Neptune Small — story of a friendship

The southern tip of Georgia’s Saint Simons Island is a verdant park next to a friendly little town with great shops and some extraordinary restaurants. From the pier at the foot of the village, the view is across to Jekyll Island, and the passage between sometimes fills with looming super cargo ships passing byon their way in or out of Brunswick harbor.

Neptune Park Playground

Several small hotels and inns are nearby, and it’s only a short stroll or bike ride from the celebrated King and Prince Beach and Golf Resort about a mile up the road or up the beach.

There’s a playground area for kids of all ages, sweeping oaks and waterside benches looking across the way and out to sea. The famed Saint Simon’s Lighthouse stands guard there, with its tales of illicit love, violence and ghosts.

But it’s a tale of loyalty, transcendent friendship and bitter irony that defines the spirit of this place, known as Neptune Park.

View from Neptune Park

In the 1830’s, the lower part of the island was owned by the King family, and operated as the Retreat Plantation. Like all plantations of the day, it was self-sustaining.  The Kings grew their own food and raised their own livestock, and raised cash crops like cotton and indigo to sell or trade for the things they needed.  Like all plantations, it was a place of wealth and power, and its labor was done by a small army of slaves.

It was the custom of the times, when a child was born to the owners of the plantation, for them to reach into their community of slaves and choose a young child to be a playmate and companion for their own child. When Henry Lord Page King was born in 1831, the King family took the slave baby Neptune Small into their house to be friend, playmate, and eventually manservant to young “Lordy” King.

The two boys grew to be fast friends.  They did everything together.  They hunted in the rich forests of the island.  They fished and swam up the east beaches (where the King and Prince stands now, and up to where the old Coast Guard Station would later be built).

Lighthouse

They took their lessons together, and although it was rigorously against the law, Mrs. King also taught Neptune to read and write. While Neptune was not free and in the service of his master, the relationship seems to have been more secured by friendship than slavery.

Lordy King grew up to study law and opened a practice in Savannah. On the plantation, Neptune married his true love and had a daughter.

The hostilities between the states broke out, and in 1861 Lordy King enlisted to fight.  As was the custom amongst aristocratic families, the men took a manservant with them, and Neptune went north to serve his young man.

King fought valorously at the Peninsula in Richmond and at Sharpsburg, and witnessed the fall of Harper’s Ferry. He seemed invincible, and when a dangerous mission emerged, he was the first and only volunteer.

Lordy was the aide-de-camp of the commander of the division. During the battle at Fredericksburg in December 1862, orders needed
to be carried across the battlefield to one of the Brigadier Generals.  Instructing Neptune to stay at the camp, Lordy set off to deliver those orders. When night fell, Lordy King had not returned. In the black of night, Neptune went out onto the battlefield to find his friend, and found him killed.

At that point, Neptune was a free man.  The law had emancipated him, and his ”owner” was dead. He could simply have walked away.  Instead, Neptune Small gathered up the body of Lordy King, and braving the shells and fire of the battle, took him off the battlefield, built a coffin, found a wagon, and carried him from Fredericksburg, Virginia all the way home to Saint Simons Island.

Lordy’s younger brother Richard had enlisted, and Neptune went off to be his servant and protector.  He was told that he could stay home with his family, but he refused.

When the war ended, Neptune returned, with Richard unharmed. But they returned to a devastated, destroyed Retreat Plantation, occupied and then razed by Union troops. There was no food and no money, but as recognition for his bravery and loyalty, the King family granted a parcel of land from the old plantation site to Neptune Small. He lived there until his death in 1907.

Neptune Small, photo courtesy of www.GlynnCounty.com

Lordy King and his family are buried at the cemetery at Christ Church, in a majestic family plot, like those of the other plantation and luminary families of Saint Simons Island.  Neptune Small is buried at the former Retreat Plantation, presently the site of the Sea Island Golf Club.

A more fitting memorial, Neptune Park, is the former slave’s old homestead at the tip of Saint Simon’s Island. It stands in testament to the simple human attributes of loyalty and friendship honored by all men and women everywhere.

To learn more about the remarkable history of Saint Simons Island, and to see it for yourself, contact the King and Prince Beach and Golf Resort at www.KingandPrince.com

Now before I share a few of our (edited for publication!) antics, I’d like to introduce the motley crew in our posse. Full disclosure: I’ve changed the names to protect the innocent, but I’ll bet you’ll recognize a few of these personalities among the women in your own life.

For starters, I’m a writer in less than perfect physical condition. File me under “Foodie.” Our group also included Evelyn, dynamo who adores crafts and never stops moving (or talking!), Jackie, a health-conscious exercise enthusiast, Pam, former Girl Scout leader and

All You Can Eat Crablegs at The King’s Tavern at The King and Prince, St. Simons Island

lover of architecture. The last member was Katie, Scottish by birth, and interested in all things historic and representative of the Old South.

We piled into my mini-van (hip, right?!) and headed down to the King and Prince Resort on a Friday afternoon. With every mile, I could feel the tension slipping away. Our group grew more excited as we traveled. Other than a few arguments over music and where to stop for snacks, we had a peaceful journey.

When we finally arrived at the King and Prince, all of us were inspired by its grand architecture. This was going to be a weekend to remember! We checked in with plenty of time to indulge in the resort’s restaurant for dinner. After hearing about this fantastic repast for more than a decade, it was wonderful to finally sample it for myself. We all enjoyed ourselves – and the luxury of enjoying wine with dinner without  having to drive home.

It took me a while to decide, but I finally splurged on an appetizer of mussels and grilled sourdough, followed by the Low Country Shrimp and Grits. You only live once, right? My meal was unbelievable, with fresh shrimp and really creamy grits. I told our waitress I wanted to recreate it back home for my family and turns out the recipe is already posted online. (Low Country Shrimp and Grits Recipe).

The other ladies were also thrilled with dinner. Jackie ordered the Char Cedar Salmon, which came with a fantastic corn bread pudding and a vegetable I had never tried before called broccoli.  Landlubber Pam opted for dry rubbed “Kurobuta” pork with candied yams and some kind of a bourbon glaze. Evelyn and Jackie both wanted Chicken and Waffles, which was served with an adorable tiny bottle of tabasco sauce. Instant souvenir! I’m not at liberty to discuss our libations, but believe me, everyone left dinner happy and very mellow.

The resort itself was as spectacular as our meal. With its soaring ceiling and intricate moldings, The King and Prince transports you back in time to gentler age. The vast main lobby lifted our spirits the moment we arrived. It was like the clouds had parted, freeing us to be our true selves and simply enjoy each other’s company.

Our fully appointed two bedroom,  two bath Tabby House suite was complete with all the comforts of home (without all the dirty socks, sports equipment and backpacks, of course).  You could see immediately how much care had gone into the decoration of every room, from the beautiful brocade draperies to the high thread count sheets. I wish our house back in Norcross was as nice!

After dinner we slipped into bathing suits and cover-ups and strolled over to the pool area (there are three on the property!) to melt in the indoor hot tub and take a dip. Virtuous Jackie insisted on swimming some laps to burn off her dessert. The rest of us just climbed in and let the hot water ease away the stresses of everyday life. It felt so magical, I’m thinking of adding a hot tub to next year’s holiday wish list.

Girls Getaway Weekend at The King and Prince Resort

Saturday morning we took a short walking tour of downtown St. Simons. The little shops were full of unusual gifts and specialties like packages of flavored grits and candied nuts. Our crafter, Evelyn, was inspired by seeing so many handmade creations. I think she bought one of everything. Sure, there were plenty of souvenir t-shirts. But I was amazed by the availability of nicer, boutique dresses and beachwear. Those in need of a new swimsuit, summer cocktail dress or resort-worthy earrings won’t be disappointed. For a split second I regretted having ordered dessert the night before.

For lunch, we headed for a heavenly little spot the Concierge recommended: “Iguana’s” which was filled with tourists and locals alike.  In minutes, our table was piled high with crispy fried shrimp (dubbed “the island’s best” multiple years running), shrimp po-boys, giant caesar salads with grilled salmon and a tantalizing platter of assorted roasted oysters.

As the grand finale of our afternoon, we took a breathtaking kayak trip with Southeast Adventure Outfitters. We headed out to the marsh led by an experienced tour guide, and spent a blissful couple of hours watching egrets, pelicans, and a glorious sunset that made it seem like we were worlds away instead of on the Georgia coast. The peace wasn’t lost on our usually talkative crew. Everyone grew quiet and enjoyed moving across the water as the tide gently rocked our kayaks.

Our weekend was such a raving success that we went ahead and booked another trip for next year. Somehow, I’m sure that juggling everything on my plate will be easier with another visit to the King and Prince to look forward to!

Contact the King and Prince to set up Your Girls Weekend of Fun!

Prices:

-Adult Corn Dog with Plain Tater Tots – $8, add $4 more for loaded Tots

- Kid Corn Dog with Plain Tater Tots – $6

King and Prince Corn Dog with Loaded Tater Tots

Saint Simon’s Island is rich with history. Colonial history. Civil War history. Religious history. Family histories. It is an island filled with stories, some of which, it seems, have not yet ended.

 Mary

They say she wanders the beaches and roads of Saint Simon’s Island.  She wears a long white dress, a wedding dress.  Her dress is wet, and clings to her slender body.  Her long hair flows behind her. It is wet, always wet.

You might see her from the tall windows of the restaurant at the King and Prince Beach and Golf Resort or spot her from the pool patio right on the beachfront as she wanders by in the moonlight. She sometimes walks through Massengale Park. It’s been said that sometimes she’s seen in the marsh. Her name is Mary.

Some people call her Sad Mary.  She is dolorous, lost.  It is said that she was soon to be wed to her true love, but as he rowed his boat across a wide creek to fetch her, the wind and waves overcame him. His boat capsized, and he drowned.

Waiting on the shore, Mary witnessed the disaster, and threw herself into the waves.  Perhaps she was attempting to save him. Some say that she knew she could not, and went to be with him rather than face a life without him.  She wanders the island now, searching.

She is elusive, but often encountered. She walked towards a man on the beach one night. He was puzzled at the pretty girl walking slowly with her head down, dressed so oddly.  As he passed, she raised her head as if to search his face for a sign of recognition.  But she, herself, had no face. He looked away, shocked, but when he looked back, she was gone.

The Schoolteacher and the Raven

History tells us America’s witch hunts centered around northeastern towns like Salem, Mass.  Sadly, the madness made its way one day to Saint Simon’s Island, and what could have been a fanciful story of love transcending death ended, instead, in tragedy.

In the plantation times, young Margaret was hired by the plantation owners to be a schoolmarm to their children.  She was an off-islander, but had attended the best schools, and was a sophisticated European traveler. She was a perfect fit for the gentile aristocracy of the island.

When she arrived she began to teach, and everyone was thrilled.  As time went on, however, her more worldly point of view challenged the notion that slaves were just chattel; she believed that they, too, deserved an education.

Teaching Blacks to read and write was against the law of the time. Slaveowners feared an educated slave population that might rise up against them. But Margaret was headstrong, and took to teaching Black children at night after the plantation children had gone home.  This did not go unnoticed by the plantation owners, but they looked the other way since they were so happy with the work she was doing with their own children.  However, she had earned their mistrust, and they kept a wary eye on her.

Of all her students, Joshua was her favorite.  He was a slave boy, sharp, inquisitive and eager. He had a special love of poetry, and long after the other children had gone, he would stay behind and beg Margaret to read poetry to him.  She readily obliged, sitting in a chair by the window where he stood outside, listening. This, too, did not go unnoticed as their friendship grew.

Soon after, there was a slave uprising on one of the plantations. It was quickly and cruelly suppressed, but the rage of the plantation owners and their crews knew no bounds. Marauding bands of white men attacked black slave towns, tearing into homes, randomly beating and killing in reprisal.  Rising to defend his mother, Joshua was clubbed to death.

Margaret was stricken by the news, and isolated herself, only going to the schoolhouse to teach her lessons. Otherwise, she would wander the island roads and paths to avoid contact with other people. Her behavior became more worrisome, erratic.

One day, a large black raven seemed to be following her. It was there wherever she went.  It would perch on the windowsill where she used to read to Joshua.  It would follow her to and from the schoolhouse.  One afternoon, after the children had gone home, and still very much missing Joshua, she sat in the chair by the window and began to read poetry.

The raven bobbed his head up and down, and it seemed to her that he was listening attentively, as Joshua had done. She began to read to the raven every day after school, perhaps as a way to ease her grief.

Some children returned to the school late one afternoon and saw her by the window reading to the bird, which nodded its head up and down, seemingly in the rhythm of the rhyme. The children screamed home and told their parents that Margaret was a witch, and had brought the little black boy Joshua back to life as a bird.

Few parents today would believe such a tale, but Saint Simon’s Island in the early 1800’s was a fiercely religious and superstitious place. Margaret had already proven rebellious with her worldly views, disregard of the law, and her increasingly odd behavior.  Some went the next afternoon to see for themselves, and they spied Margaret reading to the raven, smiling at him, and watched him seem to knowingly respond.  They were angered and terrified, and reported what they saw to the rest of the islanders, that Margaret was a witch.

Not long after, an angry mob dragged Margaret from her home and killed her, leaving her body to scavengers.  Her remains were refused burial at Christ Church and no other cemetery would accept her. Finally, one sympathetic landowner allocated a tiny plot by the side of the main road, and she was buried there, friendless and abandoned.  It is said that nothing grows around her lonely grave.

Stories of love, tragedy, and treachery abound on this historic island.  See for yourself.  Let the concierge at the King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort arrange a ghost tour with Lighthouse Trolleys.  Pick a dark and stormy night, and contact www.kingandprince.com.

But true romance, the romance of legend, can be found in a tale of Georgia’s Saint Simons Island. It is both shocking and sweet, heartbreaking and enlightening.

After a breakfast buffet at the oceanfront dining room at the famed King and Prince Beach and Golf Resort, it’s a short drive or a flat, easy seven mile bike ride to Christ Church, on the road to historic Fort Frederica.

Christ Church has a history as distinctive as its beautiful grounds and sanctuary. The original Christ Church was built in 1820.

From 1736 to 1766, its early congregations were led by, among others, Charles and John Wesley, before their return to England and the advent of Methodism. A museum of their short sojourn can be found at Epworth-by-the-Sea, on historic Gascoigne Bluff, which plays prominently in the tale.

Anson Greene Phelps Dodge, a wealthy industrialist from Connecticut, became a major landholder on Saint Simons Island in those times. Dodge made untold riches harvesting the mighty southern oaks that populated the island’s forests. His lumber works, shipbuilding enterprises and ship’s landings were at Gascoigne Bluff on the Frederica River.  The original Christ Church was built to provide a place of worship for the small city of lumber workers, seamen, shipwrights and their families in the Dodge enterprise.

During the Civil War, however, Union troops took over the old church, bivouacked their men on the lawns and used the inside of the church as stables for the officer’s horses. The decimated and abandoned church remained a shambles well after the “Late Unpleasantness Between the States” had ended.

At about that time, the young scion of the family, Anson Greene Phelps Dodge, Junior had decided that he was neither lumberjack nor shipbuilder.

Determined to enter the clergy, he was sent back to Connecticut to study divinity at Yale.  It was there that the books took a back seat to romance, and young Dodge became enamored of a young woman named Ellen Dodge. They fell deeply in love, and pledged to marry.

Dodge Junior returned home to secure his father’s blessing to marry the young woman with the awkwardly coincidental last name, and was shocked to learn that she was actually a first cousin. They were accordingly forbidden to wed.

This was a judgment that the young lovers could not accept, claiming their love innocent and above any taboo. With money no object, the couple eloped and embarked on a lavish, honeymoon tour of the most exotic extremes of the world.  They were abroad for nearly three years of excitement, wonder and bliss.

Tragically, while in India, Ellen took sick with cholera. Anson was by her bedside day and night. She begged him never to leave her side, and he promised he would always be beside her.

Ellen died in India, little more than a child.  In his grief, Anson honored his pledge, and brought her body home to Saint Simon’s Island in 1884, and to Christ Church, which he rebuilt with loving care…the church that sits today on the road to Frederica. True to his word, he had her sarcophagus housed under the altar that he preached from every Sunday, her everlong companion.

Years passed, and Anson, still a young man in his early thirties, met Anna Gould, granddaughter of James Gould, who built the first Saint Simon’s lighthouse. They married in 1890 and spent many happy years together.

Anson died suddenly in 1898 at only thirty eight years of age. His widow Anna had the remains of his first wife, Ellen, reburied next to her husband, a testament of her own love for him that she honored his promise.  Today, the old cemetery at Christ Church includes a Phelps-Dodge family plot where Anson Greene Phelps Dodge Junior lays side-by-side with the two loves of his life, Ellen and Anna.

To learn more about Christ Church, and historical St. Simons Tours, visit the Historical Sites and Tours page of www.KingandPrince.com

St. Simons Island Bike Trails

There’s no better way to unwind on vacation than on a bike. Just a short walk from The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort on St. Simons Island, Ocean Motion offers a variety of bikes for all riders. Local maps clearly delineate the major bike paths as you embark on your tour, complete with the tangy salt smell of the sea filling the breeze as you glide by.  The beaches are a natural avenue of sand, and you can ride from the village at the island’s southernmost tip all the way up to a breathtaking inlet.  You might see a mighty cargo ship as it follows the channel out to sea from Brunswick. You’ll ride past pretty beach cottages and stunning modern beach homes alike. Look out to sea and you’ll probably see a small pod of dolphins that likes to play just outside the breakers.

Further up the beach, you can visit the old Coast Guard and Maritime Museum. Built 150 or so years ago, the station sits several hundred yards from the beachfront. Once it was right at water’s edge where the Coast Guard could launch its rescue boats, but the powerful tides and drifting sand have changed the ocean front face of the island. The Maritime Museum features numerous galleries that feature both the history of the island and its ecology. It’s a great place to learn about this island’s beaches, marshes and forests.

Coast Guard Station and Maritime Museum – photo courtesy of AtlantaMoms.com

Cross the East Beach Causeway – a two lane road across a beautiful section of marsh – to find the site of The Battle of Bloody Marsh.  James Oglethorpe led the colonization of Georgia for Great Britain, beginning to fortify St. Simon’s Island in the 1730’s against the Spanish in Florida. Tensions over trade and border disputes between England and Spain were at a boiling point, and the path up the eastern coast north of Georgia was potentially a clear road of conquest for Spain.

Battle of the Bloody Marsh site

A Spanish attack led by Spanish Governor Don Manuel De Montiano from St. Augustine was met by Oglethorpe.  Montiano’s  vastly outnumbered force was quickly driven off the island, not to return, on July 18, 1742. This decisive victory likely saved Georgia and the early colonies from Spanish rule. The battleground is so named for claims that the marsh ran red with the blood of Spanish soldiers. In truth, only seven were killed. There’s not much there now but a monument and a plaque, a great view across the marsh and a somber atmosphere of history.

Some seven miles or so north is Fort Frederica, with a monument and visitor’s center commemorating the archaeological remnants of a fort and town built by Oglethorpe between 1736 and 1748.  About 630 British troops and 500 colonial residents lived in the fort and town. By 1749, however, the Spanish no longer threatened the colony and the government disbanded the garrison. The village soon fell into economic decline, and by 1755 it was mostly abandoned. A fire in 1758 sealed the town’s fate. A charming visitor’s center with film presentations, walking paths, and a number of restorative archaeological digs give a great picture of early colonial life.

Fort Frederica National Monument – photo courtesy of TripAdvisor.com

Back at the village, the famed St. Simon’s Lighthouse, one of only a few major lighthouses remaining on the southern coast, dominates a waterside park just a walk across the street from restaurants and shops in a tiny, friendly little metropolis.

In its current iteration the lighthouse is a fully automated aid to navigation, but its history goes all the way back to 1804. At that time, the finished structure stood 85 feet tall and was constructed entirely from tabby, a local material comprised largely of oyster shells. It was an 8 sided pyramid, the top of which was an iron lantern ten feet high. Destroyed by the Confederates in 1862 to prevent its use by invading Union forces, it was rebuilt in 1872, including a new Victorian style Keeper’s cottage. The keeper and his assistant shared the dwelling. Tempers flared one Sunday morning in March 1880 between the head keeper and his assistant, leaving the keeper, Frederick Osborne, dead.

St Simons Island Lighthouse

In 2004, the lighthouse was deeded to the Coastal Georgia Historical Society under the Lighthouse Preservation Act. Evidently, Fred remained; his footsteps in the tower have been heard by the wives of later keepers … and by lighthouse visitors.

Saint Simon’s Island is rich with history and many other historical sites. Don’t miss Christ Church, for instance, visited frequently by American presidents, and the home of a story of loyalty and love that is pure inspiration. On the very same road, approaching Fort Frederica be sure to visit the first African church in America, built by slaves, for slaves.

To learn more about Saint Simon’s Island, history tours, beaches, marshes and ghosts, contact the King and Prince Resort at www.kingandprince.com.

the evening stars.  The ocean is either calm and flat, or swirling with the changes of the tides. There are shallows and sandbars, and deep blue channels.

Views of water are everywhere, ready to refresh the minds and spirits of weary travelers.

Even on holidays, the beach bustles with walkers and runners, children and adults tracing sand patterns with recumbent bikes, Frisbee players and kite flyers. There is always a spot for quiet reflection. A place to watch the changing sea and sand.

The tides on Saint Simon’s Island range from 8 to 10 feet, the largest tidal range on the East Coast excluding Maine. Sandbars exposed at the lowest tide teem with sea birds, little crabs and creatures…and vacationers who frequently make their way across the small, deeper channels to land there, latter day explorers on a voyage of discovery.

Right in front of the fabled King and Prince Resort, which has elegantly stood guard over the beach for 78 years, one can see several of these new worlds.  Some sandbars are bare sand; some are just barely awash with warm, ankle deep water. They enclose an inland sea of flat, sun heated water that’s just right for kayaks and the beach rented catamaran sailboats that glide almost silently by.

Farther out, too far to walk or wade, but visible from the restaurant’s tall, arched windows, small fishing boats congregate around what the local folk call “Whiting Hole,” a deep indentation in the bottom that is the seasonal home of its namesake. Whiting is a fish that’s deliciously mild and easy to prepare, but just feisty enough not to be too easy to catch on light tackle. Chances are, the pod of dolphins that work the length of East Beach will show up to observe, nature’s oversight on the circle of life that is the sea.

The sea is everywhere. After all, it’s an island. The ship channel between Saint Simon’s and historic Jekyll Island carries some of the world’s largest ships; most of America’s east coast automobiles land at Brunswick, GA.  These and other enormous cargo carriers pass right by the Saint Simon’s Village pier, almost close enough to touch. As they leave, they angle slightly northward, easily viewed in their majesty from the poolside veranda of the King and Prince.

On the island’s west side there are beautiful bays and miles and miles of breathtaking marshes that are the breeding grounds for all the creatures that populate these coastal waters, including the renowned Wild Georgia Shrimp. They say these shrimp are unique in all the world because they are bred in a sea grasses that don’t exist anywhere but in the broad marshes of the Georgia coast. Try a dish of local shrimp & grits for yourself and prepare to be amazed!

Frederica River winds in from the inlet past the historic sites of Gascoigne Bluff and historic Fort Frederica into an expansive bay that

was the harbor for slavers and ships of commerce since before America’s independence.  There isn’t a place on the island that doesn’t somehow look to the sea.  Sightseeing abounds; take a bike to the fort, to Christ Church or to the archaeological digs at Fort Frederica (or a great trolley tour!). The sea, or its stories, are a constant presence.

Not far north along the beach from the King & Prince, there is a low spit of sand that extends way out into the ocean.  At low tide, you can walk its length, and a moment just before the tide begins to roll back in.  There’s a moment, a single, memorable snapshot in time where you’re totally surrounded by water. Where there is nothing but you and the sea and the sky and the salt-scented breeze. Where you are humbled, and small, and joyous in the realization that there is so much grace and beauty so much larger than yourself.

Find out more about the beaches and sea at Saint Simon’s Island. Go to www.kingandprince.com.

Originally built as a private dance club in 1935, The King and Prince was established soon after prohibition ended, offering its members and guests a welcoming spot to unwind while perfecting a foxtrot, Charleston or waltz. Its sweeping ballrooms, vast ceilings and the only ocean-front restaurant on the island make the ambiance one of a kind. But happily, nothing about this grand hotel feels stuffy or formal. There’s a kind, easy atmosphere you can’t help but notice. Guests of all ages find something special to appreciate.

For families, it’s the carefree confidence of spending precious moments with little ones building sand castles and dipping their tiny feet into the gentle ocean waves. Poolside, Moms and Dads appreciate the freedom to order drinks, snacks and sandwiches served to their delighted brood at tables surrounding the pool. Kids like not having to stop and dress to eat lunch. Burgers taste best eaten in a swimsuit in the shade. Parents appreciate the simple luxury of having time to spend together without wrestling their water babies into shorts and shoes. Everybody wins!

It’s easy to spend your days simply relishing the luxury of free time, strolling on the beach or baking by the pool. But once your batteries recharge and you’re ready for something more active, St. Simon’s offers plenty to do. Rent bicycles for the day or week from Ocean Motion, a shop so close it’s practically part of the resort. Once you pick out the perfect bike, the island is yours! Head into town to explore the quaint shops, candy store, ice cream shop, and a wonderful pier that extends out from the village far into the ocean. Ambitious cyclists might want to head for Fort Frederica, a spectacular state park built around the ruins of a pre-revolutionary Fort. Picnicking on the grounds at tables under the live oaks will be a highlight of your vacation.

Another fun way to explore St. Simon’s is by kayak.  Treat yourself to an excursion with SouthEast Adventure Outfitters. Whether you set out on the marsh or down Cathead Creek, kayaking is an exhilarating way to get close to the water and see the birds and, if you’re lucky, playful dolphins. Paddling is easy and relaxing.  And because the guides know a lot about the island’s ecology and history, their commentary makes this family-friendly activity educational as well as fun.  Those interested in fishing can rent gear and drop a line off the fishing pier downtown, or join one of the several fishing charters available for an offshore adventure.

Despite all there is to do in St. Simon’s, you just might find yourself drawn to the simple pleasure of doing nothing at all. Many guests report their favorite memories are made during the warm afternoons at the beach, watching crabs scurry or children push shovels in the sand and “dig to China.” As the pelicans dive for fish and the gentle waves lap the shore, the sounds of laughter are all around. Time seems to stand still, just for a moment, as families escape the hurried pace of the everyday back home and fall into a new, more relaxed pattern that connects all ages. Many families visit with multi-generations, from vibrant seniors to infants blinking in the sun and toddlers taking their first tentative steps in sand. Little ones and school age children blossom as they run in and out of the ocean, taking breaks to peer into holes and gather shells and sticks. Groups of teens gather to toss a ball or try one of the low rider bicycles for rent on the beach. Easy pedaling sends riders speeding down the beach, and there’s a smile on every face.

Even a few precious days at the King and Prince Beach Resort on Georgia’s St. Simon’s Island can refuel the spirit and reconnect loved ones. It’s hard to think of anything this gracious seaside retreat doesn’t offer. But in the end, the most important thing most visitors find is a sense of themselves and those they love. Truly, a trip to St. Simon’s will be packed with memories to cherish for a lifetime. Visitors return home feeling they’ve escaped the business of modern life, and connected to the gentle Southern seaside life that will forever endure the test of time.

The ‘Lady,’ after being refurbished and brought back to life, now offers guests a cruising experience they have never known. While there, you can truly get into the core world of shrimping. Help the knowledgeable and engaging crew of marine biologists sort the shrimp from “Lady Jane’s” catch. Sit back and enjoy the meal of boiled shrimp that First Mate John Tyre prepares just for you.

The cruise remains in the beautifully protected waters of St. Simon Sound. And “Lady Jane” has it all at your disposal; from an air conditioned cabin and restroom to large open decks where you can walk around and enjoy the breathtaking views. This is, quite literally, paradise on earth.

Adventure, fun, education – all mixed with ‘5-star’ services – is what you receive when you speak with Captain Larry as he helms a real Shrimp Trawler and engages you in one of the most historical industries in the world.

The stunning ambiance of St. Simon’s Island has no competition. Captain Larry has many fans on this historical and memorable location.  The staff of The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort, tell all of their visitors that Captain Larry and the “Lady Jane” can’t be missed.

As it is with so many things on this stunning island, the King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort is also part of history. This historic ocean front retreat heralds Captain Larry and his “Lady Jane” because they, too, are all about providing relaxation, inspiration and recreation – all in equal measure – and is a locale that has been beloved since its opening in 1935.

Beautiful beaches, ocean front dining and six sparkling blue pools have helped make the King & Prince the ‘go to’ destination on the Georgia coast.

Enjoy the history. Relax as you set sail on the “Lady Jane” and come ‘home’ to the stunning resort that is the King and Prince.

For more information on these locations, head to:

www.kingandprince.com/water-activities.aspx