I mentioned a little bit about Amelia Island in my last post, but it deserves a post of its own.

Amelia Island, unlike many other tourist destinaions in the state, very much characterizes the definition of tranquility. I’m stayed on the fifth floor a condo that looks right out over the beach. The house decor is beachy and elegant- walls the color of sand with white trim, shells tastefully appear in much of the decorating. My grandma has great taste.

As for the beach, once you get past the dunes the sand is smooth and long. The waves are small and the water is fairly cold, so it doesn’t attract many tourists, but you always see at least a couple die hard fishers or beach-goers wading in the water. Walks on the beach are always rewarding. Shells, shark teeth, and sometimes even washed up jellyfish meet you along your path. It is glorious.

My grandparents, who we stayed with, usually get up early and watch the sun rise over the ocean. The weather is cool, but still warm enough to go around in your swimming suit. And if the beach isn’t your thing, the pool is sunny and usually void of any living soul. I’ve spent many good days sitting out there with a book, never seeing anyone and soaking up some sun.

This has been my life for the past week, and it has been great.

The third day we were there, we took a drive to Jekyll Island in Georgia. It’s this fantastic little island that is filled to the brim with history-which is right up my alley. Back in the 1800’s, it started as the ‘clubhouse’, of sorts, for some of America’s richest men and their families: Rockefeller,J.P. Morgan, Pulitzer, you get the gist. These men and their families built ‘cottages’ (more like mansions) and would spend the summer cruising around the island, hunting, fishing, having dinner parties, and spending time with friends and family. We had a chance to tour the island in a little trolley and go into a couple of the houses. I think the reason I love Jekyll so much is because of the simplicity. People barely even had electricity. They were outside for most of the day; at the beach, in the woods, interacting with others and nature. Doesn’t that sound so much better than sitting inside all day watching Netflix?

Another day, we went into Jacksonville and toured the city along the pier a little bit. A couple nights later, we were all snuggled up cozy watching 7 Brides for 7 Brothers when the power went out because of the torrential downpour outside.

On top of these events were the necessary and frequent Chick Fil A stops, shopping, (attempted) tanning and, of course, eating. I’m pretty sure that we all gained 10 pounds that week.

Anyhoo, on the drive back home we stopped in Greenville, SC at my grandparent’s house for a couple nights. The house is up in the mountains–very rustic and beautiful and charming. But since it was cold outside and there wasn’t much to do in the house me and Kate watched a lot of movies. I found my love of Kiss Me Kate with Tommy Rall (swoon), and cried my eyes out while watching Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Oh, and I also watched My Sister Eileen with Tommy Rall AND Bob Foss (does it get any better than that? I mean really).

That night we met up with some of my beautiful cousins and aunts at Culvers…if you’re ever in the Greenville area be sure to stop and eat there because you will not regret it. Plus, it’s the only Culvers in the south so all the more reason to try it out.

So that’s that. I’m so grateful for the wonderful adventures that me and my family had. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip (which are also on my Instagram!…laur_94):

Just bringing some life to Jekyll