Best of St. Simons, Sapelo, Jekyll: An Island-Hopping Adventure

Program Registration. After you check in and have your room assignment, join us at the Road Scholar table in the meeting room at 4:00 p.m. to register with the program staff, get any updated information, and confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please locate your Group Leader and let them know you have arrived. Orientation. The Group Leader will greet everyone with warm welcome and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule and any changes, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer any questions you may have. Transportation will be provided primarily by motorcoach unless specified otherwise. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

At the hotel.

At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.

At the hotel.

We will walk from the hotel to the Jekyll Island Mosaic Museum, less than 1/2 mile, where we will have a presentation on Jekyll Island history. The museum’s many exhibitions feature objects and photographs from extensive collections and will introduce the rich heritage of Jekyll Island, whose social and architectural legacy is reflected in the Jekyll Island Club National Historic Landmark District. Club members included such luminaries as J.P. Morgan, William Rockefeller, Vincent Astor, Joseph Pulitzer and William K. Vanderbilt. Other recognizable names on the roster were Macy, Goodyear, Gould and Pullman. After the lecture, we’ll board the Museum trolley for a field trip through the 240-acre historic district including two stops along the way.

In a private room at the hotel.

Next, we will board a motorcoach and ride to Driftwood Beach where we will meet a naturalist and learn about this “most photographed beach” that resembles a tree graveyard. Driftwood Beach is a textbook example of the effects of erosion on a barrier island.

At the hotel.

We’ll be joined by a local expert for a presentation on sea turtles, their unique biological characteristics, and the efforts being made by organizations to preserve their population. These include devices employed by the shrimping industry to avoid trapping these animals as bycatch. Known to be present in almost every ocean in the world, these speedy swimmers glide through the water on large flippers encased in smooth scaly skin and a hard shell to defend themselves from predators. The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is situated right behind the hotel. We recommend you visit on your own during free time and spend as much time as you like at the Turtle Center and hospital for injured sea turtles.

At the hotel.

We’ll board a motorcoach and set out on a full-day field trip to St. Simons Island, a 20-minute drive from Jekyll Island. St. Simons is the most populated of Georgia’s Golden Isles and was originally developed by the colonial English who used enslaved people to work the plantations of cotton and other cash crops. The distinctive Gullah and Geechee cultures grew out of the widespread West African slave population in the southeast region of what is now the United States. Since the turn of the 20th century, however, the island has been transformed into a thriving resort community with a significant seasonal population. Our first stop will be Fort Frederica where a local expert will lead our exploration as we hear fascinating historical tales and walk among ancient live oak trees. Established in 1736 by James Oglethorpe, Fort Frederica was built to defend Georgia’s southern border from the Floridian Spanish. Next we ride to lovely Christ Church where a local expert will provide historical commentary. The atmosphere of Christ Church has captivated visitors for years with its distinctive architectural design and majestic live oak surroundings. This modern-day spectacle, like a vintage photograph, offers a peek into another time period. Ultimately, the widespread appeal of the site today may be linked to the 1880s generosity of Anson Dodge Jr., a man popularized by Eugenia Price in her book, “The Beloved Invader.” While we walk, we’ll explore the unique environment and also make our way through the old cemetery that contains graves of early settlers and some famous Georgians.

This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to have what you like in St. Simons Village. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. There are numerous choices in this tiny seaside village.

After lunch we’ll make a stop at the historic St. Simons Lighthouse — adjacent to St. Simons Village — and hear from a local expert. We’ll explore the campus of the Coastal Georgia Historic Society that includes the Lighthouse, the Keeper’s Dwelling Museum, the oil house and Victorian Gazebo. Next, we’ll ride to the Historical Harrington School Cultural Center, built in the 1920s and formerly known as the Harrington Graded School. We’ll hear from a former student of the school regarding the school history which was the main educational structure for three African-American communities on St. Simons. We'll return to the hotel after our field trip.

At the hotel.

We will have a very special experience in a performance by the Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters. While the Shouters have been performing in public since 1980, the ring shout has been practiced since the 18th century. This age-old tradition has been passed down from generation to generation in this family since their ancestors arrived in bondage over 300 years ago. From the National Park Service, “The Ring Shout is probably the oldest surviving African American performance tradition on the North American continent. This compelling fusion of counterclockwise dance like movement, the call-and-response singing, the percussion of hand clapping and, the stick beating of a drum-like rhythm on a wooden floor is clearly African in its origins. The ring shout, originally and presently, affirms oneness with the Spirit and ancestors as well as community cohesiveness.”

At the hotel.

After boarding the motorcoach and riding to the dock, we will board the “Lady Jane,” a working shrimp boat, for a shrimp trawl. The boat crew will provide an educational commentary on the local ecology as we make our way through protected waters of St. Simons Sound. We will have an opportunity — for those who would like to join in — to help out sorting the catch that may include bonnethead, blacktip, sand shark, horseshoe crab, puffer fish, amberjack, crocker, spot, whiting, bluecrab, and skate. We will see coastal birds along the way and, with luck, dolphins before returning to the hotel.

At the hotel.

Free time. This period of time has been set aside for your personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Please note that the period scheduled for free time is subject to change depending on local circumstances and opportunities for independent exploration.

On your own to have what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. There are restaurants near the hotel.

At leisure.

At the hotel.

We’ll board the motorcoach, set out at 6:55 a.m., and ride to the ferry docking point and the Sapelo Island Mainland Visitor Center in Darien. There, we’ll have some time to go through the exhibits independently and learn about Sapelo’s cultural history, coastal wildlife, and complex ecosystems of beach and dunes. The island is reachable only by boat, making it an endearing isolated destination. At embarkation time, we’ll board the ferry for the short ride to Sapelo Island, where we’ll board a school bus. We’ll begin an expert-led field trip and explore the tabby ruins of a former sugar operation, a marine biology lab, RJ Reynolds estate grounds, Hog Hammock Community and see the newly-restored Sapelo Lighthouse.

Lunch will be at the home of a local resident at the only restaurant on Sapelo Island.

Our field trip on Sapelo will continue to Nanny Goat Beach. We will ride back to the ferry dock and return to the mainland mid-afternoon with some time to freshen up and relax before dinner.

At the hotel. Share favorite experiences with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.

At leisure. Prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.

At the hotel. This concludes our program.

If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!