Breakfast
We began our day by eating breakfast in our room to save a little moolah. We purchased some essentials like English muffins, cheese, jam and fresh fruit to get us through breakfast and lunch on a budget today.
Kayak Tour
A little after 8:30 a.m., we drove over to Tidelands Nature Center to meet up with Amber, a guide who took a small group of us on a kayaking tour of the Jekyll River.
Ryan and I started the kayaking tour in separate kayaks. (Mine was called the “Falcon.” I was so hardcore.)
Then, two boys in our group who were in a tandem kayak experienced a bit of trouble and tipped their kayak, so Ryan and I ended up giving them our single kayaks and taking the double ourselves. I actually preferred the tandem kayak because Ryan and I were able to talk and hang out more than when we were kayaking separately. This meant I got to hear Ryan refer to the boy that was putting absolutely no effort into moving his kayak as “Sally.” 
Amber led our group up a creek toward the end of the tour where we saw a ton of wildlife ranging from fiddler crabs and birds to a mink (I want one!) and two dolphins.
All together the tour lasted around three hours. Ryan and I both agreed that the tour was a great way to enjoy the water and the sun and see some native wildlife, while learning about the local ecology from Amber. Yesterday Ryan told me I am like a kid at summer camp because I asked the people at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center a million questions. I felt like I did the same thing with Amber again today. I can’t help it! I love learning about animals and nature and find all the random facts so interesting.
Lunch
After saying goodbye to Amber, we headed back to our hotel room for half an hour to inhale lunch before heading out again. We kept things nice and cheap for lunch again and ate more English muffins with cheese and deli chicken meat, plus yogurt and a pear.
Biking Around the Island
When I began researching information about Jekyll Island before our vacation, the activity I read about over and over again was biking around the island. It seems like everyone who visits Jekyll Island rents bikes and peddles around the miles and miles of bike trails.
Ryan and I didn’t want to miss out on a “must do” activity and rented bikes for an hour to take around the island.
We had a little too much fun with the bells on the bikes.
They’re oddly entertaining. Either that or we’re oddly immature.
We road our cruiser bikes through the historic part of the island, stopping to read some plaques.
Summer Waves
Once we finished our bike tour and decided to head directly to Summer Waves, a small waterpark on the island to spend some time in the lazy river and ride a slide or two.
Ryan and I rode one slide that allowed the two of us to go down together on a double tube that was really fast and super fun! I screamed and we both laughed because the water pressure down the slide was intense and left me with a ginormous wedgie and almost turned Ryan into Ryanna. Definitely a fun one!
After the park, we stopped by a local store to pick up some snacks to tide us over until dinner this evening. We’re back at our hotel right now and I gotta get going because rumor has it a wedding is taking place on the beach at 5 p.m. and you know I want to see that! We saw some women carrying the bride’s dress to her room this morning and it was a beautiful, princess gown. I can’t wait to see it! No, I will not mind my own business.
Hope you guys are enjoying your weekend!
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ahh so jealous!! the weather is AMAZING!!!!! kayaking is awesome! and i love how u guys are still eating wholesome food!!
the only thing better than interrogating your tour guide is crashing a wedding! hehe. 🙂 no, i’m a huge fan of people watching and who could miss a wedding?
looks like you guys are having an amazing time and too bad you had to retire The Falcon but i think tandem kayaking was better as you got ryan’s commentary.
have a great din din and rest of the night!
I need to follow your lead on vacations and eat breakfast and lunch in the room with grocery store buys – I’m sure you feel so much better eating real food while on vacation!
Looks like fun and if I were there, I’d totally be stalking the wedding with you 🙂
Ohhhh my goodness that place is gorgeous!! I am so glad you two are having a great time, and doing it on a budget! I try to pack as much food as I can when I am on vacation because going out to eat is expensive, boooo student budget 🙁 Slash kayaking is HARD, that is a crazy workout for your upper body!!!
That looks like such a fun day, and what a good idea to bring your own food to save moolah!
This all sounds like so much fun! So much fun traveling for you this spring/summer – enjoy it!
Looks like a seriously awesome time!!!! Hope you enjoy every minute! 😀
so fun! i love kayaking and that bike ride looks like so much fun too! what a fun day!
Ahh I love kayaking with my boyfriend…I mean, we’ve only done it once, but still. It was so much fun! We’re visiting Boca Raton in July, I wonder if we could do it there. And I want to stalk that beach wedding with you!
Sounds like a great little getaway 🙂 Thanks for the idea for breakfast!! I am leaving on a business trip and I will use your tips 🙂
As commercial as they can be, I love water parks!! 🙂
That looks like such a fun time!! I can’t wait to go kayaking this summer too!
When I was in Australia I took a kayak tour and I have to agree the coolest way to see the wild life is via kayaking! A lazy river sounds awesome right now!
How fun! I love kayaking, but i am horrible at it, and yes that’s possible. The one time I went tandem with a friend, I paddled so hard but I wasn’t helping at all. Yet he’d paddle one second and we’d move ten feet. : P
Jekyll Island sounds like a blast! I have the same cover up from VS (:
In yellow, too?? I know they make millions of colors!
Yeah, same color! I know they have every color out there – I had such a hard time deciding which one to get!
PS making rutabaga fries right now
ooh hope you like them!
Ooo that looks so so much fun! I loved summer camp as a kid. I wish adults could go and not be awkward.
So cute! You guys look like you are vacationing in the movie Pleasantville 😀 Have a blast!
Too fun!! I first love all of the outdoor activities y’all did today and second I love that y’all are budgeting. Smart travelers!
Ryanna-lol!
Gotta try the kayaking! And biking is my husband’s and my favorite way to see different places that we go to, definitely better than walking or riding in a car. Such a fun and memorable time!
oh- and holy 6-pack, Ryan! You go!
Looks like such a fun day. Glad you rented bikes! great way to see the island!
I’m so impressed by your kayaking skills! I am always too scared to go…Did you tip over and have to do a houdini-esque escape?
thankfully no! 🙂
I was dying of laughter when I read the Ryan-Ryanna comment 🙂
I LOVE kayaking! It love feeling so close to the water and moving so quickly across the surface. And biking around the Island sounds too much fun. I’ll have to try that the next time I visit a new city.
LOVE how active you guys are on your vacay! I love feelin adventurous and trying new activities! It’s even better of course when you have some good lookin arm candy 😉
mmmm love kayaking! What beautiful views 🙂
Weeee how fun is this post! I love that list bit about the ginormous wedgie on the water slide, those are always inevitable on those kinds of rides 😀
When I am in that situation, I stay underwater until I wrench my suit out of there haha
I love Jekyll Island!!! I’ve been there several times on school trips and I think I’m heading back in a month for a conference. All the Barrier Islands are beautiful, great quiet place to enjoy nature! 🙂
they’re in the process of building a new convention center. i wonder if you’ll get to experience the new building!
Love all the activities y’all are getting into — Jekyll Island seems so active! Good thing y’all are having such great weather. If it had been rainy, do you think y’all would’ve found things to do?!
hmmm… i honestly think it would be really hard to find a lot to do here had the weather been crappy. the sea turtle center is indoors, but it seems like everything else that is fun and worth doing it outside.
*”is” outside… not “it” outside. 🙂
hmmm… that’s what I gathered! Enjoy the rest of your time there!
Hahaha, “No, I will not mind my own business.” so funny. I’m glad you guys are having a blast!!
LOL @ Ryan almost became Ryanna…you are TOO funny!! 🙂
I’m so glad you two are enjoying a wonderful weekend together!
What a great little get away :). I was so excited to hear about kayaking, it looks like fun! One of the activities planned for my trip to Thailand this summer is to kayak…they depend on the flow of the tide to bring you in and out of really historic hidden caves within the islands.. so I’m a little nervous to say the least! haha
You and Ryan are too funny! Seems like you guys are having a great time! Since I am studying all weekend I have decided to live vicariously through you… haha!
Hope you have a fabulous night!
Ahhh, you guys look like you are having so much fun!!! 🙂 Kayaking sounds awesome!
Love those cheesy english muffin sandwiches…they make my mouth water! So great that you guys packed food to keep the vacation costs down!
Looks like y’all are having a GREAT weekend, enjoy!
Waterpark and kakaking sound like a great day!
I LOVE that you are doing lunch in breakfast in the room. we do the same thing when we go away.. saves money for sure! 🙂
Love that this vacation is so active! So often I feel sluggish on vacay from lack of exercise. Also, the waterpark was a great idea and I am the exact same way with bike bells-so fun!
Is that a yellow dress or cover-up?? It’s SO cute! Love it.
This little vacation looks so fun! Riding bikes is one of my favorite things to do at the beach 🙂
The kayaking sounds like so much fun and I luuuurve water parks!
I love active vacations. I do enjoy some downtime, but I prefer having a planned list of activities and trying to do all of them! When else would you go kayaking and learn about sea turtles? On a vacation of course!
Haha! I would totally be about that if I saw people getting ready for a wedding. Well, if you happen to be in Minnesota in two weeks, feel free to stalk me. Haha.
The super active vacation looks REALLY fun!! I love it!
Everything looks so fun! I would love to try kayaking one day.
Hahaha that bit abt Sally & Ryanna was hilarious!
That Ryanna comment…hahaaaa I just laughed out loud!
I love love love Ryan and your relationship! Keep having fun!
This Kentucky girl did all those same activities a couple of weeks ago. With one exeption. We got a late start on our bike tour (8 1/2 miles) and it was dark before we got back to the Oceanside! We almost hit several deer before we made it back! It was a crazy experience. Don’t forget to go horseback riding. That is a great way to see the ‘forest’ parts of the island. And check out the Cafe Soltera. Yum.
What an awesome way to see the island! I would have loved to do the kayaking. I would have flipped if I saw a dolphin; they are my favorite animal!
I love active vacations! Biking is such a lovely way to see new places.
Whow this place looks amzing you must be having such a great time!