Friday Evening

We visited the beautiful historic Davenport House and had an old-fashioned madeira tasting in the garden. (The docents described it as rainwater madeira.) What a delightful custom here! We are looking forward to recreating such a madeira tasting at home in Texas.

From the garden we walked a short distance to 45 Bistro for dinner in a private room. I had salad, salmon, and chocolate torte. Walking back to the hotel was a great idea.

Friday PM in Savannah Hyatt

From our room at the Hyatt, we could see boats on the river, a variety of types and sizes. Then we finally looked the other direction and saw the gleaming gold dome of City Hall.

After unpacking and changing to casual elegance, we were ready for a Savannah evening.

Friday at St. Simon's

As soon as we arrived on St. Simon's Island, we all had lunch at Mullet Bay restaurant. My shrimp and crab salad was loaded with seafood, and all of us were ready to walk and stretch our legs.

Friday Departure

Bright and early our luggage was on the bus and we boarded a red open tram for a guided tour of Jekyll and a couple of grand "cottages." The outside of our bus was painted so realistically that we almost couldn't find it after the tram dropped us at the museum. Soon we were motoring across the high butterfly bridge that connects Jekyll to the mainland.

Random shots of Jekyll

Looking through my photos, I decided to use these three that wanted to be blogged.

Thursday Night Dinner

Our evening started with a reception where we met the other people on our tour. After drinks, appetizers, and a few words from our tour guide, we went into the main dining hall for a four course dinner, thanks to Tauck. I chose grilled shrimp stuffed with oysters and crab, cauliflower bisque with shrimp and crab, herb crusted rack of lamb (no photo), and a flourless dark chocolate torte. This meal went on far too long and totaled a huge amount of money. Tauck may not let us on another tour after they see our bill.

Thursday Lunch

A hotel worker drove us to Sea Jay's for lunch on Jekyll Island. We walked out on the marina dock as boats pulled up for fuel. My salad had lots of fresh shrimp, a good recommendation. The sign at the entrance gave us ideas for copying it.

Wednesday Dinner

After working up appetites at the beach, we headed to the dock area for seafood and a colorful sunset.

Wednesday PM

The afternoon plan highlighted the beach, clean and sunny. We soon began to hunt for sand dollars, careful to leave live ones undisturbed, eager to pick up a few dead ones to carry home. We also learned some info about their life and habits just by observation.

Dolphins swam and jumped close enough to view their antics but not close enough to get photos. We also watched pelicans, gulls, and other shore birds. One patch of mud near the dunes had tide patterns reminding me of nature's sculpture or gray paint applied with a palette knife. We were glad to have so much time to enjoy the Atlantic beach.

Wednesday Snake Surgery

The Turtle Center has an OR and sometimes treats other creatures, in this case a diamond-back rattlesnake. The veterinarian and technicians first anesthetized it and then implanted a chip to track it and give information. In the third photo you can see the snake's head below the vet's armpit. Squint. One visitor standing near me asked, "While it's asleep, can you just cut its head off?" That remark drew some gasps and frowns but also a couple of giggles, not saying who.

Because I don't want to leave you with snakey thoughts, I'm adding a photo of my beautiful friend trying out a wicker rocker. Happy lady!