Living Well 60+ September – October 2015 | Page 14

14 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015 TRAVEL Charming St. Simons Island Georgia barrier island has warm climate, beautiful beaches by Jan Ross, Staff Writer The Golden Isles comprise several enchanting barrier islands right off the coast of Georgia. The largest of these is St. Simons, located near Savannah. Visitors return here yearly to enjoy the warm, temperate climate, miles of beautiful and wide sandy beaches, four golf courses and plenty of interesting little shops and restaurants. For 75 years, the luxurious King and Prince Beach and Golf Resort has welcomed guests to its idyllic oceanfront retreat. A golf course, the Royal Treatment Cottage for massages, the wonderful Echo restaurant, tennis courts and five indoor and outdoor pools all combine to create a resort location perfect for any group. The resort has a variety of accommodations, including hotel rooms and suites, two- and threebedroom beach villas and seven gracious guest homes with one to five bedrooms, each unique and delightful. The Echo restaurant is a great place to have every meal during your stay. We enjoyed breakfast, sampling everything from a freshly prepared omelet to eggs Benedict with crab cakes. Whatever you order, be sure to get the “cinnamon doughnuts.” These are far from your typical doughnuts. They’re more like a light, delectable beignet that has been dipped into cinnamon sugar. I also recommend trying the fresh crab cakes and grouper tacos for dinner or lunch. In addition, the restaurant offers a local Southern specialty of shrimp and grits, which was some of the best we have ever tasted. A pumpkin spice cake for dessert came adorned with a white chocolate candy imprinted with the name of the resort; it was just another charming and caring touch. We enjoyed a tour of the island with St. Simons Trolley Island Tour. There are two tours daily in the summer. You can book your tickets online or purchase them when you arrive. Look for the green trolley underneath the big oak tree by the Pier in St. Simons Island’s Pier Village. At 18 square miles, we really had no idea how large the island was or how much history it included until we took the tour. The Lady Jane shrimp boat is a steel shrimping vessel that has been retired and now offers shrimping excursions on quiet, protected St. Simon Sound. An air-conditioned cabin, restroom and a large covered deck with plenty of room to walk around make the tours very pleasant. The crew hauls in nets full of shrimp, fish, crab, stingrays and other sea life, then pours it out onto a table to share with the guests, who learn all about the sea life in the area this way. Then everything is dumped back into the water to continue their lives undisturbed. We were sad to leave beautiful St. Simons Island, but we began making plans to return as soon as possible to this lovely, charming, and unspoiled barrier island. At 18 square miles, we really had no idea how large the island was or how much history it included.