Savannah, Georgia - October 20 - 21, 2015

Savannah, Georgia - October 20 - 21, 2015

October 20, 2015

We started the morning back in the same spot as we ended last night, next to our rig for our morning briefing.   Today we are heading to Savannah, Georgia.  We don’t need to arrive until after 1:00 p.m. and have nothing planned for this evening, so it will be a relatively easy day.

We decided to stop at the “Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum”.  The museum was great, Stan really enjoyed the time there – he even bought a shirt.

We arrived at the park and were parked in a nice pull thru.  After sitting for a while, we decided to walk down to the lake.  They said there were alligators, so be sure not to swim.  Instead of alligators, we saw swans.  They were huge and beautiful.  It is so peaceful and beautiful. 

By 7:30 p.m. Bev was so pooped she heated Stan a pizza and headed to bed.   Stan stayed up and watched TV.

October 21, 2015

Today, the buses picked us up at the RV Park at 8:30 a.m.  They took us into Savannah for a tour.  We didn’t realize that we were so far out of town.  It took about an hour to get to where we were met by the trolley for a tour of the city.

Savannah is another very old city with a lot of history and beautiful old buildings.  Many have been restored and are beautiful.  There are also many monuments honoring various groups and people.  Again, there were fabulous churches.  Again, we saw Live Oak Trees (called this because they stay green all year around).  In the Live Oak Trees, there is often Spanish Moss, which does not harm the tree.  Beware, in the Spanish Moss, you don’t want to pick it because it is filled with chiggers.  Chiggers are mites that bite and cause a tremendous itching. 

Forest Gump
 

Also, on the trolley ride we had some visitors.  First, was Forest Gump.  He stopped by to tell us about the movie of his life that was filmed in Savannah. 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, we had a member of the Mighty Eighth Air Force followed by a one of the pirates that causes problems in the area back in history.

 

One of the statues that we saw was the “Waving Girl”.  It has a cool story.

“One of Savannah's favorite stories involves the life of Florence Martus (1868 - 1943), who was known well by Savannahians and sailors of the sea as the Waving Girl. The daughter of a sergeant stationed at Fort Pulaski, Florence later moved to a cottage along the river near the entrance of the harbor with her brother George, the Cockspur Island Lighthouse keeper.

As the story goes, life at the remote cottage was lonely for Florence whose closest companion was her devoted collie.

At an early age, she developed a close affinity with the passing ships and welcomed each one with a wave of her handkerchief. Sailors began returning her greeting by waving back or with a blast of the ship's horn. Eventually Florence started greeting the ships arriving in the dark by waving a lantern.

Florence Martus continued her waving tradition for 44 years and it is estimated that she welcomed more than 50,000 ships during her lifetime. There is a lot of unsubstantiated speculation about Florence having fallen in love with a sailor who never returned to Savannah. The facts, however, about why she started and continued the waving tradition for so many years remain a mystery.

In any event, Florence Martus grew into a Savannah legend, known far and wide. On September 27, 1943, the SS Florence Martus, a Liberty ship, was christened in her honor.

The Girl Scout Program in the USA started in Savannah, Georgia by Juliette Gordon Low.  We went by the Girl Scout Building.  Bev was a Girl Scout while growing up – like the tour guide said – once a Girl Scout always a Girl Scout.

“Juliette Gordon Low envisioned an organization that would prepare girls to meet their world with courage, confidence, and character.

In 1912, in the midst of the Progressive Era—and at a time when women in the United States couldn’t yet vote—this nearly deaf 51-year-old sparked a worldwide movement inspiring girls to embrace, together, their individuality, strength, and intellect.

Juliette, affectionately known as “Daisy” by her family and close friends, gathered 18 girls in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia, to share what she had learned abroad about a new outdoor and educational program for youth, and with this, the Girl Scout Movement was born. Along with Juliette, these first Girl Scouts blazed trails and redefined what was possible for themselves and for girls everywhere.

 

 


 

After the 90 minute trolley ride with lots of information, we were taken to Paula Dean’s restaurant “Lady & Sons”.  It is a very busy place with a great buffet lunch.  The salad bar was awesome, and the southern fried chicken, meat loaf, vegetables, yams, macaroni and cheese were to die for.  After filling up on all of that, they brought out dessert.  We both had peach cobbler.

 

When lunch was over, we HAD to go to Paula Dean's Store.  There were many temptations, but we did a pretty good job or resisting.  Bev was so disappointed that she did not buy Stan an "Eating Shirt" while there.

 

 

 

We had two more hours to shop at the various stores on River Street.  They recommended that we take the elevator down to River Street because the stairs available were SO steep. 

 

 

 

 

While we wandered the streets, we saw so many cute dogs and we visited a Candy Store that was making taffy.  Very fascinating!!

There were so many cute dogs on the street.  Here are a couple of them.

 

 

 Finally the buses picked us up to return to the RV Park.  The rest of the evening was spent relaxing.