July 31 - Visiting Savannah One Last Time

Bill says today is the real D Day. We had our normal Sunday breakfast and then set to getting things ready to leave tomorrow. We took down the bird feeder, the cactus, the lights, the clothesline, the dog pen and put them all away and then the ladder. We loaded all of our scrap wood and things we thought would help with the fridge cooling issue in the truck to take to the dumpster. By then we were soaking wet from the humidity. After a cold drink we showered and headed to the VC to turn in our shirts and badges. On the way we did stop at the dumpster and the lid was shut, so I opened it and there was a raccoon inside. I told Bill he would need to put the climbing limb in for it that was along side the dumpster, as they get in there frequently when the lid is left open. When he looked in he said there were 2. Sure enough when he put the limb in I went for the camera and we just stood there and watched the 2 just climb up and out and slowly walk away into the woods. It was really pretty neat.

Bill, Rangers Ron and Patty and Kelly

At the VC we got to say our goodbyes to Ron and Patty. Ron hadn’t realized we were done and apologized that he wasn’t prepared for us. He gave Bill a book and a Ft Pulaski patch and gave me a really nice glass ornament of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and a patch also. He’s going to send us letters of recommendation for future park applications but also said we could always have the parks call and give him as a reference. While we were there in came Cathy and her husband Tim. She was off today but came in to tell us good bye. She is so nice and we really enjoyed working with her in the bookstore. She gave me her marinara sauce recipe that I will try very shortly after we get home. They have a place in Bradenton and we hope to see them when they are in Florida.

We went to the fort to see Nancy and Wanda. Wanda manages the bookstores and we wanted a Cockspur Lighthouse patch and a magnet and when we went to check out she asked it that is all we wanted and I said yep and she said take it. I think she really appreciated that I always offered to do extra for them in the bookstore whether it suited the rangers or not. I hate just sitting all the time so I did stocking and cleaning and straightening. I think too she appreciated the baked goods.  Nancy was getting ready to range guard for the musket demonstration but we did get a quick hug and good bye and I gave her our card with our emails, etc. We both told Tramas and Brian goodbye just before they did the soldier and musket demos, so it was time to head back to the truck.

We made a quick run to Chu’s for a Sunday paper and then home for BLT’s for lunch. I made extra bacon this morning since we were out of lunch meat. We had some fruit, carrots and a cheese stick to round it out.

After lunch we went stopped at Wal-mart for a new egg crate pad to use in the truck for the animals and then we went into Savannah to Paula Deen’s Store, which is right beside her restaurant, Lady and Sons, or whatever it is. We did a little last minute shopping and checked out the Nathanial Greene monument in the square where we parked, and on the way back decided on our route for tomorrow. So many of the streets have those beautiful low hanging trees that we needed to have a good plan for our exit. We stopped for a few things at Walgreens and then Bill topped off the gas tank.

We relaxed for a bit and read the paper and Bill took a nap. I cut the egg crate for the back seat and we put it in the truck. We went to dinner a little early as we had things to do still when we got back. I still had some credit on my Crab Shack gift card so we went there and there was no waiting since we were there about 5:30. Bill had pork bbq and I had a steamed shrimp and crab cake dinner. Again the crab had too much filler but it was seasoned well and the shrimp were good. We drove to Tybee to see where Cathy and Tim live and they are just about as on the beach as you can get. She said we are welcome any time and if they are gone in December when we come back she’ll leave us a key. Not that we’d go to the beach in December but it’s nice that she made the offer. I could walk to the lighthouse every day!

It was getting gray and rumbly out so we changed clothes quickly when we got home and set out to finish our prepping for tomorrow. I greased the hitch while Bill took the slide stabilizers down, then we put the bike rack on and the bikes. We put the sheet on the back seat for the girls and all that is left is for Bill to drain the tanks in the AM and put the hoses away. Tonight before bed I will turn the recliners around and pack up the laptops. We’re going to stop for lunch so will only have cereal bowls and the bacon rack to wash and put away. I’ve put the antenna down and secured the bedroom TV so we hope we get going at a reasonable time.

We have certainly enjoyed our time here. So many new friends that we hope to keep in touch with and meet again. So many great experiences that we would never have had any place else. We really do like it here, if it just wasn’t so darn hot!

July 18 - Back to Playing Tourists

We really slept in today. It was well after 9 when we got up. Once we had breakfast Bill did some repairs to my bike, raised the seat, put on a new inner tube on the other tire and adjusted my handlebars. While he cleaned some nasty stuff coming off the roof of the RV I took the couch cover up to the VIP room to wash so I could hang it out while we went to town later.

Molly enjoying outdoor life

I took Molly out on the leash for the first time in ages and she really enjoyed being outside. She would take a few steps then lie and roll in the dirt. She nipped at some vegetation. Finally I put her in the pen that we have for Xena and left the leash on and she never tried to jump over, just eventually laid down and just rested. She needed brushing as she was pretty dirty. Bill brushed her while I got my shower and he showered and we finally got ready to go.

We stopped at the post office, then a little restaurant we have always seen packed when we have gone by, Basil’s Deli and Pizza. Bill had a huge pepperoni calzone and he said it was really good except it didn’t have any ricotta on it. They had quite a selection of Greek food so I had a combo of dolmades and spanikopita with a Greek salad. The salad was excellent with lots of feta cheese and calamata olives. The meal had a side of orzo with feta and fresh diced tomato. Yummy. I will have to make that at home. The spanikopita was excellent but the dolmades tasted tinny like they came from a can and the lemon sauce had no zip to it at all.

Telfair House

My favorite piece

Bird Girl when it was in
the Bonaventure Cemetery

We drove into Savannah to Telfair Square to the former Telfair home that was donated to the Georgia Historical Society who later turned it into the Telfair Academy which now has several area buildings that are art museums of sorts. This one leaves some of the rooms decorated as they were in the period it was built or last lived in. The larger entertainment rooms were art galleries. One was contemporary crafts that I enjoyed. One of the main pieces in the museum is the “Bird Girl” bronze statue that was in the Bonaventure Cemetery from 1936 until it was the cover picture of the famous book, In the Garden of Good and Evil. The family put it on loan to the museum to keep people from destroying it at the cemetery. They don’t allow photos but everyone who knows me knows I will sneak one if I can. They have a lady standing right by that statue but I got a side view from one of the galleries to the side of it. Had to use the video camera so doubt the resolution will be good enough to print.

Kelly under the portico at the
Owens Thomas House

From there we went to the Owens-Thomas House on Oglethorpe Square. It was a tour but since it was late in the day we were the only 2 on the tour. This house was completed in 1819. It passed through several owners and was at one time an apartment building. Then it was eventually turned over to the Telfair Academy. The house was used in the movie “ TheConspirators” produced by Robert Redford. It was about the people involved in the killing of President Lincoln. The main focus of the movie was on Mary Suratt and her lawyer. It was out in theaters sometime last spring. It dealt with whether or not she was guilty and if the government had the legal right to try her. Bill has talked to many people that have seen it and they have all said it was really good. Some of the movie was also filmed at Ft. Pulaski.  The house had running water and flush toilets before the White House due to its installation of several cisterns. The rooms were furnished with period pieces, some original to the house. One of the house’s claim to fame was a visit from the Marquis de Lafayette who stayed there 2 nights as a guest of the City of Savannah and gave a speech in English, then in French from the balcony along the side of the house in 1824 or 25. Later his son, George Washington Lafayette stayed there but in a different room.

Time to go to the mall. I had gotten a voice mail from the Bar Pilot guy I spoke to earlier and we got OK’d to go out on the boat tomorrow to meet one of the ships. We have to call in when we get up to verify the time but if nothing changes we will meet the ship at noon but have to be at the Bar Pilot at about 10:30. I must remember to take my motion sickness pill for sure as the water has been pretty choppy this week and I don’t want to embarrass myself or make a nasty mess for Bill to clean up. I was so thirsty by the time we got to the mall that I headed straight to Star Bucks for a mocha coconut frappucinno. Oh, it was so good. I did manage to give Bill a couple of sips. He went to the ATT kiosk about his phone, then to several places about a replacement watch band for his watch while I went in Bath and Body Works. Then he tried Sears and I found they had a big sale on Lands End clothing so I left with 2 things and he left without a watch band. They wanted $35 for the band and to put it on so he will wait til he gets home to our regular jeweler.

Buck taken from about 20 ft with video camera

The plan was to stop at the grocery but since it was 6:30 when we left the mall we just went home. I really was not hungry due to the big late lunch and knew we could manage til Tuesday for more groceries. When we pulled in there was a 4 point buck and a doe right by our RV that we videoed and took some photos of. We will have 100 deer pictures by the time we leave here. Then I made cookies to take to the admin office, the maintenance office and the fort in the morning. Everyone has really been nice to us, well, except for one ranger, that I wanted to thank them before we leave. Once the cookies were done, Bill wanted some grub so I fixed him a Lean Cuisine and he was happy. I had a banana with PB2 on it and we both had a couple of cookies.

We got a call from our friends, the Bostons and they are coming up on Saturday so we will plan some fun activities for next week’s days off. I know we will have a great time with them, as we always do. They will stay over in Tybee at the beach. Time now to download and resize some photos and watch our TV show.

July 17 - Work and Play

Ah to sleep in! Poor Bill was up twice to take Xena out so he really was not ready to get up this morning. Then just after 8 there was a banging on our door and a coast guard guy said we were not to use the water as they had to prime the pump on the island and someone would be back over to let us know once it was OK to use. No big deal. We had our Sunday breakfast and Bill was going to do some things outside using water but decided he couldn’t so it was a good morning to do some serious cleaning. Bill used Orange Glo on all wood in the RV and cleaned the tops of the slides inside which were pretty dirty. I did a very thorough vacuum job and used the attachment to clean the furniture also. There was so much cat hair everywhere.

We took Xena and made a quick run to Tybee Island to get a Sunday paper and after lunch we still had not heard back about the water, so I turned our pump on and we used the water from our fresh water tank to take showers. We left about 3:30 to go to the movies. First we stopped at Target which is in the same plaza and I got a new mouse to use with the netbook. We went to see “Horrible Bosses” and it was so funny. The sad thing is there really are bosses out there like that. Then we headed into downtown Savannah for our 6:30 dinner reservation at The Olde Pink House.

The Olde Pink House

Dessert

The house was built in 1771 as the Habersham House and became called the Old Pink House as the brick began to bleed through the plaster changing the color to a Jamaican Pink. It sits on Reynold’s Square and was the property of a wealthy planter. Later it was the Planters Bank, the first bank of Georgia. The old vaults are now used as wine cellars. During the Civil War General York set up shop in the mansion. Over the years the mansion was a bookstore, attorney office, and a tea room until in 1992 it was restored to its original elegance. Everyone says it has ghosts especially in the handicapped restroom. The room we ate it was upstairs and was set up for all couples. Each table had a single white taper lit. It was a bit dark at our table to read the menu by. Would have been better to have gotten a window table. The food was excellent. I started off with a peach martini, yummy! The bread basket contained mini corn muffins, biscuits and herbed yeast rolls. We shared a salad called a BLT. It had fried green tomatoes with sweet bacon and a black pepper thyme buttermilk dressing over a bed of spring greens. For dinner Bill had a filet with twice baked potato and asparagus. I had Crispy Scored Flounder with Apricot Shallot Sauce with grits and collard greens. It was a whole flounder without the head that was cut in diamonds on each side then a crust and was flash fried. The meat came off the bone in sections due to the diamond scoring. I only managed to eat one side and brought the other side home for leftovers. We were going to pass on dessert but then relented and shared the house specialty, Praline Dessert Cup, which was a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream topped with fresh fruit served in a waffle cone type cup of almond praline. . It was the perfect finish to such a fine meal.

Huge Tanker

We thought about driving around a bit since it was so nice out but figured we had left Xena long enough so headed home. As we came down the highway we could see a huge boat headed up our side of the island. From the end it looked like 2 boats side by side or that they were not moving and one was off loading from the other. We hurried home to maybe catch was what going on. As we drove further we could see the boat was barely moving. Once in the park and on the road to our RV we could see it and pulled over to the river side to watch. It was just one boat, a tanker, and it was being towed by a tugboat, explaining why it was going to slow. There were 2 more tugs following behind. It was the biggest we’ve seen on the river by far.

We did manage to count 20 deer on the way in but might have missed some in our haste to catch up to the boat. Bill did up the day’s dishes and we read and watched a show at 10. I read for as long as my eyes would stay open, which was not long.  No one ever got back to us on the water so we just started using it again.

June 27 - Sightseeing and Family Visit

Busy day! We were up just after 8. Our neighbor knocked to let us know they were going to be shutting the water off shortly so we hurried and got our showers. We had breakfast after, then while Bill cleaned up the kitchen I wrote 2 days of journals before it was time to go.

We drove down to River Street in Savannah to get pictures of The Waving Girl statue. It’s a monument on the river dedicated to Florence Martus who spent 44 years waving a welcome to each incoming ship and goodbye to all out-going ones passing to and from Savannah Harbor. The story is she waved good-bye to her beau and continued to watch for his return and wave to the ships. She never saw him again and lived with her brother who was the lighthouse keeper. It’s very sad!

One of the planes on display

Bill and Jimmy Stewart

From downtown we headed out to Pooler where we stopped at Camping World for a couple of things and to find out about the leak under the sink when flushing the black tank. We learned that it’s the siphon valve and next time Bill tries to flush the tank if it isn’t working properly I will call our RV company and order the part. It looks pretty easy to replace, just in a tight awkward spot. We had lunch at the Cracker Barrel across the street, then went to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum that is at the same intersection. It’s really a nice museum and we spent about 2.5 hours there. They have several good videos and lots of WWII memorabilia. It basically dedicated to the men of the 8th Air Force Division. It was all built on donations and private funding.

Jeff called when we were close to done and let us know they had arrived and had taken a nap so to come whenever. We were only about 15 minutes away and their place was really easy to find. Jeff and Kim’s dad were finishing up making ribs and Kim’s mom had made all kinds of side dishes. Kim’s daughter Laura and her 3 children and later her husband were there, in addition to Kim’s brother and niece so it was a small crowd. Everyone was really nice and so cordial to have us. The ribs were delicious and so tender and the meat fell off the bone. Everything was excellent! I took my cake and crisp and everyone seemed to enjoy them. We didn’t have a lot to bring home so that was good. Before leaving we made plans to meet Kim and Jeff for lunch tomorrow at Bubba’s.

Xena was ready and waiting to go out when we got home and it looked like rain so we rushed her walk and I put 3 bags of fresh veggies Jeff brought us in the VIP fridge. He brought tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and yellow squash. Good thing as I didn’t buy much veggies this week. We watched a movie on TV after an episode of NCIS.

June 21 - Touristing Again

Bill chatting it up in like at
Mrs. Wilkes

Time to play tourist again.  We decided to have a light breakfast, just a banana and leftover pancakes as we were going to Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House for lunch.  All of the locals told us to pass on Paula Deen’s place for Mrs. Wilkes.  It’s an all you can eat southern cooked lunch with way too much food.  The tables are all round and seat up to 10.  We had 9 at our table.  We waited in line for an hour, something Bill would never do at home.  In my humble opinion it was NOT worth the wait unless you’re into volume eating.  I doubt I can name all the food.  There was fried chicken (that was too salty), beef stew and pulled bbq pork for the meats, biscuits and corn muffins for the bread, now is where it gets complicated.  There was white rice, black eyed peas, green beans, cheesy mashed potatoes, cabbage, rutabaga, okra, mac and cheese, carrot salad, sweet potato casserole, greens, peas and noodles, cucumbers, lima beans, pork and beans, yellow squash, creamed corn and banana pudding for dessert.  It’s a sin how much was thrown out.  Most of the people at our table were Yankees who thought the mashed potatoes were cheese grits.  Anyway, for the same price I’d have much rather eaten at Tortugas again.  It was a case of quantity over quality.

Ships of the Sea 

Titanic Model

After Bill waddled back to the truck we drove to the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum that we missed the last time we were in town.  It’s a 3 story home that fell to horrible conditions after the family lost it’s wealth and it was turned into the first black school in Savannah and stayed one for 90 years.  Anyway, the displays are all huge models of all kinds of ships.  There were several named Savannah.  There was one of the Titanic.  Some had cutouts so you could see the rooms and suites and coal rooms, the works.  We walked through City Market, which is mostly restaurants and artsy shops and I bought a packable hat to keep the sun off.  We tried to find the part of Factors Walk that we’re supposed to see, but didn’t have any luck.  We strolled down part of River Street, but there wasn’t much action in the heat of the day.  By then I was super thirsty so we stopped at Five Guys Hamburgers on the way back to the truck for a coke and some AC.  Bill commented that it was nice that we can do a little at a time and not feel like we have to see the whole city in 2 days. 

Now it was problem solving time! First stop was a place to check out the video camera and once we got there he said it was $50 for them to just look at it. If I’m going to spent $50 for possibly nothing I’d rather put it on a new camera. So next we went to Best Buy to see what they had to offer and if they worked on cameras. No they don’t unless you bought it there and have a service plan. So we looked at new ones but I wanted to wait and check them out on Consumer Reports. However, we did buy me a new toy, a Toshiba Netbook, which will be so much easier to take to the library and to the entrance station when I work out there. I think Bill felt bad for me with all the computer problems, now camera problems too. We finished off the outing by taking Dell back to the shop and leaving her to be doctored for the next week. I sure hope he finds her illness this time. Oh, the new baby Toby, looks like Dell and Toby mated but she turned out blue.

We were still full when we got home so Bill said for me to go to the library and we’d eat at 7 or so. I tried the library on Wilmington Island this time. It’s bigger and has more computers so I managed to get some blogs posted, whittle down my emails, print some things and check out the new netbook and video cameras.  At least we picked the best buy netbook and the highest rated. Came up with 3 cameras so will now start shopping prices and places to get them.

Bill walked Xena while I was gone but on my drive in I counted 15 deer from the truck. At our site after dinner there were 4 just eating grass out in front of the RV. I made a half bag of Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken with leftover brown rice and just sliced tomato, cukes and jicima. We had the last of the peach pie. It was plenty. After my shower I did what I could on BT, Baby Toby, and will take it with me to the entrance station if that’s where I end up tomorrow so I can download software I need on it. Then will play with it and load photos on Picasa.

Time to read a couple pages of Harry Potter, I’m really close to the end!

June 13 - Seeing Some of The Sights

We set off to play Tommy Tourist again today. We tried to get an early start as it gets really hot out in the afternoon. Managed to leave about 9:30 for Savannah, but made a quick detour to fill up the truck. There really are not many places that sell diesel out where we are or going into town.

First stop was Bonaventure Cemetery. It’s billed as one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the US, well, in the spring, because of all the azaleas, camellias, dogwood, etc. it would be for sure.  All the blooming was way over but there are tons of plants and I can imagine how beautiful it would be. It’s also known for several important people who are buried there, Johnny Mercer, famous songwriter and musician is one.  We found his grave with his parents and grandmother. The monuments are quite elaborate and you could spend quite a while driving or walking to see them.

Bill and one of the steam engines

From there we headed into downtown Savannah to the visitor center. We had been there before but it’s been a number of years, at least we recognized it. We got our bearings and verified that we already had plenty of maps, coupons, brochures and info to make our way around for the day. The visitor center was the original train station when people actually did their travel by train. It houses a nice museum, 2 gift shops, a small theatre, snack bar and a train car converted to a dining room, which is where we ended up having lunch. But before that, we went next door to the Georgia State Railroad Museum. We did enjoy it and may go back on one of the days you can go on one of the trains. This whole area is managed by the Coastal Heritage Society, and they are still working on the many buildings of the railroad that fell to horrible conditions once the highways became the popular mode of both travel and movement of goods and supplies. The buildings were constructed beginning 1851 as the Central of Georgia Railroad and Canal Company and at one time housed 50 locomotives and 500 cars as rolling stock. The business peaked in the 1920’s but in the 40’s diesel engines came out and the roundhouse was no longer conducive to diesel maintenance and as they were sent to Macon for repairs. In 1963 the railroad was sold to Southern Railway and the Savannah depot was closed. The site sat decaying until 1989 when a group of concerned citizens petitioned to have the property titled back to the city of Savannah and under the management of the Coastal Heritage Society. It’s been a slow process but it’s moving right along. We saw a number of engines and cars in the roundhouse, the print shop and blacksmith shop. Two cars have been turned into small theatres for video presentations, which we watched today. There are guided tours and on some days you can ride on the train.   As part of our volunteering we were given passes to about 25 different buildings, etc that we can visit for free, so that was a nice perk.

Forrest Gump bench

We walked back over to the Visitor center and went through the museum and watched the video there. I realized when I went to take a picture of the 403, the last steam engine in service on for the Georgia Railroad, I left my camera at the shop at the Railroad Museum, so I had to walk (in the heat) back over to get it. By now Bill was getting hungry so we ate at the Whistle Stop Café. It was OK. Bill said his burger was really good but I was disappointed in my bbq chicken, which was just a baked chicken with sauce on it. Oh well, it filled me up and kept me going!

We called down to the Ships of the Sea Museum to see if they had their own parking and they did, but they didn’t tell us they are closed on Monday. So we drove down and they have a nice parking area with wonderful landscaping and we parked in the shade only to find out it was closed. They were doing some work behind the museum in the garden and one of they guys told us we could walk around in there if we wanted. It reminded us of the gardens in Colonial Williamsburg, but the shrubs were much bigger. It was really nice though.

We attempted to stop at the Waving Girl statue but missed the turn off so just went on out of Savannah and headed back. We made a quick detour to Publix to refill our water jugs as we are using about a gallon a day and the machine there is only .35 per gallon. I picked up a bag of apples too and then we headed home.

I managed to get more laundry done, make dinner and we walked Xena. Then Bill and I went for a 3 mile bike ride.

June 4 - Yeah, We Made It Through The Week

Ah, our last workday of the week.  I was at the VC all day again.  We helped price new inventory for the bookstore and met some nice folks to day.  A couple whose daughter lived in Ocoee for a few years and a couple from Arizona.  Gives you something to talk about for sure.  Bill is getting good with his fort info and continues to read and talk to the seasonal rangers about things.  Now if he can really master the 3 video machines.  One he does fine and two he’s close on.  Luckily the mean ranger was in the entrance station all day and we only had the seasonals, who are all very nice.

MG and Chuck stopped by on their way to ride with the pilot boat. We will do that once I get my motion sickness pills. We were ready to rock and roll when 5:30 rolled around. We got home and walked Xena and changed clothes to head out to dinner with Chuck and MJ. We went to Tubby’s, which was not all it was cracked up to be. There was about a 30 minute wait, which was OK. Once we ordered it took forever for the food to come. MJ and I ordered the shrimp and grits and when it came it looked like grit soup with shrimp. It was a milky sauce but nothing like we expected. They served 2 slices of French bread, I guess to sop of the juice. It was good, but Tortuga’s was SOOO much better. When she came to ask about dessert I told MJ they should give us desserts because it took so long. The waitress came to us 3 times to apologize for the wait, so that told me it was not expected to take so long. I was not having dessert but knew Bill would like some and MJ wanted some so she said that sounded appropriate and asked the waitress. She said she’d ask the manager, who came out and said he heard we want to speak to him, so MJ told him we expected complimentary dessert. He said there was always a 30 minutes wait for dinner and we said it was way longer than 30 minutes and he said well it was only 30 minutes but would give us 2 desserts. I had a bite of Bill’s praline cheesecake and it was good. We didn’t leave the restaurant til after 9 and we left the RV at 6:30 so we know it took a long time.

We dropped Chuck and MJ off next door and came home to let Xena out and watch some TV.