My Middle School Tybee Island Field Trip

When I was in the 7th grade, my class went on a 24-hour field trip to Tybee Island, Georgia. Outside of going to Disney World, it's the fondest of the few vacation experiences I've had. Here's how I remember it:

We had to be at the school, ready to get on the bus, at some godawful hour of the morning before the sun was even up. I don't remember how long it took us, but when we reached Savannah, we went on an opera house tour and we took a short bus tour over the cobbled streets around town to see some of the old cemeteries. They all looked very similar, with a statue greeting you near the entrance behind the gates/walls as you look through. Finally, we crossed the bridge to get to Tybee Island.

We stayed in a wooden lodge with palm trees and a small snack booth out front. I was particularly fond of the small bags of potato chips and chocolate candy bars.

Boys and girls were separated for sleeping arrangements, and we slept in wooden bunk beds for our overnight stay. I had a hard time getting to sleep -- it was the first time I'd shared a room with anyone besides my sister or my cousins during a sleepover. It didn't help that we had a snorer in our group of girls... it was also one of the first times I'd heard anyone snore, and she was particularly loud and had a funny pattern to her snoring. I think I spent about 20 minutes struggling not to laugh out loud (and not succeeding very much)... and I wasn't the only one.

One activity that I didn't do then that I wish I'd done now is take the walking tour through the local marsh. I didn't bring good shoes for the marsh and was afraid of losing one of both of them, because our guide had warned us that we'd go knee-deep (and beyond) in some places. In addition, she also mentioned that we might see hermit crabs who like to live in holes on top of the muddy surface. I wasn't thrilled with the image of being stuck in mud up to my thighs with hermit crabs crawling towards me, so I chickened out.

By far my favorite activity during our stay on Tybee Island was visiting the beach and seeing the ocean. We walked up a long, sandy path to get out to the open water. I remember hearing the waves before I could see the water and the excitement kept building in me as we got closer and closer.

Seeing the vast expanse of water stretching beyond the horizon has been one of my favorite sights ever since, and it's one I want to see multiple times in my lifetime. We found a large, empty shell half buried in the sand and could hear the ocean loud and clear when we put it up to our ears. I took off my shoes and walked to where the waves were lapping at the shore and could feel the sand shifting beneath my bare feet and the cool breeze hitting my face.

We went back to the beach at night, and the cool breeze had become a fierce wind. Sand was blowing everywhere, including into our faces. We saw people actually trying to camp out on the shore with campfire flames blowing every which way.

I plan on going back to Tybee Island and visiting some of the other Georgia islands one day, with the dream of spending a few days every year living by the ocean side. Maybe I'll even finally face my "fear" and go on that marsh tour after all.