It may seem a little confusing how we have driven over 3000 miles and yet have ended up only 600 miles north of Miami!  Such is RVing and wanting to see family and friends.  But now we had a week with no specific plans and a place to visit that we were told should be on our schedule.  We headed east again to Jekyll Island off the coast of Georgia about 300 miles from Atlanta.  We decided to split it into two legs and add another recommended stop as well.

We took off from McDonough and headed south instead of east.  The location was south of Macon to a peach farm in Fort Valley, GA to see what those Georgia Peaches were all about.  After short leg on I-75, we took off through the countryside and into the orchard fields which are quite different from the pine forests we had seen for the past 6 weeks. 

Lane Southern Orchards is as much an event as it is a stopover.  It’s an orchard of course, but also a store, a restaurant, an ice cream bar, and a playground.  We saw buses of people coming in to buy produce and have lunch.  They had a large parking lot which included long spaces for RVs!   We did what we were supposed to do.  Walked around in the store, bought some peaches, peach jam and peach cobbler, bought some souvenirs, and had lunch.  All of which was good.

Then on to the next stop in Eastman, GA about another 75 miles.  The park was called Dream RV and later we discovered why.  It was located around some very tall pines and a small lake.  And a nice hiking trail.  We noticed a lot of solar powered garden lights around the park and lake.  And at night, they all lit up to make a very dream like setting.  They were all around the lake, in the trees, and in the ground.  Pretty cool!

Eastman, GA is a small older town on the rail line heading east.  Its claim to fame is that it was home to the first Stuckey’s!  As kids, we all remember Stuckey’s stops along the highways and their famous blue roofed buildings and Pecan Logs.  There are still some around, mostly in Georgia but seem to be franchises and not part of the corporation.

On to Jekyll Island the next day.  We arrived at the Jekyll Island Campground and got settled in. The island is owned by the State of Georgia and is mostly a state park but not marked as such.  The campground is not officially managed by the state.  However, it is nicely located near the north end of the island and has easy access to the island in general. 

Historically, Jekyll Island was a plantation for about 100 years then sold to a group of very rich men as their private club location.  It was very exclusive, and the membership and guests were tightly monitored.   The old buildings are still there and maintained by the state through park income and donations.  We took a tram tour through the historic district and learned a lot about life on the island. 

We also took a walk along the famous driftwood beach.  Here the soil on the shoreline is being washed away and the trees have been falling into the water for years making a sculpture of sorts with amazing photo opportunities.  Interestingly the soil that washes away is redeposited on the south end of the island and it is getting larger. 

The next day we went over to St. Simons Island to compare and explore.  What a difference!  It is not a state island and is much more commercially and residentially developed!  The old downtown pier area is quaint and has a big park and lighthouse.  We checked out the visitor center then went to lunch at the only beach front restaurant located in a famous hotel, King & Prince Beach Resort and Golf Resort.  We decided to sit inside for lunch and watch as the winds sand blasted everyone outside.  Gail had seen a salad she wanted to try, and it met all her expectations. We would definitely recommend the Echo.

St. Simons is also known for is Tree Spirit Scavenger Hunt.  11 tree spirits carved into trees on public properties.  We found about half of them as we headed back to Jekyll.

Enough for the Georgia islands, so we traveled up the coast to the South Carolina barrier islands of St. Helena and Hunting Island.  We have friends, the Jenings, that we met on our sailing adventure is the San Blas islands of Panama in about 2012.  Anne is always posting all these fabulous sunrise and sunset photos from their back yard, and I just had to check these out and visit with them as well. 

Turns out our first reservation spot in the area was not really in business but the replacement that we found was perfect and located about 8 miles from the Jennings’ house. It was called Tuck-in-the-Wood and was full hookup and a nice facility including a small lake.  No computer reservations and cash only.  But a nice, cheap laundry!

We went to their house in St. Helena for dinner with other visiting members of their family from Colorado and we were treated like family too.  And we sat around reminiscing about the Caribbean  trip, how we met, each other’s adventures since, and, of course, family events and mutual friends! 

The next day we went to explore the beach on Hunting Island.  We had heard Anne tell stories and post photos of cool beach animals, shark teeth, and shells.  It was a good walk and a quick swim, but no great finds. 

But we actually got into the Atlantic Ocean before heading back to the mountains in northern Georgia and other points north.