Update 50: Savannah, GA

Update 50: Savannah, GA   December 19-27

Merry Christmas in Savannah!

Tybee Island lays four island bridges east of Savannah. Our campground directions took us 12 miles from I-95 through Savannah via Bay Street and out through the

marshes and islands to Tybee.

Once we were parked at River's End Campground, we set up our outside Christmas decorations.

With the RV facing this direction we had a perfect view for the lunar eclipse.  The sky was clear; the stars twinkled brightly while the moon turned red as the sun passed by.  Awesome sight!  Sometimes it is good to have a need to get up a couple of times a night.  I didn't think that my camera could capture the beauty of the moment.

The inside decorations had gone up in Charleston, and traveled well to the next destination.

The Christmas Village we picked up in Massachusetts delighted me. We purchased a steering wheel table to display the village.

We had others accents to get us in the mood of the season. I thought I had a photo of some of the others, but I can't find them.  Our Christmas cards were strung on a garland across the atrium slide.

Downtown Tybee Island looks a lot like other island towns we've seen, but not as built up or over run with commercial strip malls.A singular block of shops leads visitors to the pavilion and main beach area. The homes aren't as fancy as we've seen in other places.  A more laid back climate hovers over the island.

From our campsite we walked about 2 blocks to the white sand beach of the Savannah River. A shrimp boat worked just off shore.

One incoming shrimp boat came by with a flock of admirers.

We walked down the beach and around the point of land where the river met the Atlantic Ocean. As we rounded the point a brisk wind blasted our faces and announced our arrival at the ocean beach.

Flocks of birds huddled on the shore.  Check out this pelican in flight.

A very large pelican flew into sit with the seagulls.  We met two young couples at different times as we ambled down the beach. Each couple had just gotten married and were enjoying their honeymoon.

We left the beach at the Tybee Lighthouse. The grounds include all of the original buildings that accompany a lighthouse. The light was closed the day we passed by. Otherwise visitors can climb to the top of the lighthouse and tour the grounds.

 Fort Screven stands across the street from the lighthouse.  Another clone to Forts Casey, Flagler and Warden, Screven batteries are open for the public.  Unlike our forts, parts of this fort are used by a restaurant, the Shriners and a museum. 

Further down the street we discovered parts of the battery have been purchased for private use, and houses are built on the base of the fort.

We entered Savannah via Hwy. 80 also know as Victory Street. Live Oak trees arch over the divided road. Spanish Moss hangs down from the large limbs. Beautiful homes line the roadways. 

When cotton was king, the Cotton Exchange faced Bay Street in the front and met River Street in the back.

Bridges lead visitors from Bay Street to the second floor from the top. Today the bridges lead to gift shops and hotel entries.

Down on River Street the businesses include nightclubs, souvenir and gift shops, eateries and hotel entrances.

To transverse the one way street cars bump over the uneven cobblestone street.

Derrille and I drove through the Historical District. We came upon the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and went inside. I couldn't find any angle to get the whole church in one photo.

The Christmas decorations added to the elegance.

 The nativity scene ranks as one of the largest I've ever seen inside a church.

We picked the boys up from the airport on Wednesday morning. They had taken the Red-eye flights and gotten very little sleep. However, they also wanted to stay up.  So we took the Trolley Tour of historic Savannah. Oglethorpe designed the town to have communities built around a central park. The result is every four blocks north/south and east/west in the historic district has a one block of park complete with statues and park benches.  Out of the 24 original parks, 22 have survived.

Downtown Savannah like so many other downtown areas is undergoing revitalization.  As we waited at a light, I noticed that a Kress store of yesterday has become GAP and a Five and Ten Store is a new business.

Many beautiful houses surround the parks and streets of Savannah.

This white house is a small replica of Buckingham Palace. The gold trim around the tall building was gorgeous.

This pink house belonged to the man who made the wrought iron for most of Savannah.  Everything white on this house is created out of cast iron to prove it could be done.

This stairway leads to Juliette Lowe's home. She founded Girl Scouts.

These houses were interesting to me.

A variety of row type houses can also be found in the historical district.

This beautiful building's dome can be seen from many parts of Savannah.

  Jenny was our tour guide on the Trolley Tour. She also informed us that Savannah has an Irish population second only to New York...more than even Boston. The St. Patrick's Day Parade and celebration raises Savannah's population from 200,000 to 770,000.

The South Carolina School of Art and Design, called SCAD acquires old buildings and restores them as part of their courses. They have several locations around town.



The trolley tour starts at the History Museum.  We took a few minutes to see what the museum had to offer. The bench used in Forest Gump was one interesting exhibit.

Paula Dean, the well known chef of Southern Cuisine, has a restaurant in Savannah called "The Lady and her Sons."  I had been told we needed reservations months in advance to get in. So as we drove by the outside hostess, Derrille asked about reservation. The hostess said,"Oh, no.  Ya'll just park and come on in."

So we did just that.  Knowing Paula's reputation, I expected our meal to have a good price tag too, but I was wrong.  The prices were more than reasonable, and everything we ate was out of this world delicious! After drinks are delivered, a waiter arrives with a ho-cake (a corn pancake) and a garlic, cheese biscuit.  Syrup makes the ho-cake even yummier!  The warm peach cobbler topped off our meal perfectly. We sat on the third floor by these windows.

Both boys enjoy playing golf, so we took a day to visit Hilton Head Island, SC, a golf mecca destination. To access part of the island required us to stop at a gate house and pay a day use fee. The homes reminded us a bit of Sunriver, Oregon. The planned community homes were well appointed and landscaped, but not extremely large. Harbor Town sat at the end of the road we explored. We parked near the marina and walked out on the dock. The boat in the harbor looked liked others we've seen in SC and GA.  We think they are floating casinos that need to go beyond the international limit to function.

Pelicans sunned themselves on a dock across the inlet.  The boys also recognized the 18th hole of the Heritage Golf Course. Apparently this is a famous hole in tournament.

We got these family shots on the dock.

The lighthouse loomed over the harbor.

While I checked out the shops, the three guys went to walk up in the lighthouse. The lighthouse turned out to be a museum.  You walk up a flight of stairs and have a museum exhibit. Each flight offered another exhibit. The guys took a photo op for me from the marina.

Lovely yachts bobbed in their moorage. 

Several names related to golf. Next to Driving Force we found Chip Shot.

A pelican sat on a piling cleaning him or herself up.

We continued around the island before heading over the bridge to take us home. We dined at a local restaurant on Tybee Island.

Jeff and Jason chose to stay in a local hotel. They secured a 4th floor room, with a small deck, overlooking the beach and Atlantic Ocean. It worked out well for all of us, and the two of them had time to check out the town and beach a little bit.

On Christmas Eve day we explored Fort Pulaski.

Built in the early 1700's of brick, the walls still have cannon balls stuck into them from a battle with the English.

We watched a Park Ranger re-enact the firing of a musket. She gave us good information about each part in the sequence.

The cannons made a difference in warfare. When the rifled cannons were invented its range was increased. Union forces fired cannons from Tybee Island took the fort from the Confederate army. Jason hangs out by one of the guns.

This heron waded in the marshes just outside the fort. We saw three deer from the gun deck of the fort.

We celebrated Christmas Eve with a steak dinner and gift opening. Then we had another raucous game of cards. The boys arrived Christmas morning for a special breakfast. We hung out until time to take them to the airport.  Fortunately they were flying to Houston before transferring to separate flights home. Atlanta cancelled 500 flights that day and 1000 the next day because of snow.

We took a day to clean up before heading south.

Next stop:  Brunswick, GA