Cruising the Golden Isles…

I finally get the missus to ride with me…

Although we had the use of the Audi, I was determined to get Patricia onto the back of the Big Fella to get her used to riding with me. While she enjoys being on the bike, she does not enjoy riding at anything approaching 100 km/h. On a bike like mine, anything less than that is akin to walking…!!

To be fair, I do not have a helmet for her and as a result have not pushed the issue too far. I set out to remedy that particular problem and discovered a newly opened bike accessory outlet just around the corner from Mimi’s home.

The helmet Patricia chose was too big for her, but Wayne, the owner of the store Beasley Motorsport, on 275 Butler Drive, said he could order the correct size and have it the following day. In the meantime he agreed to lend us one of his stock helmets, and with that we were set to go…

took a ride out to the Marina on the northern tip of the island, just to give the mozzies on Little St Simon’s the finger !!

Naturally, Patricia found ways to combine riding with yoga, as one does…

She agreed to ride over to St. Simon’s Island with me, only if I agreed to drop her off at the health and fitness club to do some yoga…!!

After crossing the causeway and dropping her off at the health club (two words that should not be used in the same sentence as far as I am concerned…) I took a long ride around the island, covering much of the ground we had covered by car already, but happier to be doing it from the seat of the Big Fella.

I stopped at a little service station and met a guy from Tennessee, who invited me to visit him at his place on some river, to “do some fishing and have a few beers”… I did not get his name, but if you’re reading this buddy, I’m waiting for the details !!

I cruised along the quieter roads in the central and northern parts of the island, riding under the spreading boughs of massive old oak trees with their Spanish Moss, enjoying the open air and the light traffic.

While I rode, I found time to think about the next leg of my ride down to Key West. I was itching to get back on the road and complete the trip down to : the third corner” and knew that although I could manage it in a day, it would be a tough ask to get Patricia to spend ten hours in a car…

We had not yet settled on where we were going to make an overnight stop, but had planned to visit her brother Tommy, whom I had not yet met, on our way down through Florida. That seemed a good enough place as any to take a break, as he lived more than a third of the way down to Key West…

The previous day, while out walking along the promenade near the lighthouse, we had bumped into another of Mimi’s friends, and had agreed to meet them for a drink at the Half Shell restaurant, the best place to eat Oysters on the island. Patricia and I had polished off a dozen or more previous day, so eagerly accepted the invitation to revisit the Half Shell.

Then I went to the health and fitness club for a workout… Walked all the way to the front door and back while waiting for Patricia…

After collecting Patricia, we took a short ride around the beach area and parked the bike outside the restaurant. Taylor and Camille Adams arrived shortly thereafter and in no time at all we were chatting away as if we had known each other for years…

I discovered that Camille operates a travel agency that had arranged tours to South Africa that included visits Lion Sands, and marveled again at what a small world it really was !!

Taylor rode a Harley and Camille often joined him on his rides, which made me give Patricia a nod as if to say, “See…!!”

They invited me to join them the following evening on a little out-ride that they took with a bunch of fellow bikers on one Thursday each month and I agreed to meet them the following day, even though it would delay our departure from Brunswick, and reduce the number of days we would spend on the road on our way to New Orleans.

The opportunity to ride with like minded people was too good to pass up.

We met Taylor and Camille Adams, long time friends of Mimi and Patricia, at the Half Shell, where the best oysters on St. Simon’s are to be found. Taylor’s son is the owner of this establishment.

Joe Wilson, another former employee at Little St, Simon’s, came to meet us for a drink as well. I had met Joe and his wife, Christine, who had dinner with us back at Mimi’s the evening before.

After a few beers, we went out to take some photos with the Big Fella before heading back across the causeway to Brunswick. We had an early start the following morning, to ride down to Jacksonville to collect a rental car that we had managed to secure for Patricia to follow me in on my ride across country to New Orleans.

Crossing the causeway back to Brunswick. The borrowed helmet would soon be replaced by a snazzy one featuring the American flag…

We also took time to visit Jekyll Island earlier the same day and cruised through the historic part of the island where stately old homes belonging to the rich and famous of yesteryear (and today) stand in an open park-like setting.

The island was bought by a group of wealthy families as a private retreat. Names we still recognize today, such as Rockefeller, Morgan, Vanderbilt and Goodyear, called Jekyll Island home for many years and formed a club here where no doubt deals were struck that would influence the future of the United States…

The Sidney Lanier Bridge to Jekyll Island…

It is said that during World War ll, German submarines lurked off the coast of Georgia, probably in the hope of torpedoing a vessel carrying one of the many influential people who visited the island on a regular basis.

The island was bought by the Sate of Georgia in 1947 and today boasts some of the most exclusive hotels in the state… It has over 10 miles of beach and three golf courses, as well as a large convention centre.

The impressive bridge that links the mainland to Jekyll Island. A heck of a way to cross a swamp !!

One of the many beautiful homes on Jekyll Island, referred to by their owners as “cottages”…

Along with St. Simon’s, Little St. Simon’s and Sea Island, Jekyll Island is the fourth that are collectively referred as the Golden Isles of Georgia, forming part of the Barrier Islands that dot the coast of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Some of these islands which number close to 100 in total, are no more than narrow sand-spits of land and many of them have been designated as wildlife refuges and are uninhabited.

©GBWT 2013