Historical, Cultural and Natural Beauty - and New Friends!

October 22-28, 2018
Savannah, Georgia - St Augustine, Florida

We continue two hours south on Monday. Hwy 17 takes us to state number 40 - Georgia! With our sped-up travel time we'll only see Savannah this time, but it's a state I definitely want to see more of.

The Biltmore RV Park is small and old, and our satellite-access site is right on the highway, so it's also very noisy. 

At the recommendation of the park staff we head to Tybee Island for late lunch. AJ's Dockside is a cute little spot with mediocre food and yummy watermelon margaritas. With a break in the humidity we're happy to spend time outside.

We've had mostly good experience with trolley tours so we try another one to see historic Savannah. This time we're in an open-sided trolley, but unfortunately our visibility is more limited. Still, we see a very old and beautiful city, and learn lots of wonderful history. 

The famous Savannah Squares are much smaller than I expected from what I've seen and read. Still, they are all lovely and unique. Several have statues or other monuments, others are just quiet parks with benches to enjoy the beautiful trees.

Throughout the day we see dozens of buildings, parking lots, exhibits, museums, theaters, vehicles and more with the SCAD logo. Turns out the Savannah College of Art and Design has a huge presence here with over 14,000 students from all 50 states and 10 countries. 

Taking what we learn from the tour, we return on our own to some of the places we like the most.

The story is that she waved at every passing ship for years, expecting her love to return home to her.

This cobblestone road is where the ribbon ceremony was held for the 1996 Olympic rowing event. They must have dressed it up more!

Honoring Haitians who fought in the Revolutionary War.

The Candler Oak - older than our country.

Over 200 years old - hard to imagine all the changes he's seen.

Cathedral of St John the Baptist

Another city of stunning architecture, I love seeing all the variety and creativity used in both residential and commercial structures.

We're enjoying our city visits, but we're also ready for some time back in nature. On Wednesday Bill finds the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge (which is actually not even in Georgia - it's on the north side of the river in South Carolina). We laugh when the first building we see is a SCAD facility! The six mile loop takes us through trees, marsh and river where we see wonderful birds - and alligators!! 

A whole different world.

Great Blue Heron

Ibis

These giant water lillies wave at us in the breeze.

Seeing an alligator in the wild is very exciting!

He seems as curious about us as we are about him.

More "moss" than tree.

From a distance, I think this is a toad.....

Ewwwe! Back in the Jeep!

Another alligator. They never blink!

Anhinga

At the end of the loop we find our last alligator of the day. What fun to see these amazing animals.

After the refuge I want to visit a plantation. Bill finds one nearby and we head that way.

At the address for the plantation we find this has taken its place. So depressing!!

Many people ask which is better - Charleston or Savannah? The RV park and tour were both better in Charleston, but the cities themselves are both beautiful and I don't favor one over the other.

Thursday we're on the road again. The humidity is back as well. We keep thinking we'll get out of it either by calendar or map, but it seems to keep finding us :-(

We make it to the third historic city of the southeast's trifecta - St Augustine is the oldest continuous settlement in the country. While beautiful in many areas, it is a disappointment after the other two. 

St John's RV Park is the most reasonable option with a Passport America rate ($35) when you can't get into the state park, and is fine for our few nights here. We have a level road base parking spot surrounded by well maintained grass and tall trees. 50 amp FHUs with satellite access and fair WiFi. 


Do you have friends on Facebook who you're not sure how or when they became friends? And no other friends in common? I have one, and really like Chris. We have important things in common, like being Steelers fans and loving animals, and I enjoy her posts. Fortunately she's been following our route and reaches out when we're in Savannah. Will we be near Jacksonville and do we want to get together? Yes and yes!! She warns of the Gator/Bulldog game at the Jaguars' NFL stadium we plan to visit on Saturday, so we change our Jacksonville plans to Friday.

Used for other sporting events, there is very little Jaguars' branding at their stadium.

A first for us, the pro shop is only open on game days so I don't get my pin. I do find this one Jaguar along the back fence. Reminds me of the Thundercats my boys watched on Saturday morning cartoons!

Looking very Florida.

I almost missed the statue - he's very cool!

Chris and husband Vern meet us at one of their fav spots in Jacksonville Beach - Safe Harbor Seafood Restaurant. We determine that we became FB friends from an RV forum. They have long considered becoming fulltimers, and we enjoy sharing our love of the lifestyle with them. The food is yummy too. It's a wonderful visit, we're both so glad they made it happen, and we already look forward to seeing them again (hopefully on the road!).

Great peeps!!

Saturday it's time to get back on a trolley to see St Augustine. Amazingly it's chilly outside! Most of the day I'm wishing I had my sweatshirt - it's fantastic.

This trolley is different, with three cars attached, open on both sides, very narrow and hard seats. Think Disneyland parking lot shuttle. There are dozens of them throughout the city, taking up more than half of the small streets. The guide does a nice job of pointing out the interesting sights that are surrounded by tourist shops and bars. 

The first thing we learn is that Ponce de Leon was first mate on Christopher Columbus' second voyage to the New World. We didn't remember that from history class! The second thing we learn is that Henry Flagler is much more important in St Augustine history than Ponce de Leon.

Several narrow streets were designed with two story buildings on either side to increase air flow from the water to the city center for natural air conditioning during the sweltering summers.

Originally the Flagler Hotel, Flagler College is the beautiful highlight of city central.

The details are beautiful.

Henry Flagler made a significant impact on the shaping of St Augustine.

Ponce de Leon Hall

The home of Cora Tyson who hosted Dr Martin Luther King, Jr several times during the height of the civil rights movement. She is 94 years old. She still lives here.

I love pink houses, and this one is a beauty.

On National Geographic's list of Most Beautiful Streets in America - Magnolia Avenue is lined with old growth oaks.

Also on Magnolia Avenue is this wall of shells. Built as additional defense of the city, the shells contained bacteria on their sharp edges. Those attempting to climb the wall were cut and infected - many became too sick to fight again - many died. I'll never look at shells the same!

Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States, on the shore of St Augustine. With palm log fortifications, deep moats and coaquina construction, there are many interesting stories about this site. 

Our plan was to stay on the trolley for the full tour then return to see some of the sites in more detail. By the time we return to our parking spot we reconsider and call it a day. Maybe it's because we  haven't had much time in between the tours, maybe it's the hard seats, maybe the touristy feel of the city, but we've seen enough for this visit.

Back in California, Grandson #3 Mason, is amping up the cute in keeping with his brother and cousin!

2 months old

We could turn west from here, but have a very important stop to make in Melbourne Beach. Sunday we catch up with a couple of our favorite people.

History Restored, Not Replicated

October 17-22, 2018
Selma, North Carolina - Florence and Charleston, South Carolina


Wednesday we leave our island paradise and turn inland for a couple "re-positioning" one-night stops.

It's a beautiful drive from the coast on Hwy 64. With marshlands along both sides we see several turtles sunning on small logs. Very cool!

RVacation Campground is right on I-95 - only a narrow frontage road between the office and the freeway fence. But it's a beautiful park with well maintained grounds, and good sized spaces. We have a 100 foot site and stay hooked up overnight.

One of the largest sites we've had - so of course we're only here for one night.

We don't see a lot of tiny houses in our travels, but this one has a very sweet site, and a nice screened porch.

Thursday takes us into our 39th state - South Carolina. We start to see signs of hurricane impact along the highway. Some trees are snapped in half, others are uprooted. Lots of standing water. No structural damage.

Swamp Fox Campground is a big step-down from our last stop, and is not a great introduction to a new state. The Passport America rate of $22 is the reason we're here - it is definitely not worth a full price rate! Trashy seasonals, and grounds in need of general maintenance. Not somewhere we'd return to.

It's a beautiful blue-sky Friday drive to Charleston, South Carolina where we're happy to find Oak Plantation RV Resort is a lovely park. It's pricey, but it's the weekend in a popular city, and I was happy to find a spot.

Spanish Moss hanging from huge Live Oaks lets us know we're really in the southeast now.

Just down the street is a little local eatery where we enjoy a couple of the best meals we've had. The rich flavors are amazing in both my shrimp and cheesy grits and Bill's spicy shrimp steamed buns. Angel Oak is fabulous!

We already love Charleston.

While our inland stops had nice, cool temps, we're back in the heat and humidity here. I'm not sure how much we'll be able to see from an enclosed tour bus, but it's air conditioned and will at least give us a good introduction to the city. The Gray Line Historic Tour ends up being a good experience, and with only six of us on board it's even better!

A very nice visitor center that needs a separate counter for tour tickets - now you stand and wait while the staff at every window tell long histories to each person.

A submarine in the Civil War??? Yes, this iron Confederate ship was pedal-powered by the crew!

Using a twenty foot bar on the front of the sub to ram and deploy a torpedo, the Hunley successfully sunk the USS Housatonic on February 17, 1864. The sub did not return, and all eight crewman were lost. When it was located in 1996, evidence showed the explosion of the torpedo also damaged and sunk the sub.

Restored, not replicated - required in Charleston.

Petticoat Stairs - ladies pulled up their hoops skirts to climb stairs and certainly didn't want gentlemen behind them! Instead, separate stairs are included on many old homes to avoid such social awkwardness.

Charleston prides itself on a history of religious freedom. Seven people could apply for and be granted a permit to build a house of worship for any shared belief system. This is the oldest Unitarian Church in the country.

There are no scheduled stops on the tour, but our driver stopped to visit this beautiful church interior.

The ceiling looks like lace.

Many different styles here.

The end of homes face the street, with large porches along the side.

Formal, multi-level porches. Beautiful but facing your neighbor's wall.

Our only other stop is along the harbor.

We're able to see Ft Sumter with zoom.

Even more impressive is this container ship! The tops of the sails actually come up to the bottom of the red letters.

Baskets, wreathes and other handmade items from palmetto fronds - for sale on many corners.

Beautiful ironwork throughout the city.

Built in the early 1800's, the siding looks like stonework, but is actually thick wood planks scored to look that way.

We very much enjoyed our tour of historic Charleston. Our guide pointed out the city's tolerance at one intersection with a Jewish temple and a pork BBQ, and a Catholic church and a Victoria's Secret! I thought it was a great representation of a special place.

Near the visitor center is another lovely eatery - Sol. Not sure about Mexican food with a southern flair, we are pleasantly surprised with more excellent meals. 

Salmon and jalapeno cheesy grits!

Tasty posole - very good.

In the evening we catch up with Ezra via Skype - he's getting so tall!

Showing us his Baymax costume.

So dang cute!

Sunday we watch football while it rains off and on all day. My plan was to return to the historic district to visit the Aiken-Rhett House but a hot and rainy day says staying home is the better idea.

Next up we visit another historic city in our 40th state.