Jekyll Island, Day 2

Scenes from Jekyll Island -- Freakishly huge waves rolling ashore. (I have other photos, but they have both my Monster #2 and other people's monsters in them -- I don't post the Monsters' pics on the Internet.)

One thing about being on this trip -- you were busy from the time you got up until the time your head hit the pillow. That's actually really good: it's hard for kids to get into trouble if they're occupied (although some still managed).

We began day 2 with dock study, where the kids learned about barnacles and different types of motion sea animals use. Then, we went to the marina so they could use the nets off the dock and try to catch/identify small sea creatures.

After fish dissection (um, ick, although I've done it before) and lunch, we went out for marsh study. Would you believe that there are one million hermit crabs per acre in the marshes around Jekyll Island? They actually eat the detritus (dark, dark mud), which is 95% decaying plant material. The kids got to taste sea pickles and we walked through the different levels of the marsh. Our guide had them play Migratory Bird Hopscotch, which drove home the impact we have when we develop marshlands.

On the way back from the marsh, we had the infamous van incident with the windshield.

Afternoon classes included beach study (it was windy and therefore cold!). I love the sand and ocean, so I was happy, even if I was freezing. We learned a lot about how sand builds up on the island and the importance of grasses in keeping protective dunes intact.

We played ocean bingo after supper and then I thought we were going to the beach for a night walk. Oh, no. We went in the forest! I was kinda/sorta okay with that, even though I don't have the best night vision. The kids played bat and moth to show how bats use sound to locate their food and we cracked wintergreen LifeSavers to watch them spark. I was okay with the walking without a flashlight, right up until I figured out that the path I could suddenly see in the moonlight was rectangular and very, very narrow.

Not to mention a bridge over water. Did I mention it was a footbride with no rails?

We crossed two of those things in the dark! I was terrified someone's kid (namely mine) was going to end up in the water in the dark. I got ragged unmercifully by the chaperones for being a worrier.

Overall, the night walk was interesting -- one of those things that's better once it's over.

I'm off to work on Chris's book. Will be back tomorrow with the abbreviated day three . . .

Jekyll Island, Day 1

Scenes from Jekyll Island -- the beach on a very windy, very chilly day with winds from the northeast. The swells and waves were huge, which is very unusual for this area. Normally, the Atlantic here is lake-smooth.

We arrived Wednesday around 12:30. Ate lunch in the cafeteria -- the food was pretty good and it was nice not to have to cook for the days we were there.

After lunch, Milton took us to the slough. We learned about dunes and swales and sloughs and dissolved oxygen. The first slough we visited was in a park, and Monster #2 saw deer tracks (hunting is outlawed on the island and there are tons of deer). We trekked through the woods to slough number two. Here, the chaperones' job was to watch the alligators, which wasn't reassuring since one alligator wasn't visible. Monster #2 proceeds to slip and almost fall face first into the slimy duckweed-covered part of the slough.

Later, the kids painted T-shirts with rubbery, scale fish models. We created canvases for each homeroom. I so want to do that, for the living room maybe?

As soon as we arrived at the 4-H center, my cell phone stopped working. Everybody but me had cell coverage. That meant no email, no texting, no calls. Talk about being forced not to worry, meddle, etc. On some levels, that was really nice because it forced me to focus solely on what was going on around me, not four hours away.

Coming up next -- day two, with the dock study, fish dissection, marsh trip, ocean study, and the night walk.

We're Back!

Scenes from Jekyll Island -- the bridge between the causeway and the island. (FYI -- I didn't take this photo. I lifted it from Flicker).

I did, however, take these two photos:

Inside the van.

Outside the van.

I think this had to be our most exciting yet most frightening experience on the entire trip. We'd visited the marsh area around the causeway (this was fascinating -- more to come in the next few days) and were headed back to the 4-H center. As we topped the bridge (see first photo), I heard this large "bang" and shattering glass. I turned from the child I was talking to (there were nine children, two chaperones, our guide and me on the van) to see the shattered windshield. At first, I thought something had flown off the roadway and hit the windshield (like a "gator" from a blownout tire). Then I realized our guide couldn't see -- something was blocking the windshield.

Remember, we're atop the bridge. I spun to the children, who are all frightened and big-eyed at this time and said, "Y'all, put your heads down." I was afraid the shattered safety glass would hit someone's eye (we've already had one eye injury in the Winfree household -- didn't want to go through that again!).

Want to know the difference between fifth graders and high schoolers? The fifth graders immediately put their heads down and stayed there. The high schoolers would still be asking, "Why do we have to put our heads down? We don't want to...whine, whine, whine, ad nauseum."

Our intrepid guide (I was already impressed with her skills at the marsh; this closed the deal for me) calmly rolls down the window, sticks her head out, and drives us to safety off the bridge. Kudos to Elise!

Once stopped, we get the kids out and inspect the van. The hood latch had come undone (it was corroded and the winds were incredible that day) and the hood had flown up, slamming into the windshield and shattering it. Luckily, other than a few scratches on Elise and Chad, one of our chaperones, no one was hurt.

I, for one, am glad to be home. I'll share more pics and stories over the next few days.

What have y'all been up to in my absence?