Heading North and a Stop at Jekyll Island

 February 27 - 28, 2017

One last wildlife photo as we say farewell to DeLand.  Sandhill cranes are not hunted here so they are everywhere and almost tame.  Their red heads are spectacular when lit by the sun.

We depart DeLand on Feb. 27.  After a one night stop in Palatka, we are back in Jacksonville.  This time we stay at Ortega Landing Marina, a first class facility on the west side of the St Johns River.






March 1 - 6, 2017

The Marina at Ortega Landing is in an older neighborhood that has been "discovered", with lots of older homes being renovated.  Nearby shops make provisioning easy.  A couple of blocks from our marina is Chamblin Bookmine, a Jacksonville institution that claims to have over 2 million used books for sale.  It is truly overwhelming!

March 7, 2017

We enjoyed our stay here.  Met lots of other cruisers and had lunch with new friends from last December.  They will take delivery of a new Kadey-Krogen trawler soon and had lots of photos to share. 

We depart Ortega Landing early to coincide with high tide, as the Ortega River will be uncomfortably shallow, even with the extra water depth.

We must wait for the Ortega River railroad bridge to open.  Downtown Jacksonville is awakening in the background.

We make a 3 hour stop at Metropolitan Park Marina, in downtown Jacksonville, to wait for the incoming current to subside and time our route later this afternoon to transit a shallow area at the next high tide.  Two hours later we arrive at the intersection of the St Johns River and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW).

We have now turned north to resume our cruise up the US east coast!  We anchor for the night across from Fernandina Beach.  This is considered a fun, beachy, touristy stop, but the main marina was badly damaged by Hurricane Matthew last fall and they cannot accommodate us for the night.  Instead of seeing the town, we must content ourselves with a lovely view (and smell) of two paper mills in a blustery, bumpy anchorage.  Ugh!

March 8, 2017

We are now in a section of coast known for very large tides (6 - 8 ft, twice per day) and lots of shallow areas in the AICW.  We must plan carefully to transit the shallow areas at or near high tide.  An afternoon departure takes us across the St Marys River and the Florida / Georgia state line.  We pass Cumberland Island to our east but do not see any of the wild horses known to live there.

A four-hour cruise today gets us to Jekyll Harbor Marina on the infamous Jekyll Island.  We had planned an overnight here, however ... wow!  Had no idea this is such a beautiful place!  We set out on loaner bikes for a quick tour and decided to stay 2 more nights.  It's nice not having a schedule!

March 9 - 10, 2017

So much to see here and we just couldn't leave Boka behind on the boat.  We found a rental bike with a kids trailer that worked well for her to tag along.  The entire island is a state park with wide open park-like areas, huge moss-draped live oaks, magnolias and such, and paved bike trails everywhere.  Development is carefully controlled, giving the island a quiet, relaxed atmosphere.

For those not familiar with Jekyll Island, this was the home of the Jekyll Island Club.  Founded in 1886 as a winter hunting club and getaway for the ultra wealthy.  It was also the setting for the 1910 meeting of the major bankers who ultimately formed the Federal Reserve Bank, in response to the financial panic of 1907. 






Today the Club is an elegant hotel, complete with a croquet court on the front lawn.  We enjoyed several meals in the wonderful restaurants, which were quite reasonable considering the location.

The hotel bar exemplifies the understated elegance of the facility.

The "Federal Reserve Room" is where the historic planning supposedly took place.

Located in the heart of the Historic District, the hotel is surrounded by numerous "cottages" built by turn-of-the-century Club members.  This is the Rockefeller or "Indian Mound" Cottage, built about 1900.







The Goodyear Cottage, 1906, houses the Jekyll Island Arts Association.  We attended their annual Arts Festival featuring a juried art show, live music and art demonstrations.  Fun!

The Moss Cottage, 1896.

Numerous shops and this post office are housed in period buildings on the grounds.

Driftwood Beach lies on the northeast end of Jekyll Island.  Dredging of nearby St Simons Sound entrance channel caused sand to accrete here, burying ancient live oak trees.






Paved bike trails crisscross the island, weaving through unspoiled woods, connecting developed areas.

Carolyn has a new bicycle!  It's a folding bike, all aluminum, very light weight and fun to ride.

Jekyll Island boasts only 9 holes of golf, a rarity in this area as there are many championship golf courses on and near the barrier islands north of here.

A lovely beach near the main tourist area.  We saw no trash anywhere!

Boka got to go for a quick dip, but the water was cold and very muddy.  Boka met lots of dog buddies here.

We found a great cafe for a light lunch in the main tourist area.

Then we reluctantly headed back to the marina.  This was a perfect pair of Chamber of Commerce days!

Tomorrow we will make an hour run to Brunswick, GA where we will take a week's break to wait for a cold front to pass and the next high tide window before resuming our trek north.  Our next stops will include Savannah, Hilton Head Island, Beaufort and Charleston.