Tyner Travelers Trip Itinerary – May 20-24
Monday, May 20
We will be traveling to the Golden Isles off the coast of South Georgia to stay for four nights at Epworth Center. In 1949, the South Georgia Conference of the Methodist Church purchased a prime part of the Hamilton Plantation to establish a Christian Retreat Center. The Methodist Center was named Epworth By The Sea in honor of the boyhood home of the Wesley brothers, Epworth, England. Epworth is a fitting memorial which links the past with the present. The founders of Epworth desired to provide a Christian place where one might come and feel the same “reviving of the spirit” felt by the Wesley brothers so long ago. (Dinner will be included)
Tuesday, May 21
We will have a local tour guide to travel with us and tell us about the rich heritage of Jekyll Island. In 1733, General James Oglethorpe named Jekyll Island in honor of Sir Joseph Jekyll, his friend and financier from England. In the late 1800s, Jekyll Island became an exclusive hunting club for families with names like Rockefeller, Morgan, Vanderbilt, Pulitzer, and Baker. The once private retreat is now part of The Jekyll Island Club National Historic Landmark District, one of the largest preservation projects in the southeast. We will have lunch at the Jekyll Island Club in the DuBignon Room. Later in the day, we will travel to St. Mary’s. It is the second oldest city in the U.S. and is known for its sweeping coastal vistas, picturesque small-town feel, historic architecture and southern hospitality. You will have some free time for shopping, browsing, and having dinner. (Breakfast and lunch included)
Wednesday, May 22
We will tour the Epworth Center and have a local expert and retired Methodist Minister tell us the history of John Wesley. We will stay on St. Simons today. We will have lunch at Barbara Jean’s, a family run restaurant that began in 1998 on St. Simons Island. They specialize in both seafood and made-from-scratch, southern and home-style cooking. This restaurant has been recommended by two local friends who say the crab cakes are the best! We will have a local guide to introduce us to Colonial St. Simons. We will visit Christ’s Church where Eugenia Price was buried in Frederica Cemetery under the spreading oaks where she received her first inspiration for the turnabout in her writing career. You might want to reread those wonderful books before our trip. We will have dinner at Bennie’s Red Barn. This is the oldest privately owned restaurant on Saint Simon’s Island. Nestled between beautiful live oaks, Bennie’s has been a favorite of locals and tourists since 1954. (Breakfast & dinner included.)
Thursday, May 23
We will travel about 1 ½ hours to the Okefenokee Swamp Tour. We will be aboard boats, and all guides bring their own perspective to your swamp experience. The staff includes well-known authorities on alligator biology, wetland ecology, and Okefenokee cultural history. Most of the guides have family roots in this area where they were born and raised. Several of the guides have been leading swamp trips for 30 years or more. We will enjoy a cookout for lunch here as well as a tour of a Homestead. In the late afternoon, we will head up to Ft. Frederica where you will have some free time to explore the quaint shops, restaurants, and historical ruins of the fort.
(Breakfast and lunch included.)
Friday, May 24
We will head home and enjoy a Welcome Center picnic. We will have a box lunch that was prepared by the Epworth Center. (Breakfast and lunch included.)