September 19, 2025 • 30 mins
Episode 193: Chasing the Sun to Tybee Island GA with Mayor Brian West
When cooler weather hits, many families put away the swimsuits—but what if you packed them for a little extra sunshine instead? In this episode, Rob kicks off our Chasing the Sun series with a trip to Tybee Island, Georgia, a laid-back beach town just minutes from Savannah. Known for wide sandy beaches, small-town charm, and family-run restaurants, Tybee is the perfect place to escape the cold.
Joining us is Mayor Brian West, who shares insider tips on:
- Why Tybee feels worlds away from bigger beach destinations
- Family-friendly activities like lighthouse climbs, dolphin tours, kayaking, and surfing lessons
- Seasonal highlights including Pirates Fest, the Christmas parade, and the springtime Beach Bum Parade (a massive island-wide water fight!)
- Local restaurants that make Tybee a food lover’s paradise—think fresh-off-the-dock seafood, pizza joints with live music, and creative coastal dining
- Where to stay, from 1950s-style family hotels to unique vacation rentals
Whether you’ve got little ones, adventurous teens, or just need a slower coastal pace, Tybee has something for everyone.
📖 Don’t forget: Rob’s upcoming book The Family Vacationer: A Parent’s Guide to Meaningful Travel releases this December. Packed with stories and strategies, it’s your guide to making every trip more intentional and rewarding.
👉 Resources & Links:
- Visit Tybee – Tourism site with events, lodging, and planning info
- City of Tybee – Local updates and community events
- Follow The Family Vacationer on Instagram
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
When the temperatures start to dip and the leaves begin
to fall, some families pack away the swimsuits and the
flip flops. But what if instead you pack them up for.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
A little extra sunshine.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Today, we're Chasing the Sun to Tybee Island, Georgia, a
family friendly beach town where warm breezes and coastal charm
make it the perfect escape from the cold.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Episode one starts right now.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Welcome to The Family Vacationer with Robin Tracy, your go
to podcast for families on the moon.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Hello everyone, and welcome back to The Family Vacationer, the
podcast that helps you create meaningful, memorable travel experiences with
the people that you love. I'm Rob and I'm so
glad you're here for Episode one nine three.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
This episode is.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Part of a series that we're going to revisit from
time to time as temperatures get a little colder in places.
It's called Chasing the Sun. When the temperatures start to
cool off in much of the country, we're gonna spotlight
some warm weather destinations where you and your family can
escape the chill and enjoy some sunshine together. We're starting
the series off with one of Georgia's Gems Tybee Island.
(01:19):
It's just minutes from Savannah, but it feels like a
world's away. Tybee's known for its history, it's laid back charm,
and of course it's wide sandy beaches that families love
year round. Before we jump in, I do want to
remind you that my book, The Family Vacationer, a parent's
Guide to Meaningful Travel, will be out this December. It's
(01:40):
packed with strategies and stories to help make family trips
more intentional and rewarding. You're gonna find out more details
in the show notes. Now, before we bring on today's guests,
let's take a quick look at Tybe's history, because it
really shapes what visitors experience today. In the late eighteen
hundreds and early nineteen hundreds, Tybee grew into a popular
(02:01):
seaside resort for Savannah families and beyond. The island became
known for its pavilions, its live music, and a boardwalk
atmosphere that made it a hub of entertainment and beach life.
By the mid twentieth century, Tybee was a go to
summer destination for families who wanted that mix of sun,
surf and relaxation. It also has some fascinating historical footnotes,
(02:24):
like its rolling coastal defense during World War Two. In
the nineteen fifty eight Tybee Bomb incident, when a US
bomber accidentally dropped a hydrogen bomb near the island. Thankfully
it wasn't armed with its nuclear core, but the story
remains part of Tybee's lore. Fast forward to today, Tybee's
worked hard to preserve its small town character. Instead of
(02:45):
high rises and commercial sprawl, you'll find colorful cottages, family
run shops, and natural spaces that invite you to slow down.
It's one of those rare places where you can feel
the history while still enjoying all the modern conveniences that fanned.
I'm so excited to welcome today's guest, Mayor Brian West,
to share insider tips and help us see why Tybee
(03:07):
is the perfect destination for families chasing the sun this season.
Mayor West, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Thank you, thanks for having me. It's great to be here.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
We are glad to have you on. So for listeners
who might.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Not be familiar with Tybee, can you just kind of
give the elevator pitch for Tybee Island? What makes this
special place compared to other beach towns.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Tybee is a is a small urban southern city on
the beach, about about fifteen miles east of Savannah. It's
the easternmost point in Georgia. Has a very unique character,
a lot of people that have lived here with their
families for many, many years. The population is only around
(03:53):
you know, well last sense is said three thousand. We
think it's close for four thousand now because we're growing.
It just a great little, laid back, low key small
town on the ocean.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Well, since this is our Chasing the Sun series, what
why do you think Tybee is such a perfect destination
for families that are trying to escape the cold as
as temperatures start to dip in the northern areas.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Well, there's a there's a lot to do here. There's
there's a there's a lot of great activities. Of course,
the main thing is the beach, and we have almost
five miles of beach. It sits at the mouth of
the Savannah River, so you can see the big container
ships coming and going, you know, while you're on the beach. Uh.
And then of course, if you if you if beaching
(04:41):
all the time is your thing, We've got some of
the best restaurants you know on the South coast. Uh.
There there are no chain restaurants here. Every restaurant is
a is a homegrown family restaurant that somebody here on
Tybee started and they're all excellent. There's all types of
varieties of different types of food. So if you like food,
(05:02):
this is a This is a great place to come
and get it. There's also a pretty pretty good night life.
There are quite a few bars that also serve food,
but at night they have karaoke or dancing or you know,
entertainment activities for for the for the adult crowd at night,
so it's a fun place to be. We have a
we have a kind of a main street that we
(05:24):
call Tabresa Street and it's where most of the activity is.
But the restaurants and bars are spread out kind of
all over the island if you want to if you're
looking for something to do with the kids. We have
a lighthouse that you can climb to the top of.
It's one hundred and eighty something steps to get to
the top and you get a beautiful panoramic view of
(05:45):
the whole place. We have companies here that Rick Golf carts,
so most people travel around on a golf cart when
they're not going across the bridge as we call it
and going back into town. So there's also kayaking, there's
jet skiing, there's dolphin tours, just all kinds of there's
(06:05):
there's a small lighthouse that's out in the opening to
the river that's historic, that's been there a long time.
That's uh you can go see that. Fort Pulaski is
right outside our door, famous Civil War for it, that
is still intact, and you can go there and look
at films about what happened there and see what, you know,
what people actually lived like during that time. I'm trying to,
(06:28):
you know, fight the Civil War. So just a lot
of big variety of a lot of different things to
do here, history, entertainment, educational things, things for the kids
to do, a lot of a lot of options.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
I'm not sure if you have teens yet, and you
understand the uh the special nature of taking teens on vacation,
but for families that do have teenagers, what kinds of
experiences might keep them engaged on tybee?
Speaker 3 (06:55):
You know that's I appreciate you say that my teens
are grown now, so uh so I do know what
it's like to have have teams. We actually had six
in our house. Oh, so I understand the importance of
them having something to do. And you know, there's uh,
all the things that I mentioned earlier, you know, they're
all they're all great things for teams to do as well.
(07:17):
But there's there are also a lot of a lot
of people, you know, kids that live here on the
island that hang out at the basketball courts and the
volleyball courts. They're surfing. Don't if they've ever tried surfing.
But we actually have a couple of different groups here
that actually teap surfing and will take you out. The
waves aren't you know, incredibly big here, and you have
(07:38):
to get them at the right time. But there is
a little the surfing you can do. So it's great
if you want to disconnect, you know, leave the cell
phones in the car and get out into nature. Uh
and you know, and it's just spend quality time with
your family. This is a great place to be.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
How does Tybee Island feel different in fall or early
winter even compared to your peak summer season.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Yeah, so my very favorite time to be here is
from like right now September to like May, because the
people who normally crowd down here during the summer, which
is the busiest, the busiest months, or June and July. People,
you know, we call them day trippers. They come in
from around the around the communities that are around us.
(08:24):
They come in for the day. They crowd the place
and pack it out, and it's great. We we love
having them here, and we and we we want them
to come and they have a great time when they're here.
But when school gets back in, they get back into
their schedules and they don't they don't come down here
as much, so it becomes kind of like it becomes
a really small, really quiet place, you know, starting in September.
(08:45):
That's kind of changing a little bit over time because
there's there's more people moving here, so it's a little
bit busier than it was when when I was a kid,
but it's it's still a great quiet My favorite favorite
time of years when it's quiet here alone. It when
when it's just you know, just us Islanders, and it's
a great time for people that want to come stay
for a week, you know, if they want to come
(09:06):
get a short term rental and stay in a stay
in a really nice home on the beach for a
week and just experience what it's like to live here.
They're really going to enjoy it. But then, you know,
when when June comes and the and the cars start
crossing the bridge again and we and we're packed out,
it's a great time to be here too. There's lots
of life, there's lots of activity, there's lots of nightlife.
(09:27):
The restaurants are packed, you know. I mean, it's just
it's a it's a great time, you know during that
time of year as well.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Are there any special events or local traditions that happened
this time of year going into in the fall into
the winter time that that visitors shouldn't miss.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Yeah. The one of the really fun things is Pirates Fest,
which is coming up the weekend of October twelfth. And
we have real, real live pirates resting justin These aren't
costumes that they wear. These are real. This is real
clothing they wear and they come for Pirates Fest. Uh.
We have bands, you know, music, we have activities for
(10:04):
the kids. There's a parade, uh, and it's just we
have a stage set up in one of the parking
lots down on the South End and there's a you know,
booth set up, there's uh you a fair type atmosphere.
And as speaking of affair, this particular year for pirates Fest,
the carnival that travels around is actually then be on
(10:25):
Tabby that same weekend, So it's going to be kind
of like a double punch for for pirates Fest this year.
After pirates Fest, after October, we have the uh you know,
annual lighting on the Christmas Tree, we have a Christmas parade,
uh and the just we try to do we try
to have some type of activity almost every weekend. Right
if you go to visit Tibby dot com you can
(10:47):
see a schedule of all types of things that we
have going on. But that's how you know, that's how
we attract people here to come come here on the weekends.
But as by you know, having these events like pirates Fest,
one of the best parades we have is in the
spring and that's the Beach Bump Parade, and it is
it is a huge water gun fight. It is the
(11:07):
people the people that are watching the parade have bazooka
guns and the people that are in the parade have
have the same types of water guns. And nobody's safe
I mean, nobody don't come here to that parade and
think you're gonna you know, you're gonna get away with
a dry day because everybody, everybody gets doused. So that's
that's a lot of fun too, that that weekend.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Well, so what is the weather like right now and
going into the fall, Like, what can families expect in
terms of packing and planning? I can answer right now,
I'm sure it's still hot. But as we get into
the fall and into winter, I'm assuming layers are probably
the way to go.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Yeah. Absolutely, it's really beautiful right here. I think the
high today was seventy nine, oh wow. And so it's
it's really really great here right now. This is unusual
for us this time of year. Normally it doesn't start
getting into the lower temperatures until like November, and then
it gets we'll have a couple of nights, you know,
(12:05):
but other than that, it's it's And actually last year
was really unusual. We got snow last year, oh wow.
And that that that never happened, never ever happens here.
But and it was great. It was great. You couldn't
tell where the snow stopped and the sand started. You know,
it was just really really incredible to see the whole
island covered in that in that layer of snow, and
it stayed for a couple of days. But that doesn't
(12:26):
ever happen here. It's always very mild weather. It doesn't
get very cold in the winter. It's nice, nice and
warm in the summer, you know, in July and August
it's it's very very warm here that gets above a
hundred almost every day. But it's still you know, still
a great place to come and hang out and get
some sun for sure.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Well, you mentioned some of the educational historical places around
Tybee for families that are wanting to learn while they travel.
What kinds of educational opportunities are available, you know that
have to do with the history or maybe marine life
for conservation.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
Yeah, so we have I mentioned earlier. We have Fort Pulaski,
which is a great you know experience on what happened
with the fort during during wartime here in the United States.
That's a great educational trip to go on. We also
have the the Tybee Museum that our Historical Society museum
that has great uh videos and artifacts and things that
(13:28):
come from way back Tybee. Tybee is the Indian word
for salt, So this is Salt Island. There was a
native Native American UH group that lived here that called
it Salt Island, and so that's where we got our
name from. UH. So that's that's you know. We have
an old restored fort theater that's called the Tybee Post
(13:50):
Theater that is on the North End that has entertainment
all the time, plays locals, locals acting and plays that had.
We have movies there, We have all types of events there.
So there's there's a lot going on there as well.
We have the Marine Science Center, which is a very
very nice facility that's on the North Beach in the
(14:11):
North Beach parking lot. And two not this past Saturday,
with the Saturday before, we had a three year old
turtle that we had had in captivity for those three years.
His name was Westy after me, and we set him free.
We let him go. We put a we put a
radio signal on his on his back, and about a
(14:32):
thousand people gathered around and we put him in the
scene and watched him make his way out into the ocean.
And about once a week they gave us a tracking
update on the Marine Science Center's website to tell us
where west he is and how he's doing. So the
Marine Science Centers is a great, great experience for all ages.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
All right, well, this is the most important part of
the show right here, because we're going to talk about
the restaurants on TYV. I mean, this is this is
serious right here. So let's run down some of the
I mean, because it's the food is just fantastic. So
let's run down some of the restaurants that that you
recommend to families that are visiting.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Okay, well, I'm gonna start with right when you cross
the bridge, which is Lazaretta Creek. The Lazarette Creek Marina
is to your right when you cross the bridge, and
there's a restaurant, a marina, a restaurant, and a and
a market, a seafood market where you can pick up
fresh seafood and it's called it's called Bubba Gumbos. And
(15:29):
their food literally comes right off the docks. They the
fishermen that come in from the day of fishing. They're
buying those fish from these fishermen and there that's what's
that's what they've written on the chalkboard. That's that's available
to eat. That night, and it's the food is absolutely incredible.
They have some really uh it's really creative dishes, uh
(15:50):
that that you wouldn't find in other places. So that's
that's a really great experience. When you come on across
the causeway, you'll pass a little ledge and the trees
that looks kind of like a kind of like a
camp site and uh in there is a restaurant called Hookapoos,
and Hookapoos is very very well known for its pizza's wraps,
(16:15):
cold beer and entertainment on on Friday and Saturday nights,
they usually have live entertainment there. And it's just a
just a really wild place. It's it's it's it's nothing.
It's it's it's nice, but it's not at all dressy.
This is flip flops and T shirts. You know, this
is the lake crowd. The Lake crowd hangs out there.
(16:37):
As a matter of fact, we have a couple of
cab companies on Tybee and they spend most of their
time taking people from Hookapoos which is on the far
north end down to Tabrisia Street that I mentioned earlier,
where you know most of the other bars are. If
you come on around the corner on Tybee. From there
you get you get to the North Beach section and
there's the North Beach Grill. It's a jam acn style
(17:01):
eatery that's on the on the parking lot. It used
to have a great view of the ocean, but we
put dunes in to protect us from to protect us
from storms, so you can't quite see the ocean. War
but it's a great, big outdoor setting, great jerk food
and also other other types of food that that are
really good. It's a great place to hang out and
(17:22):
have drinks. Let's see. Then, well I skipped over. There's
a there's a restaurant called Zoo Zavar that's it's African
influenced food. Uh. And so that's that's another interesting twist
on different you know, different types of food we have here.
There's a couple of uh, Mexican Latino style restaurants here,
(17:45):
Chamacco's and a Gave. Those those are good as well.
We have a brew hub called Back River Brewery. We
call the river that's on the back side of the
island the Back River, even though it's really called Tybee Creek,
we call it Back River. That's the Vakriber Brewery. They
have usually at least eight fresh selections of beers that
they've created for the week, and their food is absolutely amazing,
(18:08):
completely different then you will see, you know, in any
other place that I've been to, and it's really really
incredibly good food there as well. Uh if going around
the corner you come to the deck, the deck is
in a condominium complex, but there their kitchen and restaurant
and bar is like right on the sand, so you
(18:30):
can and from there you can see the ocean. It's
a sister restaurant to another restaurant in Savannah called Collins Quarter,
which is world renowned for its creativity and food, and
it's really really a little bit more upper end type
type dining there. One of the best restaurants in all
(18:51):
of South Georgia in my opinion, is Sunday Cafe. You
would never you would never know that it's that it's
there and that it's a restaurant because is part of
a gas station and minute mark, But when you walk inside,
you you don't believe you're in that environment anymore. Steaks,
Steaks are incredible. He's very inventive, very creative. Chef aj
(19:16):
has always coming up with something special. They also usually
have you know, fresh fish that they've gotten on the docks.
But if you want a really good steak, that's that's
the place to go. That's the place to go for
a steak. And then we get down towards the south
end of the island and probably one of the most
popular places in this market and in Savannah is steam
(19:37):
raised seafood. And steam rais is traditional, you know, fried shrimp,
fried oysters, crabble legs, dungeoness crab. They have a great
crab stew and they have a great lobster bisk The
salads are good and pretty much you know, you can
bring a wide variety of ages and taste to that
restaurant and they can they can cook you know, whatever
(20:00):
you put it. If the look at the menu, you
could probably just walk in and you know, what are
you in the mood for? You know, I'd like a
I'd like a crab burger. Yep, we've got that. You know,
we'll make you a crab burger. So that anything you
can think of, they've got it. And it's all always good.
It's it's always good. They have some great they have
some great drinks that they they're on their own cocktails
that they that they make there as well. And then
(20:23):
we get down towards, uh, further towards the south end,
and there's another very nice, a little higher end restaurant
called Pier sixteen. They also have good steaks and good seafood.
It's a little bit dressier there, and uh, it's it's
great maybe if the if mom and dad want to
go out, you know, while the while the kids, you know,
stay and watch a movie that night or something. But
(20:43):
the kids you're welcome there as well. You know, it's
just a little a little bit dressier and the kids
want the kids want to take their flip flops off
or not put on shoes. Not many people wear shoes
here either. That so don't feel like, you know, no
matter where we.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Got yeah, kind of for sure. Well, I don't want
to get you in trouble, but I am curious what
some of your favorite dishes are. You don't have to
connect them to the restaurants, because I don't want to
mess with your re election campaign because that could that
could probably do it right there. But what are some
of your favorite dishes in tie On Tybee?
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Okay, I'll just start from the from let me say
with this one more restaurant of Spanky's. Oh yeah, is
the original. I honestly believe they invented the chicken finger
when I was a kid there. I mean it was they.
And they have this honey Horse Radder sauce that you
dip the chicken fingers in. Absolutely incredible. I'm not stand
on the South then, all right, so I'll go back
to the front. Bubba Gumbo is. One of their favorite
(21:39):
things at Bubba Cumbo's is they have a scallop appetizer
and the scallops are baked in this cheese cream sauce
and they're served with with toastata squares and they're just
absolutely incredible. And that's that's one of my favorite dishes there. Uh.
The Huckapoos is a piece of I talked about earlier.
(22:01):
But I like their eros. The pizzas are always good.
They like their Euros, so I always good a Ero
whenever I'm there. Zoomzabar is the African influence place. They
have a Conquista door sandwich and it's chicken and they
have the sauce they call it dank sauce. I don't
know what they do to it, but it's you know,
(22:22):
it's amazing. It's the sauce is amazing. And they also
they also fry their own chips. They're on potato chops,
so so that that comes with it, and it has
a special seasoning on the chips that's really good.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
I regret asking this because you're only five hours at
what restaurants would be open and five and I'm just kidding.
Keep going.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
North. Peach Grill has a crab asparagus salad. It's just lump.
It's just lump crab meat and asparagus on like a on,
like a betal at us, and it's it's really incredible.
There's fish bites are really good, just you know, chunks
of fish. They have this great sauce you dip in,
and then their jerk chicken is always good there as well.
(23:09):
Let's see, like I said, uh, if I'm if I'm
ready for a steak, I'll go to I'll go to
uh to Sunday Cafe. And usually, you know, we'd like
to go to Pier sixteen and get their appetizers are
so good there and there's so many different appetisers that
are really good, so we might go there and get
like three appetizers. They have oysters oysters. It's kind of
(23:31):
like an oyster's Rockefeller, but they make it with they
make it with what do they what do they make with?
It's not colar greens. You they put collar greens on
it instead of my watch is sorry and so uh
so anyway there and they put this sauce on it
and the spices and everything, and their oysters Rockefeller is
(23:53):
absolutely amazy. And then uh, let's see Spanky's chicken fingers,
sting rays, anything, anything, anything you want to order there.
It's it's going to be good anything. Oh and I
didn't talk about Fannies. Fanny's is on on down past
uh Spanky's. And it also has a great a lot
(24:14):
of great appetizers and great seafood dishes, and it has
an upstairs deck where you can see the ocean from
there to eat as well. And the drinks are very
very unique. They have a seafood pizza that you might
think that sounds weird, but it's really good. So that's
what I would eat there.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
What what about family friendly places to stay? I know,
you know, tob you've been a little smaller. I still
imagine that that you know, Verbo is popular, but you've
got hotels. What's what's some family friendly places you'd like
to call out?
Speaker 3 (24:45):
All the hotels are pretty much the same style nineteen
fifty style hotels. Some of them some of you you
you know, the doors on the park a lot and
some of you go you go to a hallway. But again,
there's no chain hotels here. There's no you can't get
a Marriotter Holiday Inn or anything like that. It's all
(25:06):
local family hotels and so and there. There there's plenty
of them. There's plenty of them. There's there's you know,
you can get those. And then the other option, of course,
is to get up the homes. Roughly half of our
homes here on Tybee are owned by Savannah families that
have second homes and there uh, they're short terminals. So
(25:28):
the market, the market for short terminals is vast. There's plenty,
plenty of options north end of the island, South, then
the back river, on the marsh, you know, on the beach.
You know, there's lots and lots of choices for for
places to stay. Uh with the with the yeah, short
terminals perfect.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Well, if a family only had a long weekend to
stay in Tybee, what would you recommend they prioritize just
to get the best of Tybee.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
No. Uh, I guess it depends upon what their interests are. Uh,
you know that there's lots, there's lots of choices. I'm
sure they're gonna want to sit on the beach, you know,
some during the day. Some people like to go to
the beach later in the day and sit through sunset,
you know, and then go get dressed and go find
some you know, some some nightlife. Other people you know
(26:17):
might like to go early, take the kids and wear
them out and then come in before it gets really hot,
you know, down on the beach and uh and maybe
cool off if you're if your rental has a pool,
if your hotel has a pool, you can pull off
in the pool, you know, while you're while you're doing that. Uh.
And then you know, it just depends on you know,
some people are active. We have pickleball culture, tennis courts.
(26:40):
You know, we have a volley volleyball nets in the park. Uh,
you know, kayaking. Like I said earlier, there's just it
just depends on what your interests are. There's anything anything
you can think of to do in nature. There's trails,
you know, all kinds of things that you can do
outdoors that are that are better than sitting inside and
watching TV, no doubt.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Well, you know, there's always some some hidden activities that
first timers either miss or just don't know about. What
are some of those on Tybee that maybe a first
time visitor just wouldn't know about.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
Well, you know that we have a pier. We have
a nice large pier that goes out into the ocean
that has fishing. They celebate at the end of the pier,
so they rent fishing poles. So if you wanted to
come and go fishing, there's a great place there to
do that. Also, on the on the Back River and
the marshes off people's you know, you can get a
home with a dock that's on the river, so you
(27:36):
can you know, you can go go there and fish
off the river. You can also swim in the back River.
It's very it's very dangerous. Please make sure you're a
good swimmer if you if you're going to swim in
the river, it drops off and gets deep very quickly
and it surprises a lot of people. Yeah, but yeah,
a lot lots of activities, you know, things you might
not think of seeing here. The roads are. I know
(28:03):
this isn't to answer your question, but the the the
interior roads are really small and it feels kind of old,
you know, old old country, old old old Europe. Maybe.
So that's why a lot of people will use golf
parts to get around, because it's it's easier than than
using a regular car. Yeah, I mean I can't. I
(28:27):
can't think of anything that you might not think would
be here.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
You got it all, that's what you're saying, right, you
got it all.
Speaker 3 (28:37):
Yeah, I might something comes to mind while we're talking.
I'll come back to it.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
Well, you know, finally you already mentioned it once, but
let's hit it again. Where can our listeners go to
learn more to start planning their own trip to Tybee?
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Visit tabbe dot com is our is our chamber of
commerce base tourism site for all the things that are
going on here. City of Tabby, Gov is also our
city website. We have activities that the city have going
on on that website as well, and uh, you know,
both will give you a great idea of all the
things you can do here.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Great well, Mayor Wes, thank you so much for coming
on and sharing your time and helping us see why
Tybee Island is a special place for families.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
Sure, thanks Rob, it was great talking to you, and
I hope to see some of your listeners out here soon.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
What a wonderful way to kick off our Chasing the
Sun series. If Tobby sounds like your kind of getaway,
check out the links and resources and our show notes
to help you start planning. And as always, remember folks,
keep your passports and your hearts open. Save travels everyone.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
I got it places in the hotel stasis.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
I'm using the.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
Buck rides and waugh A side, mountain ranges and seasonal changes.
I'm here to serve. I'm the family vacationers.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
I've got ski full on other beach preces and hotel spaces.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
Amusement park rides and waterslides.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
Mountain ranges and seasonal changes. I'm here to serve. I'm
the family vacationers. Yeah,
When the temperatures start to dip and the leaves begin
to fall, some families pack away the swimsuits and the
flip flops. But what if instead you pack them up for.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
A little extra sunshine.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Today, we're Chasing the Sun to Tybee Island, Georgia, a
family friendly beach town where warm breezes and coastal charm
make it the perfect escape from the cold.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Episode one starts right now.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Welcome to The Family Vacationer with Robin Tracy, your go
to podcast for families on the moon.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Hello everyone, and welcome back to The Family Vacationer, the
podcast that helps you create meaningful, memorable travel experiences with
the people that you love. I'm Rob and I'm so
glad you're here for Episode one nine three.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
This episode is.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Part of a series that we're going to revisit from
time to time as temperatures get a little colder in places.
It's called Chasing the Sun. When the temperatures start to
cool off in much of the country, we're gonna spotlight
some warm weather destinations where you and your family can
escape the chill and enjoy some sunshine together. We're starting
the series off with one of Georgia's Gems Tybee Island.
(01:19):
It's just minutes from Savannah, but it feels like a
world's away. Tybee's known for its history, it's laid back charm,
and of course it's wide sandy beaches that families love
year round. Before we jump in, I do want to
remind you that my book, The Family Vacationer, a parent's
Guide to Meaningful Travel, will be out this December. It's
(01:40):
packed with strategies and stories to help make family trips
more intentional and rewarding. You're gonna find out more details
in the show notes. Now, before we bring on today's guests,
let's take a quick look at Tybe's history, because it
really shapes what visitors experience today. In the late eighteen
hundreds and early nineteen hundreds, Tybee grew into a popular
(02:01):
seaside resort for Savannah families and beyond. The island became
known for its pavilions, its live music, and a boardwalk
atmosphere that made it a hub of entertainment and beach life.
By the mid twentieth century, Tybee was a go to
summer destination for families who wanted that mix of sun,
surf and relaxation. It also has some fascinating historical footnotes,
(02:24):
like its rolling coastal defense during World War Two. In
the nineteen fifty eight Tybee Bomb incident, when a US
bomber accidentally dropped a hydrogen bomb near the island. Thankfully
it wasn't armed with its nuclear core, but the story
remains part of Tybee's lore. Fast forward to today, Tybee's
worked hard to preserve its small town character. Instead of
(02:45):
high rises and commercial sprawl, you'll find colorful cottages, family
run shops, and natural spaces that invite you to slow down.
It's one of those rare places where you can feel
the history while still enjoying all the modern conveniences that fanned.
I'm so excited to welcome today's guest, Mayor Brian West,
to share insider tips and help us see why Tybee
(03:07):
is the perfect destination for families chasing the sun this season.
Mayor West, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Thank you, thanks for having me. It's great to be here.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
We are glad to have you on. So for listeners
who might.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Not be familiar with Tybee, can you just kind of
give the elevator pitch for Tybee Island? What makes this
special place compared to other beach towns.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Tybee is a is a small urban southern city on
the beach, about about fifteen miles east of Savannah. It's
the easternmost point in Georgia. Has a very unique character,
a lot of people that have lived here with their
families for many, many years. The population is only around
(03:53):
you know, well last sense is said three thousand. We
think it's close for four thousand now because we're growing.
It just a great little, laid back, low key small
town on the ocean.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Well, since this is our Chasing the Sun series, what
why do you think Tybee is such a perfect destination
for families that are trying to escape the cold as
as temperatures start to dip in the northern areas.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Well, there's a there's a lot to do here. There's
there's a there's a lot of great activities. Of course,
the main thing is the beach, and we have almost
five miles of beach. It sits at the mouth of
the Savannah River, so you can see the big container
ships coming and going, you know, while you're on the beach. Uh.
And then of course, if you if you if beaching
(04:41):
all the time is your thing, We've got some of
the best restaurants you know on the South coast. Uh.
There there are no chain restaurants here. Every restaurant is
a is a homegrown family restaurant that somebody here on
Tybee started and they're all excellent. There's all types of
varieties of different types of food. So if you like food,
(05:02):
this is a This is a great place to come
and get it. There's also a pretty pretty good night life.
There are quite a few bars that also serve food,
but at night they have karaoke or dancing or you know,
entertainment activities for for the for the adult crowd at night,
so it's a fun place to be. We have a
we have a kind of a main street that we
(05:24):
call Tabresa Street and it's where most of the activity is.
But the restaurants and bars are spread out kind of
all over the island if you want to if you're
looking for something to do with the kids. We have
a lighthouse that you can climb to the top of.
It's one hundred and eighty something steps to get to
the top and you get a beautiful panoramic view of
(05:45):
the whole place. We have companies here that Rick Golf carts,
so most people travel around on a golf cart when
they're not going across the bridge as we call it
and going back into town. So there's also kayaking, there's
jet skiing, there's dolphin tours, just all kinds of there's
(06:05):
there's a small lighthouse that's out in the opening to
the river that's historic, that's been there a long time.
That's uh you can go see that. Fort Pulaski is
right outside our door, famous Civil War for it, that
is still intact, and you can go there and look
at films about what happened there and see what, you know,
what people actually lived like during that time. I'm trying to,
(06:28):
you know, fight the Civil War. So just a lot
of big variety of a lot of different things to
do here, history, entertainment, educational things, things for the kids
to do, a lot of a lot of options.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
I'm not sure if you have teens yet, and you
understand the uh the special nature of taking teens on vacation,
but for families that do have teenagers, what kinds of
experiences might keep them engaged on tybee?
Speaker 3 (06:55):
You know that's I appreciate you say that my teens
are grown now, so uh so I do know what
it's like to have have teams. We actually had six
in our house. Oh, so I understand the importance of
them having something to do. And you know, there's uh,
all the things that I mentioned earlier, you know, they're
all they're all great things for teams to do as well.
(07:17):
But there's there are also a lot of a lot
of people, you know, kids that live here on the
island that hang out at the basketball courts and the
volleyball courts. They're surfing. Don't if they've ever tried surfing.
But we actually have a couple of different groups here
that actually teap surfing and will take you out. The
waves aren't you know, incredibly big here, and you have
(07:38):
to get them at the right time. But there is
a little the surfing you can do. So it's great
if you want to disconnect, you know, leave the cell
phones in the car and get out into nature. Uh
and you know, and it's just spend quality time with
your family. This is a great place to be.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
How does Tybee Island feel different in fall or early
winter even compared to your peak summer season.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Yeah, so my very favorite time to be here is
from like right now September to like May, because the
people who normally crowd down here during the summer, which
is the busiest, the busiest months, or June and July. People,
you know, we call them day trippers. They come in
from around the around the communities that are around us.
(08:24):
They come in for the day. They crowd the place
and pack it out, and it's great. We we love
having them here, and we and we we want them
to come and they have a great time when they're here.
But when school gets back in, they get back into
their schedules and they don't they don't come down here
as much, so it becomes kind of like it becomes
a really small, really quiet place, you know, starting in September.
(08:45):
That's kind of changing a little bit over time because
there's there's more people moving here, so it's a little
bit busier than it was when when I was a kid,
but it's it's still a great quiet My favorite favorite
time of years when it's quiet here alone. It when
when it's just you know, just us Islanders, and it's
a great time for people that want to come stay
for a week, you know, if they want to come
(09:06):
get a short term rental and stay in a stay
in a really nice home on the beach for a
week and just experience what it's like to live here.
They're really going to enjoy it. But then, you know,
when when June comes and the and the cars start
crossing the bridge again and we and we're packed out,
it's a great time to be here too. There's lots
of life, there's lots of activity, there's lots of nightlife.
(09:27):
The restaurants are packed, you know. I mean, it's just
it's a it's a great time, you know during that
time of year as well.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Are there any special events or local traditions that happened
this time of year going into in the fall into
the winter time that that visitors shouldn't miss.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Yeah. The one of the really fun things is Pirates Fest,
which is coming up the weekend of October twelfth. And
we have real, real live pirates resting justin These aren't
costumes that they wear. These are real. This is real
clothing they wear and they come for Pirates Fest. Uh.
We have bands, you know, music, we have activities for
(10:04):
the kids. There's a parade, uh, and it's just we
have a stage set up in one of the parking
lots down on the South End and there's a you know,
booth set up, there's uh you a fair type atmosphere.
And as speaking of affair, this particular year for pirates Fest,
the carnival that travels around is actually then be on
(10:25):
Tabby that same weekend, So it's going to be kind
of like a double punch for for pirates Fest this year.
After pirates Fest, after October, we have the uh you know,
annual lighting on the Christmas Tree, we have a Christmas parade,
uh and the just we try to do we try
to have some type of activity almost every weekend. Right
if you go to visit Tibby dot com you can
(10:47):
see a schedule of all types of things that we
have going on. But that's how you know, that's how
we attract people here to come come here on the weekends.
But as by you know, having these events like pirates Fest,
one of the best parades we have is in the
spring and that's the Beach Bump Parade, and it is
it is a huge water gun fight. It is the
(11:07):
people the people that are watching the parade have bazooka
guns and the people that are in the parade have
have the same types of water guns. And nobody's safe
I mean, nobody don't come here to that parade and
think you're gonna you know, you're gonna get away with
a dry day because everybody, everybody gets doused. So that's
that's a lot of fun too, that that weekend.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Well, so what is the weather like right now and
going into the fall, Like, what can families expect in
terms of packing and planning? I can answer right now,
I'm sure it's still hot. But as we get into
the fall and into winter, I'm assuming layers are probably
the way to go.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Yeah. Absolutely, it's really beautiful right here. I think the
high today was seventy nine, oh wow. And so it's
it's really really great here right now. This is unusual
for us this time of year. Normally it doesn't start
getting into the lower temperatures until like November, and then
it gets we'll have a couple of nights, you know,
(12:05):
but other than that, it's it's And actually last year
was really unusual. We got snow last year, oh wow.
And that that that never happened, never ever happens here.
But and it was great. It was great. You couldn't
tell where the snow stopped and the sand started. You know,
it was just really really incredible to see the whole
island covered in that in that layer of snow, and
it stayed for a couple of days. But that doesn't
(12:26):
ever happen here. It's always very mild weather. It doesn't
get very cold in the winter. It's nice, nice and
warm in the summer, you know, in July and August
it's it's very very warm here that gets above a
hundred almost every day. But it's still you know, still
a great place to come and hang out and get
some sun for sure.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Well, you mentioned some of the educational historical places around
Tybee for families that are wanting to learn while they travel.
What kinds of educational opportunities are available, you know that
have to do with the history or maybe marine life
for conservation.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
Yeah, so we have I mentioned earlier. We have Fort Pulaski,
which is a great you know experience on what happened
with the fort during during wartime here in the United States.
That's a great educational trip to go on. We also
have the the Tybee Museum that our Historical Society museum
that has great uh videos and artifacts and things that
(13:28):
come from way back Tybee. Tybee is the Indian word
for salt, So this is Salt Island. There was a
native Native American UH group that lived here that called
it Salt Island, and so that's where we got our
name from. UH. So that's that's you know. We have
an old restored fort theater that's called the Tybee Post
(13:50):
Theater that is on the North End that has entertainment
all the time, plays locals, locals acting and plays that had.
We have movies there, We have all types of events there.
So there's there's a lot going on there as well.
We have the Marine Science Center, which is a very
very nice facility that's on the North Beach in the
(14:11):
North Beach parking lot. And two not this past Saturday,
with the Saturday before, we had a three year old
turtle that we had had in captivity for those three years.
His name was Westy after me, and we set him free.
We let him go. We put a we put a
radio signal on his on his back, and about a
(14:32):
thousand people gathered around and we put him in the
scene and watched him make his way out into the ocean.
And about once a week they gave us a tracking
update on the Marine Science Center's website to tell us
where west he is and how he's doing. So the
Marine Science Centers is a great, great experience for all ages.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
All right, well, this is the most important part of
the show right here, because we're going to talk about
the restaurants on TYV. I mean, this is this is
serious right here. So let's run down some of the
I mean, because it's the food is just fantastic. So
let's run down some of the restaurants that that you
recommend to families that are visiting.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Okay, well, I'm gonna start with right when you cross
the bridge, which is Lazaretta Creek. The Lazarette Creek Marina
is to your right when you cross the bridge, and
there's a restaurant, a marina, a restaurant, and a and
a market, a seafood market where you can pick up
fresh seafood and it's called it's called Bubba Gumbos. And
(15:29):
their food literally comes right off the docks. They the
fishermen that come in from the day of fishing. They're
buying those fish from these fishermen and there that's what's
that's what they've written on the chalkboard. That's that's available
to eat. That night, and it's the food is absolutely incredible.
They have some really uh it's really creative dishes, uh
(15:50):
that that you wouldn't find in other places. So that's
that's a really great experience. When you come on across
the causeway, you'll pass a little ledge and the trees
that looks kind of like a kind of like a
camp site and uh in there is a restaurant called Hookapoos,
and Hookapoos is very very well known for its pizza's wraps,
(16:15):
cold beer and entertainment on on Friday and Saturday nights,
they usually have live entertainment there. And it's just a
just a really wild place. It's it's it's it's nothing.
It's it's it's nice, but it's not at all dressy.
This is flip flops and T shirts. You know, this
is the lake crowd. The Lake crowd hangs out there.
(16:37):
As a matter of fact, we have a couple of
cab companies on Tybee and they spend most of their
time taking people from Hookapoos which is on the far
north end down to Tabrisia Street that I mentioned earlier,
where you know most of the other bars are. If
you come on around the corner on Tybee. From there
you get you get to the North Beach section and
there's the North Beach Grill. It's a jam acn style
(17:01):
eatery that's on the on the parking lot. It used
to have a great view of the ocean, but we
put dunes in to protect us from to protect us
from storms, so you can't quite see the ocean. War
but it's a great, big outdoor setting, great jerk food
and also other other types of food that that are
really good. It's a great place to hang out and
(17:22):
have drinks. Let's see. Then, well I skipped over. There's
a there's a restaurant called Zoo Zavar that's it's African
influenced food. Uh. And so that's that's another interesting twist
on different you know, different types of food we have here.
There's a couple of uh, Mexican Latino style restaurants here,
(17:45):
Chamacco's and a Gave. Those those are good as well.
We have a brew hub called Back River Brewery. We
call the river that's on the back side of the
island the Back River, even though it's really called Tybee Creek,
we call it Back River. That's the Vakriber Brewery. They
have usually at least eight fresh selections of beers that
they've created for the week, and their food is absolutely amazing,
(18:08):
completely different then you will see, you know, in any
other place that I've been to, and it's really really
incredibly good food there as well. Uh if going around
the corner you come to the deck, the deck is
in a condominium complex, but there their kitchen and restaurant
and bar is like right on the sand, so you
(18:30):
can and from there you can see the ocean. It's
a sister restaurant to another restaurant in Savannah called Collins Quarter,
which is world renowned for its creativity and food, and
it's really really a little bit more upper end type
type dining there. One of the best restaurants in all
(18:51):
of South Georgia in my opinion, is Sunday Cafe. You
would never you would never know that it's that it's
there and that it's a restaurant because is part of
a gas station and minute mark, But when you walk inside,
you you don't believe you're in that environment anymore. Steaks,
Steaks are incredible. He's very inventive, very creative. Chef aj
(19:16):
has always coming up with something special. They also usually
have you know, fresh fish that they've gotten on the docks.
But if you want a really good steak, that's that's
the place to go. That's the place to go for
a steak. And then we get down towards the south
end of the island and probably one of the most
popular places in this market and in Savannah is steam
(19:37):
raised seafood. And steam rais is traditional, you know, fried shrimp,
fried oysters, crabble legs, dungeoness crab. They have a great
crab stew and they have a great lobster bisk The
salads are good and pretty much you know, you can
bring a wide variety of ages and taste to that
restaurant and they can they can cook you know, whatever
(20:00):
you put it. If the look at the menu, you
could probably just walk in and you know, what are
you in the mood for? You know, I'd like a
I'd like a crab burger. Yep, we've got that. You know,
we'll make you a crab burger. So that anything you
can think of, they've got it. And it's all always good.
It's it's always good. They have some great they have
some great drinks that they they're on their own cocktails
that they that they make there as well. And then
(20:23):
we get down towards, uh, further towards the south end,
and there's another very nice, a little higher end restaurant
called Pier sixteen. They also have good steaks and good seafood.
It's a little bit dressier there, and uh, it's it's
great maybe if the if mom and dad want to
go out, you know, while the while the kids, you know,
stay and watch a movie that night or something. But
(20:43):
the kids you're welcome there as well. You know, it's
just a little a little bit dressier and the kids
want the kids want to take their flip flops off
or not put on shoes. Not many people wear shoes
here either. That so don't feel like, you know, no
matter where we.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Got yeah, kind of for sure. Well, I don't want
to get you in trouble, but I am curious what
some of your favorite dishes are. You don't have to
connect them to the restaurants, because I don't want to
mess with your re election campaign because that could that
could probably do it right there. But what are some
of your favorite dishes in tie On Tybee?
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Okay, I'll just start from the from let me say
with this one more restaurant of Spanky's. Oh yeah, is
the original. I honestly believe they invented the chicken finger
when I was a kid there. I mean it was they.
And they have this honey Horse Radder sauce that you
dip the chicken fingers in. Absolutely incredible. I'm not stand
on the South then, all right, so I'll go back
to the front. Bubba Gumbo is. One of their favorite
(21:39):
things at Bubba Cumbo's is they have a scallop appetizer
and the scallops are baked in this cheese cream sauce
and they're served with with toastata squares and they're just
absolutely incredible. And that's that's one of my favorite dishes there. Uh.
The Huckapoos is a piece of I talked about earlier.
(22:01):
But I like their eros. The pizzas are always good.
They like their Euros, so I always good a Ero
whenever I'm there. Zoomzabar is the African influence place. They
have a Conquista door sandwich and it's chicken and they
have the sauce they call it dank sauce. I don't
know what they do to it, but it's you know,
(22:22):
it's amazing. It's the sauce is amazing. And they also
they also fry their own chips. They're on potato chops,
so so that that comes with it, and it has
a special seasoning on the chips that's really good.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
I regret asking this because you're only five hours at
what restaurants would be open and five and I'm just kidding.
Keep going.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
North. Peach Grill has a crab asparagus salad. It's just lump.
It's just lump crab meat and asparagus on like a on,
like a betal at us, and it's it's really incredible.
There's fish bites are really good, just you know, chunks
of fish. They have this great sauce you dip in,
and then their jerk chicken is always good there as well.
(23:09):
Let's see, like I said, uh, if I'm if I'm
ready for a steak, I'll go to I'll go to
uh to Sunday Cafe. And usually, you know, we'd like
to go to Pier sixteen and get their appetizers are
so good there and there's so many different appetisers that
are really good, so we might go there and get
like three appetizers. They have oysters oysters. It's kind of
(23:31):
like an oyster's Rockefeller, but they make it with they
make it with what do they what do they make with?
It's not colar greens. You they put collar greens on
it instead of my watch is sorry and so uh
so anyway there and they put this sauce on it
and the spices and everything, and their oysters Rockefeller is
(23:53):
absolutely amazy. And then uh, let's see Spanky's chicken fingers,
sting rays, anything, anything, anything you want to order there.
It's it's going to be good anything. Oh and I
didn't talk about Fannies. Fanny's is on on down past
uh Spanky's. And it also has a great a lot
(24:14):
of great appetizers and great seafood dishes, and it has
an upstairs deck where you can see the ocean from
there to eat as well. And the drinks are very
very unique. They have a seafood pizza that you might
think that sounds weird, but it's really good. So that's
what I would eat there.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
What what about family friendly places to stay? I know,
you know, tob you've been a little smaller. I still
imagine that that you know, Verbo is popular, but you've
got hotels. What's what's some family friendly places you'd like
to call out?
Speaker 3 (24:45):
All the hotels are pretty much the same style nineteen
fifty style hotels. Some of them some of you you
you know, the doors on the park a lot and
some of you go you go to a hallway. But again,
there's no chain hotels here. There's no you can't get
a Marriotter Holiday Inn or anything like that. It's all
(25:06):
local family hotels and so and there. There there's plenty
of them. There's plenty of them. There's there's you know,
you can get those. And then the other option, of course,
is to get up the homes. Roughly half of our
homes here on Tybee are owned by Savannah families that
have second homes and there uh, they're short terminals. So
(25:28):
the market, the market for short terminals is vast. There's plenty,
plenty of options north end of the island, South, then
the back river, on the marsh, you know, on the beach.
You know, there's lots and lots of choices for for
places to stay. Uh with the with the yeah, short
terminals perfect.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Well, if a family only had a long weekend to
stay in Tybee, what would you recommend they prioritize just
to get the best of Tybee.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
No. Uh, I guess it depends upon what their interests are. Uh,
you know that there's lots, there's lots of choices. I'm
sure they're gonna want to sit on the beach, you know,
some during the day. Some people like to go to
the beach later in the day and sit through sunset,
you know, and then go get dressed and go find
some you know, some some nightlife. Other people you know
(26:17):
might like to go early, take the kids and wear
them out and then come in before it gets really hot,
you know, down on the beach and uh and maybe
cool off if you're if your rental has a pool,
if your hotel has a pool, you can pull off
in the pool, you know, while you're while you're doing that. Uh.
And then you know, it just depends on you know,
some people are active. We have pickleball culture, tennis courts.
(26:40):
You know, we have a volley volleyball nets in the park. Uh,
you know, kayaking. Like I said earlier, there's just it
just depends on what your interests are. There's anything anything
you can think of to do in nature. There's trails,
you know, all kinds of things that you can do
outdoors that are that are better than sitting inside and
watching TV, no doubt.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Well, you know, there's always some some hidden activities that
first timers either miss or just don't know about. What
are some of those on Tybee that maybe a first
time visitor just wouldn't know about.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
Well, you know that we have a pier. We have
a nice large pier that goes out into the ocean
that has fishing. They celebate at the end of the pier,
so they rent fishing poles. So if you wanted to
come and go fishing, there's a great place there to
do that. Also, on the on the Back River and
the marshes off people's you know, you can get a
home with a dock that's on the river, so you
(27:36):
can you know, you can go go there and fish
off the river. You can also swim in the back River.
It's very it's very dangerous. Please make sure you're a
good swimmer if you if you're going to swim in
the river, it drops off and gets deep very quickly
and it surprises a lot of people. Yeah, but yeah,
a lot lots of activities, you know, things you might
not think of seeing here. The roads are. I know
(28:03):
this isn't to answer your question, but the the the
interior roads are really small and it feels kind of old,
you know, old old country, old old old Europe. Maybe.
So that's why a lot of people will use golf
parts to get around, because it's it's easier than than
using a regular car. Yeah, I mean I can't. I
(28:27):
can't think of anything that you might not think would
be here.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
You got it all, that's what you're saying, right, you
got it all.
Speaker 3 (28:37):
Yeah, I might something comes to mind while we're talking.
I'll come back to it.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
Well, you know, finally you already mentioned it once, but
let's hit it again. Where can our listeners go to
learn more to start planning their own trip to Tybee?
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Visit tabbe dot com is our is our chamber of
commerce base tourism site for all the things that are
going on here. City of Tabby, Gov is also our
city website. We have activities that the city have going
on on that website as well, and uh, you know,
both will give you a great idea of all the
things you can do here.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Great well, Mayor Wes, thank you so much for coming
on and sharing your time and helping us see why
Tybee Island is a special place for families.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
Sure, thanks Rob, it was great talking to you, and
I hope to see some of your listeners out here soon.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
What a wonderful way to kick off our Chasing the
Sun series. If Tobby sounds like your kind of getaway,
check out the links and resources and our show notes
to help you start planning. And as always, remember folks,
keep your passports and your hearts open. Save travels everyone.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
I got it places in the hotel stasis.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
I'm using the.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
Buck rides and waugh A side, mountain ranges and seasonal changes.
I'm here to serve. I'm the family vacationers.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
I've got ski full on other beach preces and hotel spaces.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
Amusement park rides and waterslides.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
Mountain ranges and seasonal changes. I'm here to serve. I'm
the family vacationers. Yeah,
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