Thaw your chill at Jekyll!

The United States is full of wonderful little secrets. The one that we will explore today deals with a paradise barrier island on the south eastern side of Georgia which was, long ago, the winter playground for the (truly) rich and the famous that wanted to escape the ravages of winter (and after spending the last six months in the coldest English language school London could possibly offer, I swear that I wanted to escape the cold as well.) We are talking about Jekyll island. The island is located off the coast of the U.S in Glynn County (state of Georgia) and is one of only four barrier islands that features a convenient paved causeway for easy access by car.

The island holds a reputation for having a history of prestige. Back in the early 1900s and for over four decades, the island belonged exclusively to the Jekyll Island Club. Who took part in such institution? The Morgans, Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Pulitzers and several other families (reputed to hold over one-sixth of the world's wealth) were part of this institution and built a group of large cottages along Jekyll Creek to serve as their winter retreat (I will tell you once again, if you plan to to learn English in London, make sure it is not during the winter.) In 1942 the international conflict known as World War II was becoming an alarming concern for the U.S. government and these families were asked to stay off the island (which was a possible target) until the conflict had been resolved. It turned out that they found other places to go and never returned, the island itself was sold to the state in 1947 and is now one of the largest ongoing restoration project in the south-eastern United States.

Nowadays its beautiful beaches are frequented by vacationers from all around the U.S. and some even from abroad (like yours truly here) and, in case you are planning on going, there are guided tours of the Landmark Historic District which I profusely recommend. Once you are done with your history lessons, although if you are interested in the subject matter you can find days worth of things to see here, you can try one of the numerous outdoors activities

Plan your biking route using this handy map