Did you know that Georgia has armadillos?!? This was the first time that we had camped in Georgia and we noticed them by the road on our drive down and then they were at our campground. It wasn’t something we were expecting to see and became a pleasant surprise to see some new wildlife for our family. We knew this trip was going to be a long drive for a quick weekend of camping, but we wanted to get away for a few days and my in-laws had been to Jekyll Island the year before and really enjoyed it. The kids had off school on Friday so we left Thursday night and stayed the night at a Cracker Barrel just south of Richmond. This allowed us to get to the campground on Friday afternoon. We stayed at Blythe Island Park/Campground, they didn’t have a camp store but the sites were big and shaded and the kids liked being able to ride their bikes to the pond and the playground. They also have a marina right at the campground and there are wooded trails to run/hike. Friday night we got all set-up and had a fire with s’mores. After everyone had started going to bed, Kristen and I were sitting by the fire and we could hear the armadillos rustling around in the leaves…it was definitely a new experience. This was also the first trip where we looked into local laws on adults being able to ride in the back of the pick-up, this was mostly so my in-laws could stay connected at the campground )they have a Class B sprinter van) and we could pile everyone into our truck after we had unhooked our travel trailer. On Saturday, Kristen and I started the day with an 18 mile bike ride out to Jekyll Island, we met up with her parents and the kids at the turtle sanctuary. The ride was beautiful and Jekyll Island was very nice. The whole island is covered in sidewalks and bike lanes and walking paths; and the turtle sanctuary was a learning experience and a lot of fun for everyone. Unfortunately Hope had been feeling bad that morning and she kept getting worse throughout the day. On the way back to the campground we stopped at an urgent care and she was diagnosed with Strep Throat. Luckily she was able to start antibiotics right away and was feeling better by Sunday morning. The rest of Saturday was a lazy day at the campground and preparing for our adventures on Sunday.
On Sunday we all loaded into the truck and drove to St. Simon Island (just north of Jekyll Island). The drive was nice and Kristen and I were happy to ride in the back of the pickup again. St. Simon Island has a very busy downtown area with a ton of shops, restaurants, ice cream places, and a waterfront path that leads to a lighthouse. We happened to show up while they were having a local arts and crafts festival (which we have lucked out with several times). This worked out perfectly and Hope was able to buy a local piece of art and watch the artist start her next creation…she was very excited. We went to Barbara Jeans for lunch, the food was delicious and the service was great too. After walking around town, exploring the huge playground area, and hiking to the top of the lighthouse we were all exhausted and ready for our last night in the campground before heading home on Monday. We were going to stop in Savannah on the way home, but since we already had the trailer hooked up this proved to be too difficult and we ended up just heading straight home. The drive straight through wasn’t too bad and we all made it back home late Monday evening.
