Charleston day 2

 Our first impression of Charleston was far from favorable. We went back today to see some sights on our want list. Charleston is horribly congested in the downtown area. It really does not have a central business district. What it does have is narrow two lane streets. If you choose the inside lane it is a sure bet someone will be trying to turn left, without a signal. If you choose the right lane it will suddenly become parking spots. All this adds to near gridlock. Charleston is home to the Citadel University, College of Charleston, Medical University of South Carolina. Yes, there were young people everywhere. Parking is at an absolute premium as you might expect.


 The city is referred to the "Holy City" around here. It does have an abundance of churches. Could not get to most of them but here are a few photos.

 The last photo is one of a Church known as the round Church. It sets in the middle of a cemetery which is right on Meeting street, a main road.

 While no where near as charming as Savannah,it is not without it's own charming buildings.

 This cobblestone street was so uneven and rough it was difficult to walk on.

 We did tour a small museum, The Old Slave Mart. What we learned was that slaves used to be traded on the street. City fathers thought this unbecoming so they changed laws so that they had to do the trading inside. This building was the largest and only survivor. We also learned that those traded were born here, not brought over from Africa. In addition free blacks were buying and selling slaves as well. All to make a profit and there was a sliding scale of worth based on age/sex/condition and skills. The traders were the middle men between sellers and the buyers. Unfortunately no cameras allowed inside.

  Charleston has taken some old buildings and created a nice area. It is known as City Market This area changed our opinion of Charleston. While we have no plans to return, we no longer think as negatively about the place as we did. Remainder of our time will be spent at various locations in the countryside, plantations, old and current and a winery/distillery!

Fort Sumter

 Way back in August the PBS station in Alabama replayed Ken Burn's epic film The Civil War. It was in celebration of it's 20 years since first showing. You have seen it haven't you? If not, why the hell not? Even though I had seen it several times before, we watched it again, all episodes.

 Because the first shot was fired here, this place holds a significant place in history. I am far from a Civil war nut, but do enjoy history. We have in the past visited battlefields at Pea Ridge, Vicksburg and Shiloh. In fact a return visit to Shiloh is in store for us on way home.

 Many unique things about this fort. You have to take a ferry out to it, it has NOT been restored. While a center battery was built in 1890's, the exterior walls that remain are as they were post siege. Many forts were restored/rebuilt in 1930's by the CCC's. While that effort is great, always better to see the real thing. And with that a quick visit to Fort Sumter.

View when approaching via ferry. At the start of Civil War it was 3 stories hign, 55 feet high. What you see is whats left, mostly around 9 foot to 25 foot in height.

Some views of the walls of the fort

 A plaque for the Union soldiers stationed there April 12, 1961. No such plaque for Rebel forces who abandoned the fort 4 years later.

A view of Charleston from ferry. Notice the LACK of skyline. Charleston is one of the largest bulk ports on east coast. Hard to tell by skyline, or lack thereof. Charleston was leveled during Civil war. Thus nothing,or precious little, predates that time period.

 More on Charleston tomorrow. Warning, I may reset your expectation or view of Charleston.

Charleston

 Well we have made it to Charleston, South Carolina. Travel day so no pictures to wow you with. Front coming thru bringing clear skies, drier air and cooler temps. Rain forcast next week so will have our butt's in high gear trying to see all we can. Several venues are outside so those first, inside stuff for Monday or Tuesday.

I told you earlier about higher tides in Georgia. The last few days tides were above normal, in 10 foot range. As we were on barrier islands we would drive past a marsh that was mostly grass with muddy spots. Next morning it was mostly water with shoots of grass protruding up.

 Skidaway Island, except for state park, is one big gated community. Noted a lot of other gated communities around Savannah. The haves and the have nots.

 We are at a park owned and operated by the county. The campground is but a small portion of the park. They are in process of putting up Christmas lights. Starting on 14th it becomes one of those drive thru Christmas scenes.


 Tourist information tomorrow.


 We are here:

Savannah part 3

Well the rain has altered our plans, but not washed them out. A couple of random bits of news then a funny story, then some photos.

 Most of the world does not know, or care, but Georgia Tech upset Florida State in football last Saturday. The game has been shown at least 4 times since then here.

 EVERYTHING here has somebody's name. Joe Blow parkway, Joe Blow bridge, even Joe Blow boat ramp. Not famous names, at least not famous outside south Georgia.

 You know when a prank or gag startles you? Funny first time, second or third time not so much? Well since Amelia Island we have been in the land of the oaks. What do oaks do in the fall? Drop acorns of course. Now give them some size, and a thirty foot drop to gain speed, and they make a loud noise even on rubber roof of RV. Now let them hit roof of Jeep while in it and you need to change clothes...

 Between rain showers we went to visit a cemetery. Ok, we are weird, get over it. This was a historic cemetery with character. In a day when you are lucky to get small bronze plaque, these monuments are impressive. Some were 30 feet or so tall.

 It's the south, a barrier island so guess whats next?

 Why the name you ask?

 This one surrounded by moat, fed by elaborate system designed by a young engineer named Robert E. Lee when he was 29

 Battle here proved the effectiveness of rifled cannons instead of smooth bore.

 And while he is famous for it, he once overturned the same thing..

  Our next stop is Charleston, SC. I assure you that reports from there will include a report on a fort. Fort Sumpter where the first shot of the Civil War was fired. We have learned something new at every fort we have visited, hope that you have as well.

Savannah part 2

 The town of Savannah was laid out on plan drawn by Major Oglethorpe. (remember him from St Simons?) It consist of 20 something existing squares interspersed in the city. Makes for nice residential design, not so good for autos. Very tight and congested and parking an absolute premium. The houses/mansions are very nice, some quite large. Of course there are plenty of live oaks.

 The river front area is also very nice. A big difference between Savannah and St Augustine. In the latter the old building while containing shops, they were of the "tourist trap" variety. In Savannah they are restaurants and everyday type shop. The streets are 'paved' with ship ballast stones. A nice area that the locals frequent.

 Being the south, of course cotton was king...

 As if Savannah did not have enough to talk about from history, there is always the movies. Midnight in the Garden of good and evil, Forrest Gump, Something to talk about and many others were filmed in downtown area. Remember Forest;s girlfriend Jenny? Remember toward  the end she was a waitress? Well this was the restaurant used for that scene...

 The park bench Tom Hanks as Forest sat on as well as statue from cover of Midnight in garden of good and evil are now in museums. Idiots kept trying to steal them. Weather permitting, more to come.

Savannah part 1

 Savannah is as charming and picturesque as you might imagine. If you are like us you like to stop and read historical markers. Do that in Savannah and you go nowhere fast, there are that many. We took a trolley tour to get an overview and allow us to somewhat plan our walking tour. These trolley tours allow for getting on and off at various stops. In addition they cover multiple days. Great way to see crowded, unfamiliar cities in our opinion. It was a hopping day, a lot of people dining at the many restaurants, most with sidewalk table options.

 I will break up today into multiple post. Being Sunday, this post will focus on church and cemetery.


 Many of our friends are of the Catholic faith. If one visits historical locations, by and large any churches will be Catholic based. I will say this, Catholics KNOW how to build churches. In case you wonder I never use a flash inside a sanctuary.

  We waited outside to enter as a late Mass in Latin was ending. They have a large pipe organ that sounded beautiful.

 We then walked over to an old cemetery. No, not the more famous Bonaventure cemetery. Weather permitting that is for another day.

 Not sure if you can read the inscription but it is for a 17 year old who died in 1770



 More on Savannah later. We have been very fortunate the past 2 plus months weather wise. According to the weather folks our luck has run out here in Savannah. We shall play it day by day.

Y'all spoken here

 We have arrived at probably one of the more quintessential cities of the South. While we will be here for 5 nights, it will be a busy time. A lot of things on our list to see and do. I normally try and post real time information. What I mean is that i transfer photos from camera, select the one's that hopefully convey what I am trying to say, re-size them then post daily. That way you see a glimpse of what we experienced on a given day. May not be able to do that here, or the next stop. Will do the best I can. More people reading this than I ever imagined and I feel the pressure. Mr Kelty, my English teacher from high school, would wonder what has happened to the world!

 Google Earth, point the way!

Now lest y'all are thinking we are out slumming in the boondocks, a little enlightenment for you.

Skidaway Island is an exclusive census-designated place (CDP) in Chatham County, Georgia, United States. The population was 8,341 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is one of the most affluent communities in the United States. The island is well known for its waterfront properties and golf courses within The Landings, one of the largest gated communities in the country. Skidaway Island is home to the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, a research institution operated by the University of Georgia and used by scholars and researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Savannah State University and College of Coastal Georgia.

The above courtesy of Wikepedia



In fact, less than a PGA drive from our humble camper you could own a home on a golf course, providing you have deep pockets! A word about campgrounds might be in order. To find campgrounds I utilize rvparkreviews, tripadvisor and anything I can find on line. Reading reviews if overall pretty good I consider it. If multiple decent sounding parks where i want to be then price can be a tie breaker. The last campground, Jekyl Island was one that seemed OK. Maybe for others, for us no. Mary could not leave soon enough. Now we are at Skidaway, a state park. Would stay here the max 14 days if time allowed. You sometimes never know till arrival. Because of location this park at high end of what I will pay, $36 a night. While nice, the corp of engineer park at Bunker Hill was just as nice for a discounted $12 per night. If over 62 get your parklands pass. Has paid for itself many times over. Just some detail you might not have thought about, or maybe you were wondering. Of course in many areas there is always the Wal-Mart parking lot...

And with that our home for next 5 days y'all!

 Historic downtown Savannah tomorrow...