Ft. Pulaski & Port Wentworth

Friday it was off to Fort Pulaski National Monument located not far from Savannah on Cockspur Island in GA. It took 25 million bricks and 18 years to build this fort, but only 30 hours for the Union troops to effectively damage the southeast corner with 5,275 cannon shots in 1862. With only 384 Confederate officers and soldiers compared to nearly 1,100 Union troops on nearby Tybee Island, Col. Olmstead felt he had no choice but to surrender. The walls were 7-1/2 feet thick, but the new experimental rifle cannon used by the Union easily penetrated the wall. This new cannon could fire a shot 5 miles whereas the typical smooth bore cannon only had a distance of about 700 yards. The breached wall was "quickly" repaired (the redder colored brick in the left of the photo at the right) by the Union forces within 6 weeks of the surrender, and all shipping in and out of Savannah ceased basically crippling the Southern war effort. This defeat also put an end to the construction of this type of fort ever being built again.

We had arrived in time for the 11 a.m. guided tour by a park ranger and were amazed at how well perserved the fort is after all these years. We climbed the rock spiral staircase to the top of the wall as the ranger further explained about the fort and had quite a view of the landscape and the nearby Cockspur Island lighthouse. Russ was impressed with the quality of brick work clearly evident throughout but especially in the numerous arches.


The fort, surrounded by a moat, had several obstacles that would prevent one from entering through the "front door". With the drawbridge up, if you made it across the moat, you'd be met with wood and steel doors, a gate, slots in the walls through which soldiers on guard would fire at you, another heavy door, and last but not least, if you made it through all that, you'd be met with a cannon staring you right in the face. Thus it was easier (and safer for the Union troops!) to utilize the new rifle cannons from across the moat and marsh at the back of the fort.

At noon there was a musket firing demonstration by another ranger in period costume. He passed around a bullet head, which was heavier than I expected. He explained life as a soldier, then demonstrated the 9 steps which would have been ordered by the commander to load and fire the musket, a procedure he repeated 3 times.

When the demonstration was over, Russ and I walked outside around the moat to view the breached wall and see some of the pock marks left in the surrounding walls by the cannon fire. In fact if you open the photo on the left and look at it closely, you can still see a cannon ball lodged in the hole.

After leaving the fort, we stopped at a little roadside lunch wagon parked in front of an apparently closed gentlemen's club called the Showboat. They were serving BBQ beef sandwiches, so we bought three plus sodas, and ate at our picnic table back at camp. Pretty good sandwiches!

I had read that on Saturday in nearby Port Wentworth, they were celebrating Stand Up For America Day. This festival has been held the last Saturday of April every year since 1971 and was established to recognize America, particularly the American soldier. The streets of Port Wentworth are filled with a parade, music, arts, crafts, food, kiddie rides, and fireworks that light up the city's night sky, all free of charge. We had decided we'd go later in the day so we could catch the fireworks. Scott's leg and knee were still bothering him after all the walking and climbing at the fort the day before, so Russ and I left about 5pm to head to Port Wentworth. What a truly small town America community event! We had BBQ chipped beef sandwiches, Italian sausage dogs, and a funnel cake for dinner, listened to some bad karaoke (is there any other kind??!), mingled with the folks, and waited for the featured band to start at 7pm. While waiting we walked around for a bit and visited the memorial set up at one of the street corners. Surrounding the American flag were the flags of each of the armed forces, and below were about 60 crosses with the names of those deceased who had served in the military and the war (or wars in some cases) in which they served. We noticed there were also 8 crosses with no war designation, just the names.

We set up our folding chairs waiting for the band to begin, and we were approached about buying some raffle tickets. As it turns out, the festival this year was not only to honor the military but also the families of the recent sugar refinery explosion. You may remember having heard or read about in the news when back in Feb. the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, near Savannah, exploded killing 13. It was told nationwide. There are still some victims in critical condition in the burn unit, and the community has banded together creating various fundraisers to help the families. We were happy to do our part by buying some tickets. We assume those 8 crosses were in honor of some of the sugar refinery victims.

The band was about half an hour late starting, but soon The Sounds of Motown all the way from Athens, GA, took the stage, and they were great! They sang not only Motown but also beach music, disco, and a variety of tunes. There had been quite a crowd when we arrived, but by the time the band started, the entire town must have been there. People danced in the street....even us! (Though there are no photos of that. :-)

At 9pm the band took a break, and the fireworks went off as scheduled. Quite a spectacular event for such a small town! Twenty minutes later they were over, and the band started again. We stuck around for a bit longer, but then headed back home. We had a great time, and felt privileged to be able to experience and be a part of this community gathering, a community coming together for each other in their time of need, and to honor America.

Savannah

We arrived at the Hardeeville RV Resort in Hardeeville, SC, (http://www.hardeevillerv.com/aboutus.htm) on Mon., and what a beautiful campground. Nothing fancy....no swimming pools, no bath houses, no playgrounds, no social activities, just lots of trees, large spaces, quiet, peaceful, and a very friendly unobtrusive staff. That's Scott's rig behind ours in the photo, so you can see how big the spaces are because he's our next door neighbor! The campground is located just 15 minutes from Savannah, GA, so that was on our agenda for Wed.'s day trip.

Well, sugah, to Savannah we did go, and a what simply delightful town it is! Why Georgia's oldest city is just lovely! We decided the best way to take in the sights was by purchasing tickets for the Old Town Trolley Tour, which provided on/off privileges. The first stop was the visitor center and across the street was Battlefield Memorial Park, which was dedicated Oct. 9, 2007, 228 years to the day when about 800 soldiers died in one of the bloodiest battles of the American Revolution. There isn't really much to see at the site though we understand they are doing a lot of excavation and we didn't walk around too much, but there is this 13-star American flag flying atop a 50-foot pole.

It was back on the trolley for a narrated tour around town. Savannah was founded in 1733 by Gen. James Ogelthorpe and was America's first planned city. The General's plan consisted of a military style grid with a square in each ward of this new city. These squares generally served as meeting places for the colonists, a place to see and be seen. Most of Savannah's squares are named in honor or in memory of a person, persons or historical event, and many contain monuments, markers, memorials, statues, plaques, and other tributes. Essentially they are mini parks, each of varying sizes and personalities, of which 21 of the original 24 remain. Chippewa Square is where Forrest Gump sat on the park bench telling his story while waiting for the bus, but the bench now resides in the Savannah History Museum. Surrounding these squares are many historical homes with incredible architecture for which Savannah is well known. We were told that the wrought iron fences seen around town was a sign of wealth because only the wealthy could afford it. Well, evidently there were a lot of wealthy people in Savannah cause there's a lot of wrought iron in this historic district!

Now as y'all can imagine, sugah, there are rules and regulations in the historic district, such as what colors you may paint your house. We passed this very pink house with teal trim and were told that the owners do not even live here. They live in Costa Rica, had come back into town, painted the house, and then returned to Costa Rica. Many of the neighbors complained, and some even moved because nothing could be done about it. The house is located just outside the historic district!

We got off at stop #7 to view the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, a definitely worthwhile stop. The church was established in the mid-1800s and is the oldest Catholic church in Georgia. Upon entering the doors, I was awestruck by its beauty and grandeur. Never have I seen such an incredibly beautiful church! The interior is magnificent with beautiful stained glass windows, and marble columns, baptismal font, and altar. The stations of the cross are large and three-dimensional. A gilt Celtic knot adorns the bottom of the 8,000 pound marble baptismal font as you enter the church and is quite stunning. Up in the choir loft was a massive pipe organ featuring more than 2,300 pipes! Mass is held a couple times daily, but during non-Mass times, the public is welcome to tour and take photos. At one point a lady standing near me told her friend that it reminded her of the churches in Europe. And here we have one right here in lil' ol' Savannah! Even if you're not Catholic, this is definitely a place worth visiting. These pictures truly do not do this magnificent church justice.

Back on the trolley we passed more historical homes, massive old oak trees, and the Colonial Park Cemetery where many famous Revolutionary War heroes are buried. It was founded in 1750 and closed for burials in 1853.

Then it was time to stop for lunch, and where else should we dine but at The Pirates' House, the most historic spot in Georgia! It was first opened in 1753 as an inn for seafaring folk, but soon became a meeting spot for pirates and sailors. Legend has it that a man who stopped for a friendly drink would hours later wake to find himself as crew on a sailing ship to China! It's also said that Robert Louis Stevenson's book "Treasure Island" has some of its action taking place at The Pirate's House, so rare pages from the book are on display in one of the rooms. The "house" rambles in many directions and each "room" is a separate dining section. They have a traditional Southern buffet lunch, but we opted to order off the menu. We each started with a "kettle" of yummy she-crab soup, though its consistency was closer to stew. Russ and Scott got the steak sandwich, which both claimed quite good, and I got the half sandwich and salad. All I can say dahlin', is if that was half a sandwich, I'd hate to have seen a whole! The half was huge!

Now it was on to the River Street area along the Savannah River. We got off at stop #12 as there was a huge ship docked, which we were told had arrived the day before. It turned out to be the General Frank S. Besson, Jr., a Logistics Support Vessel, one of the Army's largest powered watercraft. The soldiers were allowing people to come aboard and tour, but we decided not to go so don't know why the ship was in town.

Back on board the trolley we passed Savannah's Waving Girl, a statue immortalizing a local girl named Florence Martus, who lived near the entrance to Savannah Harbor and supposedly waved to every ship that came and went -- for 44 years! We also passed the Olympic torch sculpture, which was lit during the 1996 games for the sailing venue held in Savannah. Since Savannah is so far from Atlanta, they were allowed to have their own torch. Our last stop was the City Market at Franklin Square, where Russ and I visited a huge junk shop and Scott bought some more souvenirs and some homemade candy. Then it was back to the car and home.

Savannah is truly a beautiful city, and until Scott remarked that he had not seen any graffiti, I didn't realize that we hadn't. I'm sure in some section of town there might be some, but it was amazing not to see any downtown. Tomorrow will be a "day of rest", and then we plan a trip to Fort Pulaski on Friday.

Historic Brunswick & Jekyll Island

Wednesday we drove to the actual town of Brunswick, located on the Intracoastal Waterway, and upon arriving in town, Russ drove right down to the docks where a great number of shrimp boats are moored. As luck would have it, a shrimper showed up about the same time to check on his boat. Russ was fascinated with how many chains and cables were on the masts and asked some questions. Stewart (pictured on the right), and his son-in-law, were very hospitable and more than happy to answer all our questions, and even invited us to come aboard his boat, the Lady Kelly! Russ and I jumped at the chance (literally, since we had to basically jump from the dock onto his boat and not fall in the water between!), and kind of got to see what life on a shrimping boat is like. The inside of the cabin had all the comforts of home...stove, refrigerator, bathroom, two "bedrooms" with bunk beds, and quite frankly seemed almost spacious compared to our motorhome! Only kidding....slightly! I even went up into the cockpit, which was much smaller than I imagined.

Lady Kelly started its shrimping life in 1979, and Stewart has worked hard to maintain it in good working condition all these years. He's been shrimping all his life and absolutely loves it, though his son-in-law sees it more as "a job". However Stewart said that with the rising fuel prices it's getting harder and harder to make ends meet. He told us that he needs to bring in roughly 500 - 700 lbs. of shrimp to break even. On top of the fuel costs add the fact that they need to carry enough ice to keep the shrimp fresh till they get back to shore since they are sometimes out for a week. He said the last time they went out they took 300 blocks of ice weighing 100 lbs. each...that's 30,000 lbs. of ice! It was fascinating talking to him, and just another one of those great adventures on our journey.

After leaving Stewart, we drove further along the riverfront and stopped at the Mary Ross Waterfront Park, which features the Liberty Ship Memorial Plaza. Early in the war, German subs patrolled off the Atlantic coastline, sinking ships with ease and sending their cargo into the depths of the Atlantic. (It's still amazing to me how close these ships were to our American shores.) Liberty ships were cargo ships designed for "emergency" construction, built in the U.S. during WWII at 16 sites throughout the country (one of which was Brunswick, GA), and each ship was built to a standardized, mass produced design. The 250,000 parts were pre-fabricated throughout the country in 250-ton sections and welded together in about 70 days. Each ship's 5 holds could carry over 9,000 tons of cargo, plus airplanes, tanks, and locomotives lashed to its deck. The 23 foot replica here at the Waterfront Park was dedicated in 1991 and christened the City of Brunswick.

The historic downtown district looks generally like most other small town historic districts, full of older buildings and lots of history. Brunswick was named for Braunsweig, Germany, the ancestral home of King George II, who reigned during this time. Gen. James Ogelthorpe, who established GA as a colony, designed the grid pattern on which the roads are based, and many of the streets are named in honor of English Royalty and geography of the day. We stopped at the local bookstore where Russ made a new friend, and the owner gave us some recommendations for lunch. Then we walked through an antique shop next door, and the Ritz Theater across the street, which was built in 1898 as the Grand Opera House. It still holds various performances and events, and acts as an information center.

After driving around town a little bit more, it was time for lunch so we took one of the bookstore lady's suggestions and on our way back to the campground found Spanky's Marshside, a neat little sports bar/restaurant right on the water, but unfortunately it was too windy to sit outside on the deck. We had a great waittress, and the food was good. Russ and I started with the creamy crab soup/stew which was delicious, while Scott gave the Brunswick stew a try and found it pretty good, too. I had been tempted to try the Brunswick stew myself since we were in Brunswick, but when the waittress described the soup, there was no doubt in my mind! However I did try a bite of Scott's stew so I could at least say I tried it, and it was pretty tasty. Our main courses did not disappoint either. Spanky's has sort of a nautical theme with pine wood throughout, and you can tell their huge Georgia Bulldog fans.....very casual and fun place.

Thursday was a day of rest with no major plans other than Russ helping Scott with a couple minor fixes on his unit and to grill the steaks Scott had bought earlier in the week. These were some of the biggest ribeyes I've ever seen! Russ was in charge of grilling, Scott brought some Merlot, fixin's for the potatoes, a Boston Cream Pie, and I supplied salad, garlic bread, and the potatoes. We were quite full and contented when we were done! Oh, and I don't think I've introduced you to Bonnie, Scott's little Scottish Terrier, who we think might be 5 years old. He acquired her from a shelter while staying in Myrtle Beach last year, and she's been a good traveling companion for him. Initially she wasn't sure what to make of Mikey and Abby, but they're becoming friends and getting used to each other. Scott and Bonnie come over nearly every afternoon to visit, chat, and/or watch TV for a couple hours.

Friday it was off to Jekyll Island, another one of the Golden Isles off the GA coast, named in honor of Gen. Ogelthorpe's friend, Sir Joseph Jekyll. The island was eventually purchased in 1886 by a group of millionaires as a winter retreat for the wealthy, and the Jekyll Island Club was created. The number of members was limited and for the next 60 years, they enjoyed all the amenities and beauty of the island. Non-members were not allowed, and even Winston Churchill and President McKinley were refused admission! The likes of Pulitzer, DuPont, and Rockefeller built mansion size "cottages", and the only way onto the island was via their yachts as there was no bridge for many years. At some point after WWII, the era of the Club was over and in 1947 the State of Georgia purchased the island. Eventually it was taken over by the Jekyll Island Authority, which over time rebuilt, redeveloped, and restructured it into the beautiful place it is today. The island is complete with shops, restaurants, golf courses, convention center, soccer complex, and sea turtle center, but by legislative mandate, 65% of the island is and will remain in a mostly natural state including parks, picnic areas, and beaches. We drove around the entire loop of the island stopping at a Central Dunes Beach, the fishing pier near Driftwood Beach, the Horton House ruins, and the Jekyll Historic Wharf where those yachts once docked and the "cottages" still exist. A little bit of trivia: scenes from the movies Glory and Legend of Baggar Vance were filmed on Jekyll Island.

The Horton House was the plantation residence of Major William Horton until his death in 1749. Maj. Horton succeeded Gen. Ogelthorpe as commander of the British troops stationed here. It is two-stories and one of the oldest standing tabby structure exteriors in the state. Tabby is a building material native to coastal GA having crushed oyster shells as its principal ingredient mixed in with concrete. It doesn't look like much now, but I'm sure in its day it was quite elegant.

On our way back we stopped for lunch at the famous GA Pig BBQ Shack. On their sign in front of the rustic log cabin building, you see a merry pig playing a fiddle and doing a jig. Must be good eatin'! We got the lunch special - sandwich, 2 sides, and a drink - and it wasn't too bad. Not the best BBQ we've ever had, but we enjoyed it.

Nothing really planned for Saturday and Sunday, and then we head to Hardeeville, SC, just over the GA border and a short drive to Savannah and Hilton Head. So until then, keep smilin', keep truckin', and appreciate the little things in life.