A Christmas Greeting
25 December 2008 | Jekyll Island, Georgia
mid 70's, sunny
A Christmas hello from Jekyll Island, Georgia.
A little out of chronological order, but I'll return to the next chapter of our adventures after Beaufort, NC. in my next blog entry.
Merry Christmas Greetings from Jekyll Island, Georgia!
We hope that you have all had a wonderful Christmas and that the New Year will bring all that you wish for.
We arrived on Jekyll Island a week ago Tuesday. It did not take us long to decide we wanted to make our 'work-stop-over' here instead of Vero Beach, Florida. Since our departure in October, our thought had been to head to Florida where we would stop for 4 to 6 weeks to make the necessary preparations for going off shore to the Bahamas.
When comparing Vero Beach to Jekyll Island, the Island really comes out on top. Here, we are at a dock instead of a mooring ball, as we would be at Vero Beach. Being on a mooring ball means that Michael would have to dingy us ashore and then bring us back (I refuse to run our 2hp Seagull motor on the dingy). To be able to just step off the boat onto a dock is a huge bonus, as it saves time and truly a lot of hassle with a family of 5.
Jekyll Island Marina, is quite small and very friendly and quaint. There is a pool and outdoor hot tub. It's a little cool to swim, but the kids have been in once on a day when the temperature was in the 70's. Also, our friends, Phillip and Sasha with their twins, Chantelle and Corwin on the boat Amazing Grace II, are here as well. This is a great bonus for the kids, theirs and ours!
Here's a little background on the Island. I can't claim any credit for the information. I have to admit I copied it from our navigation guide.
A subtropical climate with complete seclusion: Jekyll Island was the perfect site for a winter club of the ultra-rich and famous. In the 1880's, this group, including the Rockefellers, Goulds, Astors, Goodyears, Morgans, Pulitzers and Vanderbilts, built what they so called "cottages" (to us commoners: "mansions"), where they could ride out the northern winter with their social equals.
Each estate was huge, but to promote social interaction none included kitchens. Members were expected to dine together at the club, where a staff from Delmonico's in New York prepared the meals. To put Delmonico's into perspective, the restaurant's 100 page menu listed 370 dishes in both French and English.
By WWII, the membership of the Jekyll Island Club controlled one-sixth of the worlds' wealth. But in 1942, when a German U-boat torpedoed a tanker in St. Simons Sound, just north of Jekyll Island, the government feared the island was too tempting a target, (I heard from locals here that kidnapping of the rich was a great concern and that was why the island was evacuated). The Coast Guard took over and evacuated the island. The residents simply walked away from all they had here never to return.
In 1947, the State of Georgia purchased the island for a paltry $675,000. Today the island is open to the masses as a popular vacation destination. The mansions and the Jekyll Island Club still stand.
We hope to do a tour of the 'cottages', just to see how the other half lives/lived. By the above description, it might sound like a very touristy place, but it isn't. Being a State Park, commercialism is well controlled.
We had a nice Christmas Eve. As in the German tradition, we celebrated Christmas on the eve of the 24th. We have a catamaran docked in front of us and, as they are from Germany and away from family, we invited them to join us for dinner. Ingrid prepared luscious hors d'oeuvres and brought vegetables: broccoli and Rotkohl (red cabbage). I cooked turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes and salad. For dessert, we had chocolate-swirl cheesecake, apple pie and chocolate-nut shortbread. George entertained us with poems and stories of his days as a naviator on the mechants vessels in Germany. The highlight, of course for the kids, was the opening of the presents. It was all smiles and squeals of delight.
Today, Christmas Day, the kids and moms from 'Gromit' and 'AGII' went cycling to an old forest with huge trees hanging full of Spanish moss and surrounded by fan palm trees. There is a enormous rope suspended from a tree branch in the middle of a large clearing. The kids spent hours swinging and shrieking with delight. Then off to the beach. The tide was out and we had to be careful not to step on the stranded jelly fish, which, even though they are dead or nearly dead, they can still inflict a nasty sting. The weather was absolutely fantastic today; in the mid 70's with some humidity. We are told that today's weather is not the norm and that it is usually in the 60's at this time of year. I'm sure we will cope!
Well, tomorrow it's back to school for kids and mom and back to boat prep work for dad.
Hope you are all well and happy!
Love, Michael, Cornelia, Zoe, Maia, Liam