Plush Dolphins

I’ll admit it. I was already partial to Captain Mike’s Dolphin Adventure, out on Tybee Island, because I like anything featuring my own name. Mike & Ike’s? Love them. Delicious. Michael Jackson? The greatest ever. Mike the Headless Chicken? Come on! Mikes rule.

So it was no surprise to discover that Captain Mike’s Dolphin Adventure was totally awesome. On our hour-long journey into the ocean, we saw probably over 100 dolphins. Seriously. They were likely the same dolphins over and over again, but well over 100 “sightings”. Jumping dolphins, playful dolphins, double & triple dolphins. One dolphin swam right alongside our boat, and I swear he was looking at me. I named him “Mike”.

The woman leading us out was great, too. While she was sharing fun dolphin facts, she’d keep yelling out where to look next. “Did you know that — 3-O’CLOCK! — dolphins sleep with one side of their brain — TWO JUMPIN, 11-O’CLOCK! — active at a time?” I don’t know how she spotted them so quickly, but her eyes were always at least a couple seconds ahead of mine.

We had an amazing time. Check out the videos and pictures we were able to capture… Dolphins are so freaking cute. And at just $15 per adult, the tour is a great deal.

Official Website
Location on our Day Trips Map

- Going to Tybee Island?

Hunting Island Book

After spending the day in Beaufort, we drove out to Hunting Island: a semitropical barrier island that had been used in the 19th century for hunting (hence the name), and is now a State Park.

The park office is in the middle of a huge forest which stretches out along 6 miles of beach. A number of hiking and driving trails snake through the 50-acre area, which is home to alligators, raccoons, rattlesnakes and more. We started our exploration by climbing 167 steps to the top of a light tower from 1873 — out of use today, except as an unbeatable lookout point over the park.

After a quick stroll along the beach, we set out on a walking trail that led by a lagoon where fish were leaping out of the water. The fishermen lining the shore all had big smiles and full buckets. It was a beautiful day, and I was in a great mood. As the trail wound into the forest, I got to feeling energetic, “nature-y” and brave — which, as anyone who knows me could tell you, is a terrible combination. “WATCH THIS!” I shouted at Juergen. “I’m going to climb this palm tree like a monkey”.

Before Juergen could protest, I took a flying leap at the tree, grabbing it with my hands and feet. Plan: Scurry up a few feet and have a laugh. Reality: On contact, tons of prickly splinters entered my palms and I fell off backwards howling in pain. My hands were FULL of splinters. It was actually kind of scary to look at. Back home an hour later, I was able to get most of them out with tweezers, but seventeen had to be dug out with a needle. My hands have still not fully recovered.

Let this be a lesson to you youngsters! Don’t have fun in nature. Nature is scary and dangerous.

Hunting Island’s Official Webpage
Location on our Day Trips Map

- Our 91 Days in Oviedo, Spain

Click here to buy kayaks online

My brother Jeffrey, a pasty white land-lubber from the middle of the middle-est state in America, was visiting us during his birthday. As a present, we took him out kayaking. “What is this?”, he shrieked, voice full of terror.

“That’s the ocean, Jeffrey. It’s just water.”

Our brother-in-law Joe had come up from Jacksonville to partake in the fun, and we all arrived early at North Island Surf & Kayak, on the interior border of Tybee Island. The usual proprietor was out-of-town, and his parents were down from Augusta to manage the place. They were a super-friendly couple, fully possessed of that southern tendency to chat openly with complete strangers. It still takes me off-guard to suddenly be swapping stories about my childhood or their dog who’d been poisoned by malicious neighbors, with someone I’ve just met.

The four of us spent the whole day out on the water — split between paddling up the Lazaretto Creek which flows inland, and then into the ocean. Joe and I managed to spot dolphins, one of which surfaced just ten feet from my kayak. Although Jeffrey and Juergen weren’t so lucky, we all had an awesome time. Being outdoors on a perfect, warm fall morning, exercising muscles that haven’t been used in probably 10 years… it was a great way to spend the day.

The kayaks cost us $40 apiece to rent for an entire day, which seems perfectly fair. They were of good quality — despite being total newbies to the sport, none of us were ever in danger of capsizing. And the North Island shop is perfectly situated; you can choose to go upstream, paddle over to Fort Pulaski, or just along the coast of Tybee. They also do day-long guided tours.

North Island Surf & Kayak
Across the Lazaretto Creek Bridge on Tybee Island
Location on our Map
912-786-4000

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