We left Hilton Head this morning heading South, with no concrete plan in mind. Coming out of HH we cut off on a back road toward Bluffton and got out of the heavy traffic. We rejoined Rt. 17 further South. We followed 17 to Savannah and exited just after another amazing bridge toward downtown. We toured the old part of Savannah and went by Paula Dean’s restaurant. It wasn’t mealtime, so we continued on. We saw most of old Savannah and then rejoined Rt. 17 to continue South. Saw one of those classic road signs you see in the magazines leaving Savannah. It was a big official yellow road sign, and said "Street Closed When Flooded"??? as opposed to what???? Rt. 17 continued its predilection for being straight with nothing but trees and marsh to look at. We took a side trip just past Eulonia, GA out Rt.99 that parallels 17 but is even more rural. The scenery was truly undisturbed rural Georgia. We passed, uneventfully, through Brunswick, GA on our way t o Jekyll Island. Jekyll Island is quite an interesting place. In the early 20th century, it was a private resort owned by the Vanderbilts, Goodyears, Carnegies, Fords etc. It was said that at one time the owners of Jekyll Island Resort controlled a full 20% of the world’s wealth. Now days the state of Georgia has owned it for the last 40 years. Many of the old original "cottages" are still there and have been restored. The huge home of the Vanderbilts has been converted to a hotel and is run by heirs of the family. While we were touring that, we saw folks out on the front lawn in period dress playing croquet just like must have happened earlier in the 1930’s and 40’s. Our guidebook told us you could actually stay at the Vanderbilt hotel, but prices were in the $375 a night range. (but with gourmet meals) We guessed that the folks on the front lawn were regular guests and knew what dress to wear for period croquet. We toured the rest of the island, and noted there were ma ny very nice houses in the residential areas of the island. Most of them looked like brick ranchers from the 60’s, but looking at the real estate listings on the Internet, most of them went for half a million or better. Rentals were in the 2 grand a week range. All in all though it was a beautiful place—very well kept and manicured, and little or no traffic. We left there and continued South on 17 heading for the Florida border. In Woodbine, GA we saw an antique dealer with a sense of humor—had a sign out front that read "Dead People’s Things For Sale" We crossed into Florida, and finally turned onto Rt. A1A with 734 miles showing on the trip meter and 74 degrees on the vette outdoor temp. We followed A1A to Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, and decided to land for the day. Got an ocean view room at the Comfort Suites, and had a good meal down the road at Sliders. (fresh grouper was excellent). We’re camped for the night, and plan to head down A1A tomorrow morning. Should be some top down weather tomorrow, had the AC on today when it was 78.
More later........
Wes & Vickie
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