Max and Star Travel

My husband and I were walking on the beach at St. Simons at low tide. The wind from the water was whipping his long, black hair across both our faces and we were splashing in and out of puddles, laughing. This, I thought to myself, is a perfect vacation.

What made it a perfect vacation, outside of that romance novel thing with the hair? Here is my own purely subjective guide to a perfect Georgia Golden Isle vacation.

1. You have to love the ocean. If stretches of deep blue water as far as the eye can see and foam-tipped waves don’t do it for you, this is not going to be your idea of heaven. You can’t just love the beach and its bikini-clad bodies; while they are visible here, it’s a family oriented sort of a place, and the bikinis are as likely to be on moms or four-year-olds as they are to be on supermodels or sexy young singles. You have to like water, and breaking surf, and waves, and blue sky.
2. You need a comfortable hotel. We chose to stay in Brunswick, GA, which is not an exciting town in itself, but which is convenient to most of the islands. We stayed at the Best Western. It was inexpensive, clean, and very comfortable. The staff was friendly and helpful. The continental breakfast was plentiful and would accommodate most tastes. There was a great seafood restaurant, Captain Joe’s, right across the street. But for those who want to stay on the islands, vacation rentals run as low as $640 a week in season in accomodations that will house from four to six people. Luxury lovers are in luck, too.  On Jekyll Island, you might even stay where the millionaires who once owned the Island stayed, at the Jekyll Island Club. Imagine yourself a Morgan or a Rockefeller as you lounge on your balcony and look out at the “rustic cottages,” sipping your coffee and reading your perfectly folded newspaper.
3. You need seafood. These are islands, people. The shrimp boats go out daily and bring back those succulent, sweet shrimp, possibly nature’s perfect food. Nearly every restaurant features delicious crab cakes. The ones at Barbara Jean’s on St. Simons are so popular the restaurant sells them online and ships them all over the country. Prices are generally moderate. However, reservations are highly recommended if you don’t want to spend an hour or more people-watching while you wait for a table.
4. You need ice cream. One place to get it is Sweet Mama’s on St. Simons. It’s hot; it’s vacation; grab a scoop or two and head for nirvana.
5. You need a Ghost Tour. The one at St. Simons starts at the front of the pier Tuesdays through Saturdays at 9 pm during the summer. As one would expect at the coast, there are tales of buried treasure, intensely romantic gestures from beyond the grave, a wandering white lady (this one often seen on a white horse,) and a marvelous haunted lighthouse (claimed to be the third most haunted in the country.) Ghost tours are exciting, entertaining ways to tap into the history and folklore of a place and get acquainted with the inhabitants, present and past.
6. You need museums. St. Simons has two you shouldn’t miss, the Lighthouse Museum and the newly opened Maritime Museum at the old Coast Guard station. At the lighthouse, you can climb 123 steps up a spiral staircase for an enthralling view in every direction. You can also visit the lighthouse keeper’s quarters and learn some of its history, though I did not see the ghost mentioned. The ghost tour will take care of that part. On Jekyll Island, the Jekyll Island History Center has interesting displays, an irresistible gift shop, and is the place to get tickets for the essential tour that takes you to the next requirement for the perfect vacation:

7. You need old houses. On Jekyll Island, from the 1880’s to the 1940’s, the island was completely owned by millionaires. This was at a time when 1 % of the population of the country owned 60% of its wealth. Only members of the Jekyll Island Club and their servants and service people were allowed to live on the island. They built “rustic cottages” for themselves so they could get away and “rough it,” with only five or six servants to help them and a minimum of eight or nine rooms. One cottage has twenty-six rooms. Some are made in a Southern country style, with shingle exteriors. Others are Spanish or Mediterranian in design. Each gentleman and his family decided for themselves how to interpret “rustic,” “cottage,” and “roughing it.” The trolley tour from the History Center is the best way to get an overview of the place. Tour takers can explore two restored cottages filled with representative furniture, photos, and other memorabilia. Other cottages and staff dwellings have been turned into charming shops full of tempting merchandise and handcrafts.

8. You need live music. Two popular venues for it are Ziggy Mahoney’s, next to Bennie’s Red Barn on St. Simon’s, and Rafters Blues and Raw Bar, also on St. Simon’s. There is also a series of jazz concerts at the Lighthouse on some Sunday evenings. Many other restaurants and clubs offer live entertainment as well.

9. You need shopping. I’ve already mentioned the gift shop at the Jekyll Island History Center. There’s also a bookstore in the old infirmary for the Jekyll Island club, which gives you the opportunity to browse through books on the bottom floor and toiletries, wind chimes, and New Age-y music upstairs while also experiencing another genuine historic building. If you are male, you may also have the opportunity to be touched and talked to by the resident, very flirtatious ghost on the upper floor. If you, like me, are fond of tacky, touristy shopping for t-shirts, snow globes, shell necklaces and the like (I can’t get enough of that stuff,) the Village at the Pier on St. Simon’s is your mecca.

10.  At first I just couldn’t think of a tenth thing this vacation had to have, and then, it came to me: You need the perfect person or people to share it with. You’re on your own on this one. I have my husband. The place is absolutely swarming with young families and children. Kids are EVERYWHERE, including climbing all over the statue of the Right Whale on the beach, which is clearly marked “Do not climb on the Right Whale.”  Our ghost tour guide just smiled indulgently; no one enforces that rule when the statue is obviously perfect for climbing. So take your husband, your kids, your dog, your best friend, and get ready for a perfect ocean, history, food, book, music lover’s vacation.