What do you do when you have a wonderful oceanfront Southern city, but have no significant beaches?

If you are Savannah, Ga., you simply borrow one from just down the road.

Savannah is a fantastic city with numerous attractions, but no significant sand for visitors to frolic on.

Tybee Island is only about 15 miles north of Savannah and has dozens of miles of beautiful white sand beaches, so Savannah sort of adopted Tybee Island as its beach attraction. Some official Savannah literature even refers to Tybee as Savannah's beach.

And back in the 1950s, Tybee folks even went along with the idea, officially changing its name to Savannah Beach.

But Tybee kept growing and eventually became a tourist attraction unto itself and so the name was soon changed back to Tybee Island.

Now, Tybee has grown up and can hold its own as a legitimate travel destination.

Tybee officials call their strip of sand and sea "perhaps the most laid-back location on the southeastern coast."

Here's more of how Tybee looks at itself:

"On this uniquely charmed island, nature lovers mingle with movie stars, bird watchers and good ol boys. Pirate raids are regular happenings. There are parties of epic proportions and silent beach sunrises. And everyone on Tybee Island, from townie to tourist, watches out for the sea turtles.

"There are miles of beach; forts and museums and a great old lighthouse; endangered birds and other animal species; kayaks and bikes to rent (along with all kinds of hotels, motels, cottage and condo rentals too). Days on Tybee Island are as active, or lazy, as mood demands. Local galleries, shops and restaurants offer changes of pace and taste. And, of course, historic Savannah is nearby.

"Tybee Island is the beautiful barrier island on "he Georgia Coast that ancient Indians named \"salt\" (duh bee in the old Euchee tongue)¡ªand a place you'll wish that you, too, had discovered long ago."

Tybee's population is only about 3,700 and there is only a handful of traffic lights.

It is the easternmost point in the state of Georgia. The entire island is a part of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Tybee has dozens of hotels and restaurants, offering seafoods and all other types of culinary delights. If you are a pizza lover you might want to check out Pizza On Wheels on Highway 80 just off Butler Avenue. The little hole-in-the-wall sort of place has been around for eons and offers the best pizza this side of New York City, and at reasonable prices.

Many visitors rate the red-roofed DeSoto Hotel, 212 Butler Ave., as the best -- or one of the best -- hotels on Tybee Island. The three-story hotel has 37 rooms, with six direct oceanfront rooms with private balconies, 18 side view rooms with community nalcony, and 12 King Ocean View rooms with private balconies, and a suite/conference room with a 36-foot private balcony ocean view. The hotel has been voted #1 on Tybee Island for customer service and cleanliness. For hotel info: (877) 786-4542 Local Phone: (912) 786-4542, Fax (912) 786-4543, Email: [email protected]

And if you can't get enough exercise from swimming, beachwalking or bikeriding the Tybee Island YMCA is right smack in the middle of town off Butler Ave. There, visitors will find dozens of weight and running devices and a full gymnasium, allowing you to sweat to your heart's content for a visitor guest fee of $5 per day.

The small island, which has long been a quiet getaway for the residents of Savannah, has become a popular vacation spot with tourists from much of the Southeast. Tybee Island is also home to the first of what became the Days Inn chain of hotels, the oft-photographed Tybee Island Light Station, and the Fort Screven Historic District.

Every year since 1987 Tybee Island has had an annual Beach Bum parade, traditionally held in May. The parade route comes down the main road in Tybee, Butler Avenue, and when parade floats come by onlookers have been known to shoot each other with water-guns.

The island has several big events each year, with one of the biggest, the Fourth Annual Tybee Wine Festival, set for (Thursday) April 12 through (Sunday) April 15, 2012.

This year, the Tybee Wine Festival will feature four fun-filled events offering something for everyone, from wine lovers to culinary enthusiasts. Presented by the Tybee Post Theater, this popular annual event features exceptional food and wine.

"The Tybee Island Wine Festival offers the ultimate Tybee experience at the height of spring," said festival organizer Cindy Meyer. "The setting on the lighthouse grounds provides the perfect backdrop for this spring event. This event features exceptional food and wine -- as well as cool island breezes -- and is always a sell-out."

Tickets for all events are available online at www.TybeeWineFestival.com or by calling 912-663-1099. Combination tickets and member discounts are available.


2012 TYBEE WINE FESTIVAL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS


Thursday, April 12 at 11:30 a.m.

SEAFOOD SCHOOL

From Daufuskie to Tybee

Tybee Lite Shrine Club

1 Meddin Avenue, Tybee Island


Having trouble cooking that perfect fish, making a smooth roux or giving your favorite seafood dishes just the right kick of seasoning? Seafood School has the answers, featuring five local seafood stars:

"Martha Nesbit -- This popular food writer and author of three Savannah cookbooks will share the tricks of preparing the perfect pan-fried flounder.

"Damon Fowler- Cookbook author and culinary director of Kitchenware Outfitters will show off one of his favorites, Sherried Shrimp.

"Pat Hackney- Pat has studied food around the world and teaches cooking classes. Her favorite is preparing treasures from the Georgia Coast, including a special Oyster Bisque.

"Bonnie Gaster- kown as Tybee's Seafood Diva, Bonnie has developed the perfect Gumbo recipe, chocked full of fabulous seafood.

"Sallie Ann Robinson -- Sallie Ann grew up on Daufuskie, enjoying the island's bountiful seafood. Her featured dish is Shrimp and Grits from her new book, Gullah Home Cooking the Daufuskie Way.

A tasting luncheon of the foods demonstrated and a Festival gift bag (with a wine glass and copies of all recipes) is also included.

Tickets - $45


Friday, April 13 from 6 p.m. ¨C 8 p.m.

AN EVENING OF OYSTERS AND WINE

Marlin Monroe's

404 Butler Avenue, Tybee Island

Marlin Monroe's will once again serve up an evening of oyster delicacies paired with perfect wines in a colorful and tropical setting. The event will include a live auction and music.

Tickets - $40


Saturday, April 14 from 2 p.m. ¨C 5 p.m.

GRAND WINE TASTING

Tybee Island Lighthouse Grounds

30 Meddin Drive, Tybee Island

The Tybee Wine Festival's signature event -- featuring tasting and samplings of international wine, craft beers and morsels from favorite eateries on Tybee Island and nearby areas -- set on the beautiful grounds of the historic Tybee Island Light Station. This event also includes a silent auction, live music and a limited edition 2012 Tybee Wine Festival glass.

Tickets - $50


Sunday, April 15 at 12:30 p.m.

CHAMPAGNE BRUNCH

Tybee Lite Shrine Club

1 Meddin Avenue, Tybee Island

The Tybee Wine Festival closes with an extraordinary champagne tasting and sit-down brunch, surrounded by the fresh air and breezes of the Atlantic Ocean. Champagne tasting will begin at 12:30 p.m. Brunch, including a mimosa bar and dessert bar, will be served at 1 p.m.

Tickets - $35


The Friends of the Tybee Theater, Inc., is a 501 (3) (c) non-profit corporation dedicated to the transformation of the Post Theater into an operating performing arts and cultural center that will be an integral part of the community, enhance Tybee¡¯s cultural experience, attract visitors and improve the local quality of life. For more information about the Tybee Post Theater, visit www.tybeeposttheater.org.


For more information about Tybee Island, visit www.tybeevisit.com or call 912.786.5444.


Tybee Island's Most Recent Accolades:

"Best Beaches for Families" -- Parents Magazine

"Top 10 Vacation Rental Hotspots for 2010 - TripAdvisor

"Top 10 City Beaches in America - AOL

"#1 Healthiest Beach in America - Health Magazine


"Readers' Choice Best Beach¡" - Georgia Magazine


Best One Tank Trip¡" - Atlanta Journal Constitution

"Best Beach Retreat¡" - Creative Loafing Atlanta

"Bicycle Friendly Community" -- League of American Bicyclists

"Best Day Trip and Most Fun Place to Take the Kids" -- Savannah Magazine

For history buffs, here is how Tybee Island came into existence and some interesting background:

Native Americans, using dugout canoes to navigate the waterways, hunted and camped in Georgia's coastal islands for thousands of years. The Euchee tribe likely inhabited the island in the years preceding the arrival of the first Spanish explorers in the area in the 16th century. "Tybee" is the Euchee word for "salt."

In 1520, the Spanish laid claim to what is now Tybee Island and named it Los Bajos. It was at the northern end of the Guale missionary province of Spanish Florida. During that time the island was frequented by pirates who used the island to hide from those who pursued them. Pirates later used the island¡¯s inland waterways for a fresh water source. After the founding of South Carolina in 1670, warfare increased between the English and their pirate allies and the Spanish and their Native American allies. In 1702, James Moore of South Carolina led an invasion of Spanish Florida with an Indian army and a fleet of pirates. The invasion failed to take the capital of Florida, St. Augustine, but did destroy the Guale and Mocama missionary provinces. After another invasion of Spanish Florida by South Carolina in 1704, the Spanish retreated to St. Augustine and Pensacola; the Sea Islands were depopulated, allowing the establishment of new English settlements such as the colony of Georgia. In 1733 English settlers led by James Oglethorpe settled on Tybee Island before moving on to settle eventually in Savannah.

Tybee Island's strategic position near the mouth of the Savannah River has made the island's northern tip the ideal location for a lighthouse since Georgia's early settlement period. First built in the year 1736, the lighthouse was made of brick and wood, and stood 90 feet tall, making it the highest structure in America at that time. The original lighthouse has been replaced several times. The second lighthouse was built in 1742 when beach erosion threatened the first. Part of the third lighthouse at the site, built in 1773, still stands as the bottom 60 feet (18 m) of the present lighthouse. The top 94 feet (29 m) of the current lighthouse were added in 1867.[5]

Today, the Tybee Lighthouse is a popular tourist destination, having all of its support buildings on the 5-acre site historically preserved. The current black and white tower markings are a reversion to its fourth day mark, first used in 1916. The Tybee Island Light Station is one of just a handful of 18th century lighthouses still in operation in North America.

During the American Civil War, the Union Army placed siege batteries along the north coast of Tybee Island that aided in their successful bombardment and capture of Fort Pulaski on April 10¨C11, 1862. This was the first significant use of rifled cannons against masonry fortifications and demonstrated that masonry fortifications were obsolete. Recently, the City of Tybee Island has taken action to commemorate Tybee's historic significance in the Civil War. In 2005, the city obtained a federal grant to acquire two tracts of land where Union soldiers launched their attack against Fort Pulaski.

Fort Screven was first commissioned in 1899 and was named for Brigadier General James Screven, a Revolutionary War hero who was killed in action near Midway, Georgia, in 1778. The Fort served as a valuable part of coastal defense until it was decommissioned in 1947. Fort Screven is most notable for one of its former commanding officers, General of the Army George C. Marshall, later the architect of the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild Western Europe after World War II. Very little remains of the original fort due to redevelopment of the area for housing. One of the most important remaining structures is the Tybee Post Theater which was constructed in 1930. It was one of the first theaters in Georgia to have sound features and was the highlight of recreational activities for the fort. Other remaining buildings include the recently restored guard house, the bakery (now a private home), and barracks (now apartments). The ruins of the beach fortifications are also extant, and of the six original batteries, Battery Garland (built in 1899) is accessible to the public. Battery Garland houses the Tybee Museum and several cannons and other military hardware are on display. Another remaining area is Officer's Row, an impressive group of original homes that had a sweeping an ocean view. One of these homes is now a bed and breakfast.

In the late 19th century, at the height of the Industrial Revolution, residents in large, polluted cities frequently sought out remote beaches for summertime getaways. Clear, saltwater breezes were believed to be remedies for various ailments, including asthma and certain allergies. Steamships began carrying patients and tourists to Tybee Island just after the Civil War. In 1887, the Central of Georgia Railroad completed a line to Tybee Island, opening the island to a wave of summer tourists. The railroad built the Tybrisa Pavilion in 1891, and by the end of the decade, several hundred summer cottages dotted the island.

In the 1920s, U.S. Route 80 was completed, connecting Tybee Island via road with the mainland. The Tybrisa Pavilion became a popular stop for Big Band tours, and development pushed toward the island's southern tip. By 1940, the island had four hotels, including the Desoto Hotel and Hotel Tybee, and numerous smaller lodges. The Tybrisa Pavilion burned in 1967, and was replaced by the Tybee Pier and Pavilion in 1996.

On February 5, 1958, a U.S. Air Force B-47 Stratojet from Homestead Air Force Base, Florida jettisoned a nuclear weapon (specifically, a Mark 15 hydrogen bomb) off the coast of Tybee Island while conducting training exercises with a USAF F-86 Sabrejet. The two aircraft collided, with the pilot of the fighter ejecting and the crew of the bomber making an emergency landing at nearby Hunter Air Force Base. The lost weapon, known popularly as the "Tybee Bomb", remained a security concern for several years, although the Air Force claims the bomb lacks a nuclear capsule and does not pose a serious threat. In 2004, retired United States Air force Lieutenant Colonel Derek Duke took part in a private search for the bomb. According to an article in the Savannah Morning News, Duke concluded that there were ¡°high levels of radiation and unusual magnetometer readings¡± at a specific point in Wassaw Sound, just off the Tybee coast. Duke concluded, from these readings, that the bomb might be present ¡°at a point just off the southern tip of Little Tybee,¡± an undeveloped barrier island near Tybee Island. In response, the Air Force launched a nine-month search for the Tybee bomb in 2004. The search team specifically investigated the area of Wassaw Sound in which Duke had located high radiation levels. The Air Force reported to the media in 2005 that the source of the high radiation is likely to be monazite, a sand which is naturally high in radiation. The Savannah Morning News headline ran ¡°Duke Found Dirt.¡±

This story was published on 02 Mar 2012.