On my list were both Jekyll Island and Cumberland National Seashore.  I had already passed both, but since they were on my original ‘to do’ list, I figured I should back track and do at least one of them.  Cumberland would have been my preference, but it’s back country camping only and takes a ferry ride to get there.  Not sure I had the appetite for the wet and mosquitos.  This left going to Jekyll Island.

As a State park, it seems to be intended for families to enjoy the country.  There are parts of the road system that are quite pretty, but it just doesn’t have that wilderness feel you get from most of the National Parks.

Looking out over the dunes to the incoming rain.

People are at the beach anyway.  I guess they’re just prepared with umbrellas and such.  The rain storms are usually quite short, if heavy.  Not busy by any stretch – Parking lots are empty all over the place.

More lush deltas of Georgia

Getting into history Savannah was quite nice.  Grey skies and rain was still looming, but the plazas were beautiful and green.  Sometimes reminding me of a greener Barcelona.   Felt very ‘managed’ in that there wasn’t a lot of natural new architecture.   Still, nice enough for a wedding to happen in one of the plazas.

Since I needed lunch, I figured I’d find out what the lineup was all about.  Lady and Sons – Paula Deen’s place.   Everything was booked, leaving only seating at the bar.  10 seats, 30+ people ahead of me… I looked online and reviews were not favourable, so I moved on .

Live band at the City Market.  Not very crowded, but still added to the atmosphere.

Shrimp, grits and greens at Belford’s.  Very good.  But I guess if the base of the plate is grits, reformed into triangles and fried in butter, it should be pretty tasty.

Naturally, the rain started to pour just as I finished my meal.  I ordered a coffee – they had to make a fresh pot, so I had two cups waiting for it to settle down before heading back to the bike.  Kind of a historic Main Street USA vibe.

Decision on whether or not to swing through Charleston…  Couldn’t quite figure out where the rain was going to be.   In the end, I figured I should stick to the original plan and pass by.   Not a bad idea, I think I avoided the worst of the storm – and a nice rainbow.

Double Rainbow!

Passing through Charleston, as the rain let up, I noticed the chain was making noise and behaving a bit strangely again.  I gave up and bought a torque wrench, adapter bit and 10mm driver and adjusted it at an O’Reilly’s.  They were kind enough to let me wash up in their back room.   Helps to have proper shop cleaners.  I hadn’t really thought about it before now, but I think Mendy will need a new chain/sprocket setup soon.  Even with much better chain maintenance when compared to the R6, she just has a lot more torque and I’m piling the miles on.

Sunset as I rode into Santee for a cheap stay at a Howard Johnson.