The Hunt is On

Jekyll Island is known for its marshlands, beaches, and history but from January 1 to February 28, the hunt is on. What hunt you may ask? Island Treasures...aka glass globes.

In the early 1900s, east coast fishermen used hollow glass balls, or floats, on their nets as markers. Occasionally, the floats would break loose and wash ashore for lucky beachcombers to find and keep. Collecting these rare, highly sought-after glass floats became a hobby in the 1950s.

Today, Jekyll Island hand-picks artists from across the country to create one-of-a-kind glass floats for its annual Island Treasures event. The glass floats are part of a hide-and-seek style game played on Jekyll Island throughout January and February. My husband says its similar to a large game of German Spotlight at night time hunting. Each day, volunteers called Beach Buddies will hide clear globes around the island for lucky guests to find and redeem for a real glass float.

This year was our second official year of hunting for globes. We spent a weekend at the Jekyll Island Club which is a treasure of its own. The history of Jekyll Island Club and the beauty of the property makes it worth the visit. We enjoyed bike rentals to see the island and consequently got in over 12 miles of exercise on Saturday.

Globe hunting gives you an excuse to seek over to Jekyll in the cold winter months but there are other things that make a winter trip to Jekyll worth the trip. Mosaic offers history tours and you can tour some of the historic homes within the Jekyll Island Club area property. The many bike trails give you a different Island perspective. you may choose to ride along the ocean bike path, down through the marsh side bike paths, or through the bike paths through the maritime forest.

There is always a new "treasure" that we seem to find even though it may not be an official island treasure.