Two Weeks ago today.....

It's hard to believe that two weeks ago today is when we packed up the car and left for our vacation!  What a whirlwind!  We had been on the fence about whether to go, or not to go based on the projections of the oil movement in the Gulf.  After all, the main reason for going to FL was to snorkel....and if you can't get in the water, well, what's the point?

Our first stop, which would have been two weeks ago tonight, was in Kennesaw GA.  Now, I didn't know it at the time, but apparently several of my ancestors fought in the Civil War battles around that area.  I found out looking up something for a stop at the end of our trip, which I'll get to later!  Wish I had known - I would have taken some photos, or made the side trip to Lookout Mtn.  Our main concern in this area, was getting the heck out of there - Dave had heard terrible things about the Atlanta traffic, so we wanted to leave asap!  Fortunately, on Sunday mornings everyone in Atlanta must be in church - we breezed through!

Our next stop was Savannah.  We thought after a full day and a half of driving, we should stop early and see some sights.   This was a free night stay for us, so we couldn't be too picky, but we thought the hotel was lovely - brand new, and only 3 blocks from the Juliette Gordon Lowe house.  This is us as we walk down from the hotel to visit her house.

The tour was very interesting, especially for current and former Girl Scouts!  She really was a remarkable woman for her time and very talented in many ways as the art objects in her house demonstrate.  Lauren was able to get a pin for her sash that you can only wear if you've taken the tour.

Next, we drove over to Historic Fort Jackson.  It was either that or Ft. Pulaski, which would have given us another stamp in our National Park passports, but it was rather far out of the city and we were sick of the car.  Ft. Jackson is a state historic site serving in both the Revolutionary and Civil wars.



It's main purpose is to protect Savannah from invaders up the river.  There were many interesting displays for we history buffs to enjoy, and because it was Memorial  Day there was a canon fire demonstration and an interpreter on site.




The kids favorite part was most likely the tiny crabs living in the moat around the structure.  They were visible because the tide was out. 

Next, we returned to the city and went walking around until dinner.  We had the required hat pins, and souvenir patches to collect.  I loved these trees - so spooky looking, they have to add to the mystique of Savannah's paranormal history!  There are many park squares throughout the city that provide a lot of charm and ambience.  We were never able to figure out which one was Forest Gump's bus stop scene though.

We went down to the riverfront as well.  Not much appeal there - great restaurant's, but mostly souvenir shops.  With it being a holiday weekend, there were street performers and live music, and I think it had recently been the place of much partying. The streets were the old cobblestone - which was fine if you were tourists in good walking shoes like us, but I felt sorry for the idiots in heels trying to impress their dates!  And for the moms with the strollers!  Yikes@!  Overall,  it was a bit dirty and smelly for my tastes.



Check out the stairs to get down to the riverfront!

The best thing on the riverfront was the candy store where they made homemade pralines and candied pecans!  It smelled SO good in there!  We of course had to get a souvenir from there!

Dinner reservations were made at the Historic Pirate House.  We had been told that it was good food and kid friendly.  When we arrived we were less than enthused - it seemed like a fancy, yet old, Long John Silver's and Dave and I despaired of having truly good food.  But, we were wrong!  He ordered the BBQ platter, and I ordered the house fried chicken - OMG!  Both were excellent, but the chicken was served with a praline drizzle that made it scrumptious!  Highly recommend - I think it even outranks Mitchie's Tavern!  And of course, the house is interesting and full of pirates!  We encountered one while dining that impressed Lauren into service.   The restaurant is an old house that was supposedly where Robert Louis Stevensen set the scene for the death of the pirate in "Treasure Island".  It is of course, haunted.

Speaking of haunting, no tour of Savannah would be complete without a Ghost Tour.  I had wanted to make reservations for a walking tour, but they were booked so we opted for the traditional Trolley tour.  Not recommended.  It was hokey and we could barely hear the lady, nor understand her accent when we could hear her.  The kids got into it in the end, but I think I would go the private walking tour option if we ever were to return.


Next stop - Key Largo, but that will have to be another day.

Hoping to stamp today - Lauren needs to send out her party invitations asap as her birthday is right around the corner!

Smiles!

Susan