But on our Tybee Island bus tour on Monday, May 15, 2023, we got to see a bit more of the island (although still not much of the south end), even though -- curiously -- the first 40 minutes of the tour was spent driving past some important places in the historic district. Once we reached the island, the first stop was for lunch -- at the Crab Shack. (That's a portion of the exterior you see in the photo leading off the post).
It is unlike any other restaurant I'd been to before. That was partly because its space for diners is expansive (I don't think there was any risk that we wouldn't get a table). But the grounds also has an area set aside for alligators -- yes, the real things -- and for visitors to view those gators from a safe, elevated perch.
There are also exotic birds living in quarters elsewhere on the grounds, and there is a decent-sized gift shop (surprise!) there, too. I didn't make it to the exotic birds, but I did make stops at the alligator quarters and gift shop as the photos below will attest. I took shots of the view of a waterway near our outdoor seats (first photo below) and a black bird (possibly a crow) that perched on a tree limb near our table during the meal.
I took countless pictures of the grounds simply because of how different this place is. That's what the majority of the photos you see in this post are about.
If I had one regret about the visit there, it's that the food was not all that great.
As you might expect, seafood items dominate the menu, but I was not in a mood for seafood that day, so I had barbecued chicken (first photo below), which for some reason did appeal to me when I saw it on the menu. It came with cole slaw, corn and toast. Unfortunately, much of the chicken was dry. There were a few portions that were decent, but not nearly enough as I expected. The coleslaw was unsatisfyingly bland.
Lee Ann ordered the Low Country Boil, essentially a platter of items you'd find in a shrimp boil -- shrimp, potatoes and sausage. But her "boil" plate also came with crab legs. Both of our meals had plenty of food, and Lee Ann's was considerably voluminous. So much so that she begged me to take some.
She didn't care for the sausage in the boil (I found it okay, but nothing outstanding). And while the shrimp was okay, you had to peel the shells off them, and given how many shrimp she got, it got frustrating and tiring after a while. I swear I ate at least a dozen myself, and I know she ate quite a few.
I don't know what any of the other folks on our bus had to eat; curiously, nobody talked about the meal or the eatery afterward. I couldn't help if that was because everyone was abiding the old saying that if you don't have anything nice to say about something, just say nothing at all.
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