The original cottage was of concrete block and 1200 sq. ft. The porches were enclosed and it became 2200 sq. ft. When the third generation started graduating from college, an attached apartment was added and Jo-Vel became 3500 sq. ft.

During the spring of 2003, Jo-Vel underwent a large spruce-up and updating. The kitchen was remodeled, split upstairs/downstairs A/C systems installed, new energy windows, floating flooring and inside/outside painting.  A new driveway was poured.
Jo-Vel is currently furnished (?) with “family hand-me-downs” and is user friendly (hard to break – just don’t sit on the furniture when wet).

There are some Camp Jordan Johnson WW II army cots in the cottage!  Adding the attached efficiency apartment made it a great Three Generation Cottage. John and Velva required “may I’s” from their grandchildren to come up to visit.

If you are interested in good family fun at a cottage that has seen a lot of family fun and that can take your kids, come and enjoy our family cottage this summer. Jo-Vel is a Family Cottage and is not available for partying. Don’t expect wall-to-wall carpeting (it hides sand spurs), night life (there’s none) or crowds (at the Point, 3 outsiders seem a crowd). If you want birds, gulls (toss them bread from the deck), porpoises and sunsets, come to Jo-Vel Cottage. For the glitzy and partying, Go West, my friend, Go West.
We want to emphasize that Jo-Vel Cottage was designed as, and still is, a family retreat. It is not fancy, nor was it designed for the fancy tourist trade. It is for fun and relaxation and hard to hurt. 90%+ of our guests there have loved it and wanted to come back. It is a Cottage of 300 sunrises/sunsets (there are some cloudy days).

We want to emphasize that Jo-Vel Cottage was designed as, and still is, a family retreat. It is not fancy, nor was it designed for the fancy tourist trade. It is for fun and relaxation and hard to hurt. 90%+ of our guests there have loved it and wanted to come back. It is a Cottage of 300 sunrises/sunsets (there are some cloudy days).
Jo-Vel is a light housekeeping rental. The renters are requested to keep it and leave it sand swept (vacuum) clean, dishes cleaned and the refrigerator(s) cleared out. If you decided to borrow the family linens, we’re glad you did (sorry, by law we can’t rent them to you), but, please, leave them on the table in the laundry room. If you used the towels, please leave them washed and folded in the laundry room.
Cottage rules and Franklin County Turtle Rules (we have tinted the gulf side windows to relieve worry over direct lights) are contained in the information booklet in the kitchen. Email to make a reservation request or for a rental application.