I took advantage of the three-day Labor Day weekend to take a road trip to Jekyll Island, Georgia, USA. I've visited Jekyll Island several times times previously and consider it my favorite place on earth at the moment. The difference with this trip is that I brought the bicycle with me specifically so I could explore the island and its many hidden gems on two wheels.

I arrived in Brunswick on Saturday afternoon and headed to the island to enjoy the remainder of the beautiful day. The parking lot at the end of GA Route 520, otherwise known as the Ben Fortson Parkway, (the only road onto/off of the island), is centrally located near the new Beach Village.

I unloaded the bike and started exploring. All I needed now was for Mother Nature to cooperate with the weather.

The beach village lot sits at the end of the Ben Fortson Parkway. This is the only road onto/off of the island and ends at the roundabout seen in the photo above. Part of the Beach Village can be seen on the left side of the photo above. The large building in the background in the center of the photo is the new Westin Hotel.

This giant Live Oak tree is always covered with lights during the Christmas season.

Jekyll Island is accessible by bicycle via a series of very well designed bike paths. These paths are everywhere on the island and provide access to all major points of interest. In the photo above, I am stopped along the Historic District Trail at the roundabout next to the Beach Village parking area. The Historic District Trail ends at this point and becomes the appropriately named Ocean View Trail once you cross Beachview Drive, (seen in the photo), and leads to the Beach Village, Westin Hotel, Convention Center, and most importantly the ocean.

Scenery at the roundabout near the Beach Village.

The photo above shows the new Jekyll Ocean Club next to the Westin Hotel. The Jekyll Ocean Club is affiliated with the Jekyll Island Club Hotel and serves as their "beach" hotel on the island.

I hit the bike path heading north along the beach. This path is known as the Ocean View Trail for obvious reasons. What's that red dot in the ocean off in the distance ?

It's a cargo ship ! With the Port of Brunswick being so close, seeing giant cargo ships is a regular occurrence. I would see several during my brief visit to the island.

My guess is that this ship is headed to the Colonel's Island Terminal.

I spotted a number of kites in the air today.

Kite seen from the Ocean View Trail.

Looking north from the Ocean View Trail near the Convention Center.

Looking north from the Ocean View Trail near the Convention Center.

Looking north from the Ocean View Trail near the Convention Center.

This is the Horizon Highway, a vehicle carrier operated by the Japanese shipping company K-Line.

The Ocean View Trail becomes the North Loop Trail once the path reaches the Holiday Inn Resort. My guess is that the name change occurs because the trail veers away from the ocean and runs along Beachview Drive as it passes by the residential neighborhood north of the hotel.

Homes on the other side of Beachview Drive are cheaper, but not by much ! The modest home seen in the photo above, for example, was listed for $439,500 !

I spotted several homes for sale in this neighborhood. The price of admission is quite high, as expected, especially as you turn right and head toward the ocean where prices start near the $500k range and go up as you get closer to the beach.

The home in the photo above sits directly across the street from the property that was for sale. And even though it's much smaller, it appears to be worth more because of its proximity to the beach.

Homes on the ocean side of Beachview Drive seem to start in the $460k range and go up from there.

Once past the residential neighborhood, I arrived at a small parking area and trail that sit just beyond the Villas By The Sea Resort. The trail leads to the southern end of Driftwood Beach.

The Horizon Highway is getting closer.

I still had a great view of the K-Line Horizon Highway heading inland.

This is the southern end of Driftwood Beach. The construction fencing seen in the photos above is for the rock wall renovation project that is currently underway.

The rock wall seen in the photos above and below is part of an ongoing project to control beach erosion. Essentially, natural ocean currents have a tendency to erode the shoreline on the northern end of the island. A rock wall was put in place in the 1960s to address this, and is currently undergoing major renovations.

The longer I hung out, the closer the Horizon Highway got to St. Simons Sound and the Port of Brunswick. I figured that I should be able to get a few close-up shots shortly.

Southern end of Driftwood Beach looking north.

Zooming in on the Horizon Highway.

There's another smaller boat out there as well.

The picture becomes unstable at 140x zoom, (35x optical and 4x digital), but you get the idea.

The Horizon Highway heading to the Port of Brunswick.

I headed back to the North Loop Trail and continued north until I came to the official entrance to Driftwood Beach.

Driftwood Beach is a famous stretch of the Jekyll Island coastline that features a picturesque display of dead trees.

Consistently named as one of the Most Romantic Beaches, Driftwood Beach is a very popular spot for weddings.

There were two weddings on the agenda for today. A spot for one wedding party had already been prepared near the entrance.

I am told that Hurricane Irma from one year ago did quite a bit of damage to Driftwood Beach.

By this time, the Horizon Highway was passing in between Jekyll Island and neighboring St. Simons Island on its way to the Port of Brunswick.

K-Line Horizon Highway.

The St. Simons Light Station, an historic lighthouse on St. Simons Island.

St. Simons Island to the north.

The second wedding party was in place further to the south.

I somehow managed to capture these three guys in flight above me.

The Horizon Highway passing by Driftwood Beach.

Driftwood Beach.

Looking south along Driftwood Beach toward the rock wall.

I had park on top of a rock so my kickstand wouldn't sink into the sand.

Wedding party number two toward the southern end of the beach.