I hope we will, I will return to this shop.  It's small, but packed with beautiful fabric, patterns, ideas, a few quilts, and a long arm machine.  There were 3 ladies working there and 2 ladies who didn't seem to work there who were hanging out sewing.  I bought more fabric and patterns.  When am I ever going to make all the things I want to make?  It takes time, and I have a huge backlog.  I have given up trying to sew in the trailer.  Too much effort.  I have to dig my stuff out every time, have precious little room to work, the last 2 cats I made were not as good as the first one and that was discouraging.  I think my cutting left something to be desired.  I'll just wait until I get home.  I found a potholder loom kit at Tractor Supply today and made 2 potholders, the kind a 6 y.o. can make.  Very satisfying.

Cool potholders Sue.

Surprise encounter at dusk when I went off to Church and found rather small deer enjoying some green grass.

Amazing.

Southern Camping Trip 2026 (aboard "Elsie" the land yacht). cont. 45

 27  February 2026

Jekyll Island State Park 

Jekyll Island, Georgia

   

Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island.

Marc-  Today was a travel day which usually means we don't do much that is interesting.  Our destination made all of the difference.  We arrived while it was raining which seemed to bring out the no-see-um bugs that bite.  There were awful little things!  After settling in we went over to the Village and found that the local grocer had reasonable prices despite being the only market on the island (eggs were $ 2.90 a dozen, for example).

The Island's best beach is right off of the Village.  We heard a lot of birds there and walked a little.  Then we went to "Driftwood beach" which is home to many drowned trees that did not in fact drift onto the beach (they actually grew there before it became a beach).  We hiked the Northern end of the island only to find that a horse trail bridge was now closed.  We went over the bridge anyway after making an assessment that we weighed less than the horses.  The Northern end of the Island is diminishing due to ocean storms while the southern end of the island is growing (Ocean currents carry the sand south where it's deposited).

Looking out over Village Beach we could see a fog bank at the horizon.

These birds appear to be young terns hopping around on one leg.

Piping Plovers were running all over the water's edge.

Sue's phone app discovered these birds singing in the dunes.  We saw a cardinal and a warbler.

We saw that the water on this beach seemed to be light brown.  The color is due to sediment as noted above and it is a good thing, indicating some of the healthiest water along the Atlantic Seaboard.

Several of the buildings have beautiful murals.

This bird was not singing away so we could not identify it (the strong silent type).

We caught the stern of a car carrier rounding Driftwood Beach (the island in the background is St. Simons Island where a car carrier ran aground several years ago and had to be salvaged in place, otherwise known as cut up into pieces).

Brunswick Georgia is a major car shipping port.

Jekyll fish pier.

Lastly, we stopped at two quilt shops on our way up from Florida. The following photos are from Cinnamon Quilt Shop in Jacksonville.

Cool cat mug rug.

Nice Kaffe Fassett fabrics in this quilt.

Southern Camping Trip 2026 (aboard "Elsie" the land yacht). cont. 44

 26  February 2026

Tomoka State Park 

Ormond Beach, Florida  

A most impressive pelican at Flagler Beach today.

Marc-  Today was mostly a mundane day doing chores and shopping at Costco.  The fact that the Costco was at nearby Daytona Beach in front of the Raceway on Route A1A made life interesting.  We were a bit distracted by the hundreds of motorcycles gathered around the front of the raceway (apparently it is bike week in Daytona).  I totally missed the turn for Costco but ending up coming in from the delivery entrance.  This Costco is brand new and huge compared to ours in Colchester, VT.  There is plenty of parking and the shelves are well stocked.  Last but not least was no waiting in line at the check-out.

Our main adventure today was exploring a nearby State Park called Gamble Rogers State Park.  It has been renamed from Flagler State Park since Mr. Gamble Rogers tried to save a swimmer in distress and died in the process.  The park crosses the entire barrier island from the ICW to the Atlantic.  It has a harbor for visitors just off the ICW and extensive access to Flagler Beach.  There is both a beach front campground and an ICW campground.  We walked a trail that seemed like we were transported into a Hobbit adventure.  The entire trail was was fully shaded and full of twists and turns and gnarly oak trees. 

Mr. Gamble Rogers.

Fishing at Flagler Beach.

Entry channel to the Gamble Rogers State Park basin.

Sue - Yesterday we saw a few motorcycles around.  Today there was a huge influx of them making their noise in the campground, on the road by the campground, and everywhere else we went.  I am not sorry we are leaving tomorrow for Jekyll Island, GA!

Oranges growing in our campground.