DAYS 254-255 : Cumberland Island to Jekyll Island

Cumberland Island Anchorage to Jekyll Harbor Marina: 7.5 mph; 19.6 miles; 2:25 hours

Jekyll Harbor Marina:

Great Marina; they were easy to work with when we had to delay our arrival by one day due to weather. $2.25/ft plus electric; showers/bathroom; coin-laundry; restaurant onsite; FREE use of golf carts and bikes. 

Jekyll Island

There are some anchorages outside the marina; I hear you can pay a fee to use the dock and amenities. I needed a marina, so there we went.

The beach town is about 0.5 miles away; Jekyll has committed to hard work and an organized plan so that the area looks non-commercial. There are a few of the typical “trap stores” with upscale items (Lily Pulitzer, Life Is Good, Scout …) and the hotels are blended into the plaza area. 

The beach is easily accessible at several points with public parking, ADA accessible, and the beach is pretty flat with hard packed sand. There is a heck of a tide here too - so keep that in mind when you set up your chair. The beach seems laid back. 

We rode bikes to the historical section of the island - an absolute contrast to the 'downtown' we just left behind. The houses in the historic section were summer ‘cottages’ for the rich and famous?! Are you kidding? They are huge! We saw a group of men playing croquet in traditional white uniforms - they were VERY serious about the game - like Olympic Level Serious. Focused. Trained.

Jekyll is a special place for sure. I would love to see a wedding here. Imagine it, a high polished car from the 1940’s, Spanish moss, a gentle breeze - beautiful! 

We met a man, Rick Barnes, age 91, during our bike ride and he was a wealth of island knowledge. He has been 'with the island' for over 60 years. We met up with him again at the sea turtle hospital and helped him find the brick with his wife’s name engraved. He encouraged us to see the hospital and it turns out that this is a well funded facility with so many turtles! Some turtles will only need minimal care and then released. Unfortunately, other turtles will need a forever-home, they were injured in such a way that they will not be able to forge for themselves. We saw a turtle surgery, which is crazy to watch, but so interesting. I like this little island. 

Farm99ga.com 

Here's an option to buying locally farmed produce, honey, and I think breads. They offer weekly deliveries to Jekyll and St Simon Islands. When I called them, they were easy to work with and explained that the website is updated every Tuesday and Thursday. The Jekyll Island deliveries are on Wednesday with a fee of $5. The delivery fee is waived if more than one boat is ordering. Considering the slim grocery choices on the island during the slow season, the $5 fee is silly pennies. I would probably use them during the high season as well because we support local business wherever we go.

Atyourservicejekyllerrandgirl.com

This is a concierge service offered on the island. It was started by a woman who, well, just likes helping people. Need a ride, pet service, child/elder care, plant care, shopping-order pickup from Walmart, housekeeping, handyman? What about a ride to the airport, jumpstart or locksmith? This is who you call. It’s sort of like having a family member on the island who is always ready to help out. 

HISTORICAL FACTS, AS I UNDERSTAND THEM: 

In 1910, JP Morgan, Jekyll Island resident, arranged for six men to have use of the Jekyll Island Club for a duck hunt. Little did Morgan know, the six men in attendance were conducting a secret meeting and planning to reform the nation’s banking system to create the federal reserve system. All the attendees were republican and each man kept the meeting a secret until the 1930s. 

Aldrich, the ring leader, knew that if the attendees were seen together at the train station, it would rouse suspicion among the Wall Street crowd; so, he asked each attendee to arrive, and board his private train car, at different times throughout the day. The attendees were to use their first names only so not to flag attention from the train car staff. They called this “The First Name Club”.  

In 1911, Aldrich (R) presented the National Monetary Commission to Congress without telling who was involved in its development; the Democrats sat in opposition and the idea of a federal reserve system was effectively shelved. 

A year later, the Democrats won the presidency and took both houses. Carter Glass (D) and Robert Owen (D) took the shelved reform idea, changed a few words of Aldrich’s plan, and called it their own taking all the credit. Huh - isn't that something. Before presenting it to Congress, Glass/Owen had an expert review the plan to make sure ‘their idea’ was solid - they asked Warburg to look it over. Warburg was more than happy to help out the two Dems since he was a secret member of The First Name Club. The reform passed and Benjamin Strong was named Governor (President) of the National Reserve. Strong was member number seven, of the original meeting, having input via telephone. 

In 1927, Glass wrote a paper explaining how he developed the idea of the Federal Reserve titled: An Adventure in Constructive Finance. That’s when Aldrich called Glass out explaining it was the combined idea of six minds that created the Federal Reserve System. Warburg went a step further and compared the Glass/Own document to the original document presented to congress a year earlier by Aldrich - word for word and backed Aldrich’s claim. Glass, who was never elected but always appointed to fill a seat, was made a fool and died in 1946. Karma strikes again; how can politicians blatantly lie and think it's ok?