Sunny Cedars Farm: June 2011

For our yearly beach get away (3 sisters-in-law and children---no husbands) we decided to change from our usual Garden City, SC and try a new place. We decided on Tybee Island, Ga. It came with good reviews from friends. We rented a house at the north end of the island and headed down. As we were driving down, the sky darkened and by the time we got to Savannah it was raining so hard we couldn't see to drive. The thunder and lightening was horrible. The house we rented promised lots of room and had a basement with a home theater and that was to be Jacob and his friend, Brian Kahn's hangout. When we arrived, Saturday evening in the pouring rain, the basement had about 4 inches of water standing in it. That seemed to set the tone (or at least my attitude) for Tybee Island.
The house (or at least what didn't have water standing in it) was very nice and much more spacious than 'Recharge Inn' in Garden City. It had two decks and a long board walk out though the marsh to the water. The house was advertised as 'ocean front' However, being at the north end of the island, it was river front instead of ocean front. You could see the ocean from the upstairs balcony but at the end of the board walk was the Savannah River. The kids couldn't play in the water because it was very silty and crabs kept biting their toes and there were no waves.
On Sunday, the rental company came and sucked out the water in the basement and put fans down there to dry the carpet. The moldy, wet carpet smell was bad and the fans were so loud you couldn't hear over the noise in the basement. Jacob and Brian still slept down there even with water on the floor. The fans made it sound proof down there at night but they kept turning them off during the day. It smelled all week and when we got home, all their things smelled equally bad.
In order to enjoy the beach, we had to load everyone (and everything) up in two vehicles and drive to the public beaches and pay parking meters and carry everything a block or two to the water. If we came home for lunch, we had to repeat this procedure again in the afternoon.
There is no entertainment for the older kids on Tybee Island. No putt-putt, shows, or even fast food restaurants. There were no franchaised restaurants at all. Only local. There wasn't even anywhere to shop with out going to Savannah. Lora, Amanda, Jacob and Brian went to Savannah once in search of shopping and food.
The highlight of the trip was Captain Mikes Dolphin Tour. It was very entertaining and informative. We saw LOTS of dolphins. Jeffrey had his own money and really wanted to do the jet ski rental. I was worried about him going by himself and didn't really want to go with him. My sweet sister-in-law, Kim, volunteered to go. Jeff had a blast and Kim said she had fun as well. I was grateful to her for going with him.
Our evening entertainment was doing "Just Dance" on the Wii. Good exercise and hilarious.
The week definitely improved after that first rainy night, but overall, I wasn't impressed with Tybee Island and probably won't go back.