Zooming south toward the end of Cumberland Island.

The old and new bridges to Jekyll Island can be seen in the distance to the north across the Jekyll River. The old bridge is now a fishing pier and wildlife viewing platform.

I probably spent about 15 minutes under the palm tree, (even though it felt like much longer). Once the hard rain passed, I made a break for it and pedaled back to Riverview Drive and into Summer Waves where I took shelter under the roof at the entrance gate.

The rain hung around for a little while with varying degrees of intensity.

Finally some clearing appeared in the distance to the east.

I had to wait about 20 minutes at Summer Waves before the rain moved on.

I can't say this was a surprise considering the weather forecast for my visit to Jekyll Island called for "scattered storms" each day. I can deal with "scattered," especially if the sun come back out and dries everything out, (including me), which it did.

I continued on my southbound journey and headed to the St. Andrews Picnic Area, a public picnic area at the southern end of the island.

In addition to the many picnic tables and grills, the St. Andrews Picnic Area also features beach access, a walking trail, and a wildlife viewing platform. Also featured is a memorial for "The Wanderer," the last documented slave ship that arrived from Africa in November 1858, (50 years after the practice of slave importation had been made illegal).

A memorial was erected in 2008 to honor the survivors of that horrific voyage. The current memorial, (a metal sculpture and two interpretive panels), is in the midst of a significant upgrade. The sculpture and panels are being replaced by an interactive exhibit called "A Memory Trail" that is being built along the walking trail. This exhibit will tell the story of the ship and its passengers via a series of stages. The photo above shows one of the stages in development.

I'm here to check out the Wildlife Viewing Platform.

The two-story platform was dedicated in 2010 and offers a spectacular view across Jekyll Sound.

Looking across Jekyll Sound from the Wildlife Viewing Platform, St. Andrews Picnic Area.

I discovered almost immediately why this is called a "Wildlife Viewing Platform."

The photo above looks to the southwest where the Little Satilla River meets Jekyll Sound off in the distance.

These fishermen were making a group effort out of the practice.

I spotted this guy hanging out in the saltwater marsh nearby.

I put my 35x optical zoom lens to work and started shooting.

Adding 4x digital zoom on top of the optical zoom usually makes the picture unstable. But this one didn't turn out too bad.

Zooming in on what I believe is a Great Egret.

I'm not sure what he was looking at. But he stared at it for a while.

He walked to the edge of the water and stared at something.

If I had to guess, I would say this guy was looking for his dinner.

Zooming in on a Great Egret.

Fishing is a very popular activity on Jekyll Island.

While watching the fishermen in the previous photo, I noticed something appear out of the water every so often.

I believe this is a group of dolphins.

Dolphins frequent this area often when feeding.

I set the camera dial to "sports" and started shooting hoping for the best. My biggest challenge was keeping the camera steady at full zoom.

I actually spotted several groups of dolphins.

Trying to zoom in on the dolphins in Jekyll Sound.

Trying to zoom in on the dolphins in Jekyll Sound.

A surprisingly good shot at full 140x zoom, (35x optical plus 4x digital).

Trying to zoom in on the dolphins in Jekyll Sound.

Looks like a group of 4 dolphins.

Dolphin viewing is actually a popular activity here. Narrated viewing tours depart from the Jekyll Island Club Wharf and Marina and are quite popular.

Trying to zoom in on the dolphins in Jekyll Sound.

Another group of 3 dolphins.

Another surprisingly good shot.

I spotted more wildlife in the sand below me.

This guy was wandering around in the sand below the viewing platform.

Wandering around in the sand below the viewing platform.

I'm not sure how "wild" this wildlife was. But they were moving pretty fast.

Boaters enjoying themselves on Jekyll Sound.

Boaters enjoying themselves on Jekyll Sound.

And the groups of dolphins kept appearing.

Another group of dolphins.

Zooming in on a boating marker of some kind.

I pushed the button at the right time !