Jekyll Island

On our road trip this past week we listened to books on tape while we drove from one beautiful spot to another.  One of the books was Dave Barry's "Insane City."  It's an insanely funny book.  The city is Miami and one of the characters is a billionaire so wealthy that he belongs to "The Group of Ten."  But he's miserably unhappy because he wants to belong to the more exclusive "Group of Six."

Bridge to Jekyll Island

On Tuesday afternoon, along with two good friends, we spent the afternoon touring Jekyll Island, Georgia.  The bridge above took us from St. Simon's Island to Jekyll. We spent some time on the pristine Driftwood Beach.  (By the way, Dave took all of these photos.)

Driftwood Beach

We spent most of the afternoon at The Jekyll Island Club.  Somewhere between 1884 and 1904 a "hunt club" was started on Jekyll Island for the richest and most influential men in America.  Tycoons, politicians and socialites loved the seclusion of the island.  We're talking men like J.P. Morgan, Rockefeller, Astor, Pulitzer and Vanderbilt.  It was the most exclusive, most inaccessible club in the world.  At one time they were reputed to represent one seventh of the nation's wealth.

The "Group of 23,"as they were called at one time, had secret meetings with government officials who sneaked on to the island disguised as duck hunters.  

Original Cottage

The good news is that the Jekyll Island Club is now open to the public.  I'm sure staying at the hotel is pricey but anybody can walk around and look at the "cottages" and servant's quarters and even the hotel itself.  And that's what we did.  

By the way, the government tried to discourage these movers and shakers from all going to Jekyll at the same time because the country might fall apart if they all got wiped out.  But that's not what finally ended the era.  It was their kids saying "There's nothing to do on this island."

So, I wonder if Dave Barry was teasing "The Group of 23" in his book "Insane City" and its "Group of Ten."

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