The Jekyll Island Turtle Gram BlogWelcome to the Jekyll Island Turtle-Gram Blog, your VIP preview to upcoming Jekyll Island events and updates to the JIFA website. Just click on the orange button to subscribe to the RSS feed. Sep 8, 2010, Favorite Views on Jekyll IslandJekyll Island is a wonderful place for experiencing nature, and great views are everywhere. Here are some of our favorites.
These are some of our favorite views. How about yours? Nough said - Rick Aug 31, 2010, Spanish MossWhat's green, hangs on trees, and is one of the first signs that you're getting close to the coast? It is, of course, Spanish Moss. When we spy this cool plant (Tillansia usneoides) hanging around the live oaks of Georgia, we know we're almost to Jekyll Island. It's not really a moss. It's an epiphyte, a plant that grows on another without gaining nourishment from it. It gets its food from dust, and from dead cells off the trees it hangs from. Water comes from moisture in the air, including rain. The "moss" is also, believe it or not, in the pineapple family, though the only thing Spanish Moss and pineapples have in common is that they're both bromeliads. In the past, Spanish Moss was used for stuffing in bedding, until being replaced in the 1920s by foam rubber. It's highly insect resistant, and very resilient. It's also popular with wildlife. Parula warblers and some bats use it for nesting material. Spanish Moss likes to grow on trees with horizontal limbs, like the Southern Live Oak. That, and the fact that it needs high humidity, seems to keep the plant confined to within around 100 miles of the coast. I know one thing. There's plenty of the mossy stuff hanging around the trees of Jekyll Island. It's part of the background for our Jekyll Island Family Adventures. Nough said - Rick Aug 26, 2010, Visit Historic Jekyll Island and Tour the Historic DistrictHistoric District a must-see desitination on historic Jekyll Island Permalink -- click for full blog post "Visit Historic Jekyll Island and Tour the Historic District" Aug 25, 2010, Jekyll Island Beach RomanceThe beach at Jekyll Island is the perfect place to find romance, or to rekindle an ongoing one. Here are a few tips for the perfect Jekyll Island beach romance.
These are just a few romantic ideas to wet your appetites for loving. I'm sure, with a dollop of imagination, you can think of lots more. Enjoy love on beautiful Jekyll Island! Nough said - Rick Aug 24, 2010, Jekyll Island Guide to RevitalizationThis Jekyll Island Guide to Revitalization lets you keep track of ongoing island development Permalink -- click for full blog post "Jekyll Island Guide to Revitalization" Aug 24, 2010, JP Morgan Tennis Court Renovated for Temporary Jekyll Island Convention CampusJekyll Island's JP Morgan Tennis Court Gets a Facelift to Stand-in Convention Center Aug 18, 2010, Beach Music FestHeading to the island this weekend? You'll have a blast at the Beach Music and BBQ Festival, running from Thursday through Saturday. Watch out for construction activities on the left as you enter Jekyll Island. A few lanes of the Ben Fortson Pkwy. may be closed due to the on-going construction of the new Flash Foods and Dairy Queen. Have fun pigging out on BBQ and listening to great music on Jekyll Island this weekend. Wish I could be there. Nough said - Rick Aug 18, 2010, A Jekyll Island Golf Course Steeped in History, Great Dunes will Challenge YouThis Jekyll Island golf course is only 9 holes, but Great Dunes is no push-over, especially for beginners. Aug 17, 2010, Beach Horseback Riding Equestrian Vacations on Jekyll Island's Driftwood BeachRide in the surf! Enjoy a beach horseback riding vacation on Jekyll Island. Aug 16, 2010, Tennis at the Historic JP Morgan Tennis CourtWell, it's official. The J.P. Morgan Historic Indoor Tennis Court has been renovated into the first phase of the temporary convention center. I'm struggling with how I feel about that. The old court is located in the Historic Center, hard by the Jekyll Island Club Hotel, and has figured prominently in the Freeland family's Jekyll Island Family Adventures. Our boys basically grew up playing on that court. We'd play at least 3 or 4 times during our visits to the island. Why? Sometimes I wonder. There was that mystique, I suppose, of playing in a historic venue, where millionaires of forgotten years had played. Also, it was a great place to play when it was raining. But man was it hot inside! No air-conditioning, and few windows that would open. It was brutal to play the way we always wound up doing - all out, dog-eat-dog competitive tennis. And the court was concrete, not asphalt. Slick concrete. It was worse than playing on grass. After one of Josh or Scott's line-drive ground strokes, the ball would skid a yard before bouncing up, and it would be so low you'd have to almost kneel on the court to return it. But the speed it played really helped our game. And we were usually the only ones playing. Sometimes we'd draw a crowd, watching us through the doors (open for the breeze) as we rallied back and forth in the JP Morgan oven. But age and neglect did the old boy in. It got to where we couldn't play there when it rained anymore; the roof leaked too much. Then the Jekyll Island Club Hotel closed it down altogether, and we were heart-broken. The boys had grown up by that time, and didn't get to go to Jekyll as much as before. But after every trip Martha and I made, one of their first questions was, "Did you hit at the JP Morgan Court?" We could only shake our heads sadly. Even though renovation talk was bandied about for several seasons, it never happened - until the new convention center was planned. Then it was decided that the old court was a perfect venue for the temporary convention center. And I must admit that the JIA has done a fine job of revitalizing the venue. I'll be writing about it in detail soon. The rejuvenated JP Morgan Court will be in use as meeting and dining facilities until the new convention center is built. Then, who knows? Maybe they'll re-convert it back into a tennis court. We'd be first in line to play. Nough said - Rick Aug 12, 2010, Jekyll Island ReflectionsRandom thoughts and warm, fuzzy memories from our great times on Jekyll Island.
What's an island lover to do? Nough said - Rick Aug 11, 2010, The Jekyll Island Causeway, Your Portal to AdventureThe Jekyll Island Causeway is your route to your own private island getaway! Permalink -- click for full blog post "The Jekyll Island Causeway, Your Portal to Adventure" Aug 10, 2010, New Jekyll Island Georgia Hotels Part of Revitalization EffortThree new Jekyll Island Georgia hotels at the forefront of island revitalization Aug 5, 2010, A Great Sunburn Reliever - NOT!!!In an earlier post, I talked about the pains of sunburned feet. Here's another sunburn story. Several years ago Martha & I were at Jekyll Island with a friend and his wife. My friend (we'll call him "Cherokee") was dark-skinned, like an Indian. While I was slathering on the sun block and wearing a shirt and hat, 'ol Cherokee was bragging, "I don't get sunburn, I'm (wait for it...) dark skinned!" Well, that evening Cherokee could barely walk he was so burned. He was miserable. We decided on an age-old remedy for sunburn - bathing in vinegar. After liberal application of the sour stuff, their whole room stank like vinegar - and he was still in pain. Evidently, vinegar doesn't work on sunburn. So much for home remedies. Here's some things that will work:
Do the above, and you won't roast in the sun. But if you do get burned, forget the vinegar. Use tequila. But don't rub it on your body. Drink it. Pretty soon, you'll be feeling no pain. Nough said - Rick Aug 2, 2010, Diamondback Terrapin, Loggerhead Sea Turtle and Baby Sea TurtlesFrom the diamondback terrapin to the loggerhead sea turtle, Jekyll Island abounds with turtles
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