Red is the new Blue

St. Mary's Island, GA

Crooked River State Park

 

 

Since our kayak has not turned up (no surprise there) and we could not find a similar replacement, we found a dealer on the way to our next stop in Georgia that actually had ONE in stock that was a new model of what we had.  Different name, different color, but we're just happy to be able to get back on the water.  Especially since there are some great river trips coming up in Florida.

 

 

Crossing over the bridge will bring us to St. Mary's Island, GA, not far from the Florida border.

 

Campsite #14.  Nice water view.

There are a few hikes in the park and Hurley and I did them all.  There were some cool things to see, but mostly it was a wall of palmetto's and pines and not much else.  No wildlife, barely even a bird.  I was hoping to see some armadillos, tortoises, hogs or owls. 

 

 

There was what was left of a large tree stump that was
interesting in it's shape.

 

There was a section on one of the trails where there were a bunch of large vines that just went from the trees, to the ground and back up another tree.  It was hard to tell where they started and where they ended.

 

Walking towards the river, there was this wall of roots or vines, not sure, but it looked cool.

 

 

 

Goodbye Georgia, Hello Florida!

Thanksgiving in Savannah

Savannah, GA

Savannah KOA 

 

 I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

The Olde Pink House is where we had our Thanksgiving Dinner.
 

This was our first Thanksgiving on the road as fulltimers.  We really miss being with the kids and family.  The next years we plan to be on the west coast, maybe wintering in AZ so we will be able to be back with family for the holidays.  It wasn't too bad, but we sure miss my moms pasta!!

The Old Pink House, was originally the Habersham home, built in 1771.  It also served as a bank for many years.

 

  

 I chose the traditional dinner and Steve tried the Crispy Scored Flounder.  We shared.

Dessert was delicious.  Peach Cake and a yummy Caramelized Praline bowl with vanilla ice cream and fresh fruit with lemon glaze drizzled on top.

City Hall

 

 

Treylor Park serves local farm to table food.  Cute RV logo.  I found the other picture of the roots growing over the curb interesting.  How long did it take that to grow?

 

By 1880 Savannah was the largest cotton producer.  Being right on a seaport made them known as "Wall Street of the South".  It is a beautiful brick building.

 

   

There is a lot of interesting wrought iron work throughout the city. 

 

We had a nice walk along W. River St.  The old brick and cobblestone street is lined with shops and restaurants along the river front.

 

Pralines are king here.  They are in many recipes, ice cream, coffee and candies.



Many Art Shops too.

The Waving Girl.  She was the unofficial
greeter of all ships who entered and left the
port between 1887 and 1931.

One of the riverboats all decorated for Christmas

 

The charm of Savannah is the way it is layed out.  A grid of streets with dedicated parks and green spaces throughout.  The houses are beautiful and graceful.  The live oak trees drape over the streets, with spanish moss gracefully hanging off them and waving in the wind.

   

This police station had two old police cars displayed in front.

 

This old cemetery was lined with what looked like crape myrtles covered in moss.  It was sad to see how many died in such a short period of time

   

 

There are also many beautiful churches, like the Cathederal of St. John the Baptist.

 

   

 

Some of the parks, or "Squares" that are throughout the city.

 

 

 

    

The best way to see the city is to simply walk it.  It's not as large as it looks on maps.

  Or you can ride on any of the horse and buggies

 

 

 

 

Statues and fountains are the centerpiece of most of the parks.  As we walked about, there were people out walking dogs, playing music and just relaxing on the benches.

 

 

Heading back towards the river we see this old pirate ship and the Chatham County's tribute to World War II, a large Earth globe split in half. You can walk inside and read the names of those who died in the Pacific and Atlantic theaters of the conflict.

 

We wondered through the Visitor Center where they had some old military uniforms and old quilts.

 

They also had the original bench that Tom Hanks sat on while Forrest Gump was filmed. 

We also learned that the Girls Scouts was founded here by Juliette Low.  Her home is now the museum where many girlscouts come to visit.

 

We walked through the shopping district and one of my favorite places was called Savannah Bee Company.  This surprised me as I hate bees and don't really care for honey either.  It's a lot like the Olive Oil store down the street where you can taste all the olive oils and balsamic vinegars, except you get to taste different types of honey from different areas.  I found it facinating.  There was a white honey that was whipped which was out of this world.  Almost had a frosting flavor.

I also sampled mead.  I can't believe I've never heard of this.  Mead  is an alcoholic beverage created by fermenting honey with water.  Sometimes mixed with various fruits, spices, grains or hops.  The alcoholic content of mead may range from about 8% to more than 20%. The main character of mead is that the majority of the beverage's fermentable sugar is derived from honey.  It is delicious.

 



The honey tasting bar.

Beautiful display of honey for sale.

The store is decorated in honeycomb, bee style.

After the honey tasting it was on to Paula Deans restaurant, Lady & Sons.  We tried the buffet.  It was ok.  I heard she and/or her sons are there every week.

 

I love to see old paited advertising on the buildings.

While visiting Savannah, we are staying at the Savannah KOA.  It's a typical KOA.  Very pretty setting not too far from the city.  Small, clean and quiet with a beautiful little lake full of ducks, geese and swans.  If I were going to stay here, I'd try to get one of the few lakeside sites.

 

 

One of the last things we did was to visit the Wormsloe Historic Site.  It's known for its avenue of 400 Live Oak trees that line the street 300 yards long.  They were planted in the 1890s to celebrate the birth of the owners son.  They are covered with moss that hangs down and ferns that grown on the branches.

We ate a picnic lunch here after taking a short tour through the information center and watching a short film about the former plantation.

 

 

The ruins of the Jones Fort house are still visible.  They are made from tabby.  Tabby is a mixture of lye, sand, oyster shells and water.  You can see the shells as the pictures magnify.

 

   

 

I like the trees in the picture to the right.  They almost look human.