Winter on Tybee By David Eduardo
It was winter, twelve maybe fifteen years ago, when Tybee walked into my life. Spend a little time here, you’ll quickly notice the island’s beautiful offseason
stride fueled by a genuine community bond. You won’t find a sickeningly sweet & sterile beach town sponsored by Walt Disney and the PGA.
Golf? There’s not even putt-putt. Instead, imagine a rogue Florida Key drifting east, then north, making friends with the marshes and deciding Savannah
was a better neighbor than Miami. So, when locals outnumber visitors and the sun sets way too early, there’s no better time for a pilgrimage to the
place often and (mostly) accurately described as a “truck stop by the sea.”
If you’re combing these pages for the first time, it’s a safe bet you’ve already crossed the Lazaretto Creek Bridge, you’re new to town and looking for
something to do in January at the beach. Hopefully you’re a heavy drinker and avid eater with a proclivity for the outdoors during cooler temps. Feel
free to continue reading even if that last sentence doesn’t exactly describe you.
Stay Anywhere
No locally published travel puff piece is complete without the cliché, ‘there’s something for everyone,’ so we’ll use it immediately. Whether your island
dream accommodations involve seedy motels, questionable flop houses, quiet beachfront condos or whimsically appointed cottages steeped in history,
Tybee has you covered. There’s even River’s End, a classic family-friendly campground and RV park. Be warned, winter can be cold and windy, so
perhaps it’s best to opt for that Winnebago over a primitive campsite, for a less intense experience.
If being in tents isn’t your idea of fun, just rent any of the warm island dwellings offered by locally owned & operated Mermaid Cottages. From folksy
and charming to stunning and opulent, this top notch vacation rental agency has a home away from home with a clever name, certain to suite your
personality.
For the low-key and budget conscious The Sea & Breeze motel is nice enough, and their pool was featured in the movie Dirty Grandpa starring Robert
De Niro, so you’ll have a built-in vacation anecdote.
Alternative Transportation
Upon arriving on Tybee, please park your car and ignore it until it’s time to leave. This is a tiny pedestrian friendly island best experienced at a slow
pace. Walk everywhere, at different times of the day, evening, even late night.
If you can’t bring a bike, rent one. If walking and bicycling just aren’t your thing and you need a motorized vehicle, rent a golf cart from the fine folks at
Tybee Golf Carts. The carts come equipped with a parking permit that allows renters to bypass the expensive meters dotting every inch of the island.
When necessary and when drunk, forget Uber, step back in time and call a cab. Go ahead and put the number to Breezy Riders in your phone now.
Explore
I’m pretty sure Fort Screven is haunted, so check it out if that’s your thing. Blink and you’ll miss The Sally Pearce Nature Trail, a nice place to walk
the dog with a lovely bench swing and rewarding marsh vista. Get curious about the nearly four ton nuclear warhead hidden for decades somewhere
on neighboring (and larger) Little Tybee Island, then contact Sea Kayak Georgia when you’re brave enough to paddle over with a metal detector and
Geiger counter. Climb all 178 steps to the windy top of the Tybee Island Lighthouse because you need the exercise and the view is amazing, and yes
that’s South Carolina over there.
Wine & Dine
Come for the dive bars. Stay for the dive bars. If you don’t enjoy worn out bar stools and well-seasoned walls, that oh, if only they could talk—then
please, change. Spend as much time as you can at Huc A Poos and maybe one day you’ll be effortlessly cool like the dinged-up and dusty pizza joint
tucked away behind a wildly eclectic bazaar off US 80.
And when you’re downtown wandering Tybrisa Street, wondering what’ll become of that hermit crab you just bought for some reason, duck into the
Wind Rose Café for stiff drinks, cold beers and red-blooded American daily lunch specials like meatloaf (Monday, duh) and Salisbury steak (Tuesday).
If you’re not allowed to spend all your time trading fish stories in dive bars with salty characters then yes, go see the sunset at A-J’s Dockside or
sip killer margaritas at The Deck, a newish beachfront restaurant and welcome addition to the local culinary scene. And if you hate making dinner
reservations because you’re too damn spontaneous, then walk into Sundae Café before 9pm and check if there’s an empty seat at the bar. Who knows,
you may get lucky and have the best supper in Savannah, without having to leave the island.
14 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | JAN 2019