Travel

St. Simons Island, Ga.

September 1, 2020

A Small Golden Isle Town with so Much to Explore

View from the lighthouse

St. Simons island seems to have countless places to explore, restaurants to eat, and a nightlife that seems to encompass the island’s family feel. Your options are endless when it comes to filling your day with activities. Choose between the beach, shopping, museums, fishing, monuments, and so much more while visiting this quant island. We were able to barely touch the tip of the iceberg when it came to visiting different places on the island. However, what we did see was a first for everyone in our family, which made the memories even more special.

View from window in lighthouse

On our first day of exploration during our stay, we visited the St. Simons Lighthouse and World War II US. Coast Guard Museum. We did buy tickets to both places on the same trip and for the same day. It saved some money and was a full day of learning and driving to find new places around the island. Both places required masks to be worn and had tours spaced about 10-15 minutes apart. The metered timing allowed smaller groups to walk through both locations, keep distance between each other, and give us time to see both exhibits without feeling rushed or feeling as if we missed something. Both places close for an hour each day between 1:00-2:00 pm to clean, so we took this time to each lunch.

St. Simons Light house

St. Simons Lighthouse

The current lighthouse finished construction in 1872 after the original one was destroyed during the Civil War. In the mid-1950, the lighthouse became an automated light and became the last decade the house was home to the keepers and their families. It is still a functioning lighthouse that shines its light for boaters to follow at night and light up the coast. It was exciting to learn; in 1939, the U.S. Coast Guard took ownership of the lighthouse, so the last few lighthouse keepers because known as USCG Officer in Charge.

Items from families
Spiral Staircase

The lighthouse is currently open to the public after being restored in 1975. We were able to walk over one hundred stairs up the castiron staircase during our visit. We kept count of our stairs while walking up by the signs posted throughout with fun facts about the lighthouse. Every couple of stories, you can look out a porthole type window and take in the coast’s view at all levels. Once you make it to the top, you have a 360 panoramic view of the surrounding area. Our kids loved seeing the ocean on one side and the small island town on the other. It was also a perfect family photo opportunity.

Kitchen upstairs
Fun facts going up the lighthouse steps

Once we made our way back down the spirals stairs, we took some time to explore the museum. We learned about the families who call the lighthouse home for many years, their job while living at the lighthouse, and how it impacted the area. We learned about the history of St. Simons, the keepers’ position, and we also saw the sleeping quarters on the top level. The lighthouse museum even showcased some of the former family’s personal items such as dinner wear, coins, and other things. We also enjoyed learning about the progression.

World War II Coast Guard Museum

World War II Coast Guard Museum

After the lighthouse, we visited the World War II Coast Guard museum. The museum was a short drive from the lighthouse and located close to the beach. After we parked, we were greeted by the parking lot’s friendly staff, who told us the tour starts in the second house located behind the large white one that welcomes you from the parking lot. We made our way to the back house and started our tour by watching a movie about the history of both houses, the part they played during the war, and how close fighting took place near the eastern shore between submarines and German U-boats during World War II. The smaller house also had some activities with light-up boards, a measuring plank on the wall to show how tall a person had to be for each military branch in the 1940s, and different slogan campaings during the 1940s.

The main house was the living quarters for the men in the Coast Guard who were stationed in St. Simons during the war and years after. Those living on the coast and close to the beach during the war would experience blackouts at night, so the lights from the growing city would not show the boats and other vessels patrolling the coastlines during the war. The main house closed in 1995 when the coastline became too far away from the main house. In 2006, the Coast Guard house reopened its doors as a museum. It now honors those who once protected our coastline for many decades, even during unprecedented times.

We enjoyed pretending to look for German U-boats during an interactive simulator, decoding messages, seeing pictures of maiden voyages of submarines and boats, and seeing how the area has changed from the late 1930s to current times. It gave us a different perspective on how small coast cities played a large role during a monumental moment in history and how close the war was to the states.

After visiting both museums, we enjoyed an evening walk on the St. Simons Pier, watch people fish, and watched the sunset over the lighthouse after having dinner. The area near the pier is a great area to shop during the day as well. There are many cute local boutiques, restaurants, bars, and a great place in the park for the kids to climb trees. We enjoyed our day exploring St. Simons and are excited to return to create more family memories.

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