Coastal Living Chronicles: Insights from a Saint Simons Island Realtor

Being from Savannah, I really love the fact that I live just an hour or so South.  To get to Savannah from St. Simons Island is very easy and that makes for a fun day trip up to the Historic City and surrounding area.  Mindy, my girlfriend, and I hopped onto Interstate 95 North and in no time at all found ourselves in Savannah.  We stopped by my Grandparent's retirement community to spend some time visiting.   Grandma Mary and Grandpa Chuck were a lot of fun to visit and I always enjoy hearing how things are going with them.  They are in a really nice retirement center http://www.holidaytouch.com/Our-Communities/rivers-edge.aspx  which makes it easy and fun to stop in for a visit. Next on the list was a bit of shopping for Mindy.  I thought she needed a brand new dress for an upcoming Golden Isles Association of Realtors get-together at the Brunswick Country Club in May. My Grandparent's retirement center is just a few blocks from the Oglethorpe Mall so we thought a quick s

Today I am enjoying a quiet day to celebrate my birthday.   My girlfriend Mindy is planning on taking me out to dinner tonight and she has chosen Bonefish here on St. Simons. Bang Bang Shrimp here we come.    We do have some great restaurants on St. Simons and in Brunswick.   Mindy and I have a few that we seem to visit more often than others but we have tried most of the ones on the island. Last night we stopped into Southern Soul BBQ for a couple of BBQ sandwiches. ( http://www.southernsoulbbq.com/ )    Mindy likes to get the okra and mac-n-cheese while I usually get the potato salad and mac-n-cheese.   Funny but the part of Southern Soul I always look forward to is getting a bottle of RC Cola??   I get these whenever I'm at Southern Soul so it is a treat for me.   The BBQ is delicious and Southern Soul is very well known outside our little island.   It was featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives but has also been written up and featured in many

Wednesday, I was in a real estate continuing education class at our local realtor board office in Brunswick, Georgia.   Our instructor was introducing a power-point slide before moving on to the next topic – FHA Loan procedures, yes very exciting.   The slide had a photo of a poolside area overlooking a tranquil ocean view that was very similar to what one might see from one or our resorts.   She laughed and said, “In Atlanta, that’s a slide where everyone ooohs and aaahs but ya’ll see it every day so it’s nothing new.”   I thought for a moment about her comment.   Later, during a communal lunch with board employees, I told her that, thankfully, I really do appreciate where I live every day and try to always keep in mind that I live in an area where people come to spend their vacations.   We have great beaches, excellent restaurants, a ton of golf courses, fishing, boating, walking and hiking, history, shopping and more and more.   It’s no wonder that Brunswick, St. Simons, Jekyll

This is a great little video clip featuring my good friend Logan Brown.  She agreed to give me a hand producing a short video introduction to St. Simons Island Georgia.   St. Simons Island and Georgia's breathtaking Golden Isles are rich in history, relaxed charm, and natural beauty, making it the perfect spot for Georgia vacations, retirement living or relocations.  Enjoy a day at the beach, boating off the coast or along the many inshore rivers, fishing or maybe visit one of our many historic locations such as St. Simons Island Lighthouse, Christ Church, and Fort Frederica. After taking advantage of the multitude of outdoor activities, explore the island’s numerous shops, art galleries and terrific restaurants.  Come visit and you might find yourself staying a lifetime! More to follow! Post by Jeff Williams . Jeff Williams   Realtor ,  RSPS Resort & Second Home Markets Specialist Coastal Georgia Real Estate Associates 405 Magnolia Street, St. Simo

Today I am adding my Mother's Sugar Cookie Recipe. This one is direct from her favorite recipe's folder and is probably upwards of 50 years old.   My Mother, Rose, passed away on April 20 th 2008 and I know she would enjoy the idea that I am sending along my favorite cookie recipe to you.   She was a tremendously gifted cook and was happiest in the kitchen whipping up food that we all enjoyed.   Of note:   Bake cookies for appx 10 minutes at 400 degrees and make sure NOT to let them brown.   This cookie is a soft style and browning makes them a bit hard.   You may want to test your oven out on a half dozen before baking a full sheet.   I passed the recipe out to a couple of friends yesterday who were a bit surprised by the amount of Crisco used .   Trust me and just go with it.   Enjoy and if you do make a batch, please shoot me an email and let me know how they turned out.   Finished product!

Living on the Georgia Coast, one has to learn to take advantage of being able to play outdoors!  I have an Inshore style fishing boat, a 19 foot center console bay style boat that is perfect for skirting the coast and exploring the marshes and back rivers.  I've learned to fish this area and the fishing can be spectacular!  I truly believe that Coastal Georgia offers some of the best angling opportunities anywhere in the U.S.  There are so many types of fishing and so many different species to go after.  Offshore, nearshore, inshore and beach all offer plenty of great fishing.