Jekyll Island, GA is a delightful place to visit. Historically, the robber barons of the late 1800s into the early 1900s built vacation “cottages” on the island. The cottages were luxurious mansions by the standards of the time. The millionaires built a club house of sorts for their hunting vacations and then built their cottages around the club house. The island has changed hands multiple times but has ended up quite a tourist destination in modern day.
My wife and I honeymooned on Jekyll Island. It was beautiful and historical, just the thing for us. We enjoyed all the sights including the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. But the one site I was most excited about was the driftwood beach on Jekyll Island. The ocean keeps claiming trees on the east side of the island resulting in a multitude of dead trees in various states of falling apart. One might think this is not so picturesque, but during low tide the stark, dead trees make for artistic sculptures accented by the ocean and the sky. The driftwood beach is a sight to behold.
Coordinating photography with low tide was not easy. We visited in January - not an ideal time for visiting the island. The entire week was cold by island standards and rainy off and on. The last morning of our visit was the time I could coordinate photography with low tide. Unfortunately, it was rainy; it was light rain, but rain nonetheless. My lovely new bride was dedicated to join me in this photographic adventure. She held the umbrella over me to help protect the camera. Overall, I was disappointed in the dull, grey rainy sky as a backdrop to the driftwood beach. However, the photographs made for wonderful black and whites!
There is a famous and most photographed driftwood tree, iconic to Jekyll Island. I will share my photo of this tree in a later blog post. But today’s photo is a delight from that cold, wet day. My poetic wife saw the photo and immediately said, “It looks like Neptune's Crown”. How true! King Neptune's crown had washed up on the driftwood beach. She hit the nail on the head. I was also delighted to notice I captured a seagull in the photo of Neptune’s Crown.
This driftwood tree was no longer standing or no longer in this form the last time I visited the driftwood beach. At the risk of sounding cliché, I have to say that life is not always roses; you have to take it as it comes. This photo reminds me we can’t always see beauty in the challenging times. But beauty can find you, sometimes when you least expect it!
Open your eyes to see the wonders all around you!
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