I have a daughter and granddaughter that live in Pembroke Pines, (South) Florida. I have a daughter and grandson that live near Charlotte. We had decided to find a place to meet for a few days about half way between us. Because I "owed" my wife a trip to the beach, it was going to be on the ocean. I got to make the arrangements and I picked Jekyll Island.

On many trips to South Florida on I-95, while going through Georgia, I've noticed signs referring to Jekyll Island. I never knew much about it. Well, it's an interesting place.

Jekyll Island is named after Sir Joseph Jekyl (yes a single "l") who supported General James Oglethorpe's expeditions into Georgia. Georgia, of course, became a British colony. Joseph Jekyl, himself, never saw or even heard of the island. Jekyll Island is presently owned by the State of Georgia. The people that live there and the businesses that are there have buildings on 99-year leased land. The prior owner was The Jekyll Island Club and the island was taken over by the state for non-payment of taxes. The fascinating part of that is that, in 1886,the Jekyll Island Club was formed by Jay Gould, the robber baron; J. P. Morgan, the financier; Joseph Pulitzer, the newspaper publisher; Marshall Field, merchandiser; John J. Hill, railroad magnate; William Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt and others like them. John D. Rockefeller (William's brother) was a frequent visitor. In many ways, these guys just about controlled the US. Inflation adjusted, John D. Rockefeller had 3 to 4 times the wealth of Bill Gates. In the Crane Cottage, incidentally with 17 bathrooms (hint: Richard Teller Crane of Crane bathroom fixtures fame, also oil well equipment), John D. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan and their buddies in duck hunting outfits, wrote the draft for what became the Federal Reserve Act of 1926.

As wealthy as the guys were, they were not beyond playing games with "one upsmanship". J. P. Morgan had built a bigger yacht that could not even be docked at the pier. When asked what it cost, he made the famous remark: "If you have to consider the cost you have no business with a yacht."

Anyway, Jekyll Island, at the time accessible only by boat, and even then very much controlled, was their stomping grounds for 3 months or so after Christmas. They were "roughing it", hunting, playing golf, tennis and carousing with their kind in the country and avoiding the cold of the North.

For a variety of reasons, members dying off, the Great Depression, World War II and Germans torpedoing ships practically within sight, children not interested in the roughing it and moving on to the developing West Palm Beach in Florida, they abandoned the island.

Anyway, if you are interested in history, take a [link|http://www.jekyllislandexperience.com/islandtours.shtml|tour]. The island is not overly developed and there all the other activities: biking (>20 miles), golf, water park, horse back riding, birding, charter boat fishing, dolphin cruise, etc.

A 20 minute drive from I-95 and $3.00 "parking" fee once you cross the bridge gets you there.