Golden Hours Amid the Golden Isles
Text and Photos By Marilyn Mower

I have a confession: I am homesick for Georgia’s coastal marshes, which requires some explaining since I am a Midwesterner living in South Florida. For two years, my boat insurance company strongly suggested I get my boat north of the Georgia-Florida border by July 1 and not return until November. Said insurance company has since recanted after studies of hurricane-related damage claims indicated the lion’s share of its losses in Florida were from boats not home-ported in the state. Anyway, that’s how I came to live among Georgia’s Golden Isles. It’s a place where people still wave and say “hello” to strangers and the pace of life is slow.
I could have parked myself anywhere along the Georgia Coast and been happy as an oyster, but the Golden Isles–Brunswick, St. Simons and Jekyll–are just so darn convenient. The first real city north of the border, Brunswick is 55 minutes from the Jacksonville airport. Brunswick itself has an airport with service to Atlanta thrice daily. On our first northward evacuation, we thought we’d just stop briefly and get organized before heading to the Chesapeake…we never left until the first frost. In 2006 there was never any question about our summer destination. The Golden Isles are at the same longitude as Akron, Ohio, making their harbors farthest from the Gulf Stream along the Atlantic Seaboard. This feature is probably why the Isles have not suffered a direct hit from a hurricane in more than 100 years. ...

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