BACK TO THE HOME-FRONT . . .

We made it! It was a toasty 94* as we crossed the state line from Georgia into Florida. Then the temperature kept going back and forth between 94* and 97* as we drove south. Settling at 91* on our arrival home. 

Tim and I made it home around 4:30 PM today. We are glad to be home and so is Jett. She ran and ran in the backyard as soon as she was let loose. Now the major cleanup begins. Not sure of our next travels but hopefully it will be back into cooler weather when it does happen! 

WHODAHELLIZDAT?

Someone has not shaved in just over a month! Guess who? Just a 'little' gray I've been telling him. I think he likes it and I do too. Well, as far as today goes it was spent not doing much. 

Tim and I decided not to leave camp but to instead continue to enjoy our last day here in this spectacular park. Skidaway Island turned out to be an amazing find and very quiet on this holiday as most everyone departed this morning. We spent most of it discussing our future and what it holds. There will be major changes in what's left of the year to come. Life is indeed good! 

The Homefront has many projects waiting to be done and we have started to prioritize that list . . .

The day turned out to be fantastic as I got more hammock time. Weather is perfect. Jett enjoyed being outside with us as well and Tim took care of everything we needed. We only left camp a few times (at least Tim did 2x) as I was busy (in the hammock). We all did make it to the camp office where Jett was invited in! Jett happens . . . 

On our last night out, here at camp, we had our favorite foil pack dinner which is smoked sausage, potatoes, fresh carrots and sugar snaps. Then we enjoyed a toasty campfire for the evening. Perfect ending to a relaxing perfect day! 

Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to all who are serving, have served and to those families who have lost loved ones serving our country. 

DAFFIN PARK . . .

Today turned out to be a rainy day. It rained most of last night but by daybreak it had finished or so we thought. By eleven it was drizzling again. Tim and I didn't think we had received much more than a light rain from the Tropical Storm until we took Jett for her morning walk. Once we began to hear the chain saws we knew something was up. 

Just down our row in the campground a very large hollow tree had fallen over onto a very nice crew cab truck. The cab was heavily crushed on the passenger side. Just thankful no one was hurt and that it didn't happen during the night to an RV. 

The weather was to clear after lunch so we decided to head out, grabbing our rain jackets on the way,  so that we could take Jett to Savannah's big dog park. It's located in Daffin Park near the historic district. We promised her she would have fun. 

            FINN

On our arrival ... guess who was there? None other than Finn himself! We met Finn in Forsyth Park earlier in the week on our first day here exploring the city. That was pretty neat. I think it helped Jett coming into a new dog park already knowing another dog. 

A few other dogs came and went while we were there. Jett had a blast of course. Mud puddle ... She rolled in it. Luckily I had Tim throw her shampoo in the truck before we left. Good thing because she was a hot muddy mess by the time we left. 

Looks like the rain is back for the evening. I was really hoping for some more hammock time but not today. No campfire either. Let's see what tomorrow brings! 

TRAINS, CEMETERIES AND BBQ!!!

What a combination! We thought it was going to be an easy and short day but it turned out to be a long day. Even with all our stops it was still fun. Jett thought it to be a bit exhausting but only because she was not able to get a nap in. 

Since this is a holiday weekend Tim and I decided to make an early start of it. The other day we scouted the Georgia State Railroad Museum. Making sure dogs were indeed allowed and that parking was adequate. So today we made this our first stop. What an amazing place. Center of attention is the functioning 85 foot turntable. By turning, it allows locomotives access to any one of the stalls in the roundhouse. 

I'm not sure if any of my pictures convey the true size of this enormous complex. Surrounding the backside of the turntable is the roundhouse. Here in the roundhouse locomotives were inspected, maintained and housed. Through redesigns and expansions over the years it currently has 34 bays, each over 138 feet long. One of the fascinating elements I liked (other than the locomotives) was the wood block floor. It was used because it absorbed grease, oil and water and it protected tools and parts from damage if dropped. 

The complex is made up of many more buildings including a paint shop, carpenters shop, machine shop and blacksmith shop just to name a few. On the backside of the Storehouse is Savannah's Children's Museum. It looked to be pretty neat! We didn't go in but could see through one of the buildings. This building has a maze and fun play area for kids in the basement but there is no floors, windows or even a roof. Crazy concept that works! Jett did really good. We even got some training in on a metal staircase. Just guessing that because she could see through them she didn't want anything to do with them. Our second try with her about an hour later worked! 

With weather heading our way Tim and I (with Jett tagging along) decided it would be a good day to visit a cemetery. Not just any cemetery but the very famous Bonaventure Cemetery. They even have their own Historic Society and it's listed as a National Registry Historic Place. The first adult to be buried on the property was believed to have been in 1802. 

Laid to rest here are many Confederate Soldiers, a few Generals, Governors, Senators, Mayors, plantation owners, Bishops, and even the famous song writer Johnny Mercer plus many, many more people famous and not. The Bird Girl Statue from the cover of the book MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL was here. People kept stealing her so the family had her removed and she currently resides in the Telfair Museum in Savannah. 

Just as it began to sprinkle we were wrapping up our cemetery visit. Jett was exhausted and we needed food. Tim began a search for something on our return back to Skidaway. We both decided on just picking up BBQ from a place we passed yesterday in Sand Fly. When I ran in to grab to go menus, while Tim sat in the truck with Jett, I found out that they didn't have any (only a chalk board) they do allow dogs in the outside seating area and they serve beer out there as well. That's all we needed to make up our minds to stay and eat. We didn't pay much attention to all the awards and plaques on the wall but once you smell it you know your in the right place! It was the perfect ending to an interesting day. 

Tomorrow may turn into a down day depending on how much rain we get from Tropical Storm Bonnie. As of now looks like we are right on the edge of it. 

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!