DEJA VU . . .

Here we go again. Almost three years ago to the week Tim and I were in Charleston with Roxy when the weather didn't seem just right. Once we checked the local forecast we found that Tropical Storm Andrea was headed straight for us. One choice we had was to head north but we would only be traveling with the storm in the same direction. We decided to pickp-up anchor driving home straight through it because we knew staying in Lowcountry would be worse. 

Moving forward almost exactly three years (minus a week) here we are in Savannah with Jett. Today while texting a dear friend she mentioned that a Tropical Depression just formed off the coast. Whaaat!? If named it will be Bonnie. Deja vu for sure! Guess we may turn on a TV soon to check local forecasts and make a decision late tomorrow if we need to pull up anchor again. 

With all that said we did have a relaxing day today. First up was moving. It would be the shortest move we have made this trip ... Approximately 100 feet! I actually had two reservations for this stop. Originally we were to depart today but in rethinking the holiday I made an additional reservation that would take us through the holiday weekend. Good thing because we like this campground! Otherwise if we didn't we could have returned home today. 

After settling from our big move, most of which was done by hand, we had a quick lunch then off to Wormsloe Historic State Site. Located not far from camp is this magnificent piece of property. If the stone arched entrance doesn't grab your attention the next mile and a half of 400 moss-draped oak trees will. 

Formerly known as the Wormsloe Plantation the 822 acres now belong to the state. Established in 1737 by Noble Jones. Some ruins remain of the original Tabby House. In 1828 Jones' grandson built a still standing plantation home on the property that is still occupied by their descendants and not open to the public. Just a magnificent and majestic place to come visit. 

Our day then ended with getting a pizza to go from the nearby Village Bar and Grill, meeting our camp hosts from Florida and then spending a nice evening in my hammock. Life is good!!!

OH NO! THEY DIDN'T?!

So listen to this . . . On February 5th, 1958 there was an incident. An F-86 fighter collided with an B-47 offshore of Tybee Island. In case they crashed and to save the aircrew if the B-47 did crash they jettisoned the 7,600 pound Mark 15 nuclear bomb that was on board. Yup. There have been unsuccessful searches for it. It's still out there . . . somewhere in Wassaw Sound off the shores of Tybee Island. Whaaaat!? 

Today Tim and I went to, you guessed it, Tybee Island. Not to look for a nuclear bomb but to check out a few other things out there. First we made a quick stop at the Tybee Island Lighthouse. Found out they are not dog friendly nor are any of the beaches there. It's a $290 fine if caught on the beach with your dog. We did however find a nice little hidden dog park on Tybee Island right behind the police station. 

One very interesting stop we made out there, that is very dog friendly, is Fort Pulaski. It's designated as a National Monument. Construction began in 1829. Cost $1 million and took 25 million bricks to do it. With walls that are 7 1/2 feet thick and made of solid brick it was believed to be unbreachable. During the Civil War and with new technology the Union army used rifled cannon and compelled the Confederate troops inside Fort Pulaski to surrender. The siege was a landmark experiment in the history of military science and invention.

Fort Pulaski was a very interesting stop. The architectural work and thick mass of the walls is pretty impressive. There is plenty to see and explore. It even has a moat and drawbridge. It's a special place and glad that it is being preserved. 

Just so happens that a place called The Crab Shack was right down the street. A friend had recommended us stop in there while we were in town. Actually she made us promise to stop. So we did. WOW! What a find!!!  Because it's a little off the beaten path you would never know this place exists unless you did a search for top restaurants or unless a trusted friend recommended it. What fun we had! It's very pet friendly. Jett got a lot of attention especially after she ate the bowl that they brought her water in . . . Jett happens! 

SQUARES OF SAVANNAH . . .

Wednesday, May 25th, 2016

Wednesday totally got away from us. Between getting up late, touring around town, getting a bite to eat and then finally watching MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL it was after eleven last night by the time I even thought about a blog post. At that point I decided it could wait. Zzzzz ...

Trolley tour day! Tim and I bit the bullet and took the Old Town Trolley Tour. It was fun, maybe a bit long but what a great way to see Savannah's historic district and learn a good bit of history along the way. Our driver, Cindy, was a hoot! She knows everything and pointed out many famous homes, museums and filming locations including some from SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT with Julia Roberts, FORREST GUMP with Tom Hanks, GENERAL'S DAUGHTER with John Travolta and of course MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL with John Cusack and Kevin Spacey. 

FORRST GUMP ... Box of Chocolates location! 

One of the things about taking a trolley tour is you get a feel for the town, so you can decide what you may want to come back to visit, and you get the big picture of Oglethorpe's Plan. The trolley tour took us past 14 of the squares. General James Oglethorpe was sent in 1733 as a representative of King George II to the American colonies to create a buffer south of the Savannah River to protect the Carolinas.  

The original plan allowed growth and by 1851 there were 24 squares. A square was developed with eight surrounding blocks known as a ward. Today 22 of the 24 squares still exist. Each square is named in honor of a person, persons or historical event. The layout, green space and sense of community within each ward and square is amazing and each an experience of its own. And to have so many! 

After our famous trolley ride Tim and I walked a little checking out a few places to visit later in the week then we grabbed a bite to eat at the Savannah Distillery Ale House. It turned out to be a great stop after a long day. The cold craft beer (because that's all they serve here ... Just craft. No crap.) yummy soup and great fish tacos hit the spot. 

When we finally got back to the Airstream Jett was fit to be tied. Yesterday was a day we had to leave her behind. The trolley tour was one thing we couldn't take her on due to a size restriction. This time she exceeded the size! She was happy to see us. We took her for another long walk then settled in for the evening staying up late to finally watch my movie! 

PRETEND LIKE ITS THE WEEKEND NOW ...

And we can pretend it all the time. 

I could go on with those lyrics from Jack Johnson's BANANA PANCAKES but it's not raining so instead I'll just show ya a couple of pictures from this mornings breakfast. Since we cooked outside, in the most perfect of weather conditions, I do believer the banana pancakes tasted twice as good as ever before. Jett even crashed pretending like it was the weekend as well while we ate. 

Finally before I burst from excitement we arrived back in historic Savannah. Tim and I decided to begin exploring the southern wards near Forsyth Park and Monterey Square. Looks like no Public Garage Parking for our truck with kayaks up top!

In finding rock-star street parking right on Monterey Square by the Mercer House we grabbed it while we could. First up was exploring the Square and walking around the Mercer House which is a museum.  The Mercer House is most famous from the movie MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL (one of my fave) directed by Clint Eastwood. I just couldn't help thinking ... where did they park the equipment trucks? Catering? Craft Service? PAs? Where did the crew have to park? Shuttles for crew? We ran out of time to watch the movie last night so maybe tonight we can make it happen! 

Next up was walking one block south to Forsyth Park. So amazingly beautiful! Tim and I just casually strolled through this amazing historic park with Jett as she enjoyed meeting new friends. We have a few parks within just a couple of blocks from our house back home. Wow! We can really appreciate them being so close but they are so not the caliber of what there is to offer here in historic Savannah. 

The distinctive and famous fountain and the Confederate Memorial make it a must see when visiting Savannah. Forsyth Park has grown over the years, currently at 30 acres in size, it is also the largest park in the historic district of Savannah. 

Since the meter was running and we still had time to spare we decided to explore Calhoun and Whitfield Squares as well. More on the layout of Savannah and the squares later in the week and how the original plan of the city was known as the Oglethorpe Plan. 

 

SAVANNAH, OH MY!!!

Well we made it! Barely. More on that in a bit. When daybreak came across the lake in South Carolina Tim and I were able to take Jett for a nice long walk to explore the park before we left. What a great little place. Hidden gem of South Carolina for sure. We have put this on our must return list. Little Pee Dee State Park would even be a great place to spend a week or few days on a long quiet weekend to get away. 

Back to our arrival in Savannah . . .since we were coming from the north Lee Garminita had us cut over sooner cutting the corner and saving us time and miles. The route was great until we realized she was taking us right through historic downtown while towing the Airstream. It was a tad bit of a nail biting experience. Oh and then that road abruptly became a construction zone with the ROAD CLOSED!!! Good times. 

When we finally got turned around there was no other choice but to head back into town. Then travel across town while towing the Airstream to get around this closure. Only to find the next ramp over, that we needed in order to get on the interstate, where we were headed for in the first place was . . . you guessed it closed off due to construction. After we took more back roads through multiple neighborhoods paralleling the interstate we finally got on the interstate and safely to our final destination of the day. 

Yea!!! Phewwww. Here we are now at Skidaway Island State Park in Savannah. We have only been to the campground so far and will begin exploring tomorrow. Tim and I hope the rest of our time here will be better than how it started today. Savannah has been the one stop on this adventure that I have been most excited about. I can't wait to get into the historic downtown area. Skidaway is a very lovely park with tall pines and moss draped oaks. The site we are in I think is the best one in the entire park and a good guess would estimate it at 150' in length. Just gorgeous!!!

 

And . . . 

;-)))