Sleepless in Babyland: A Long Weekend of Adventures!

We thought we should take some time before the summer rush and go on an adventure! We pulled Lon out of school at 11am --which counted as him being in a full day. He will miss tomorrow.
Mark and I had not been back to Savannah together since our first anniversary. This was where we decided to go!

We went on the backroads and did not take the interstate! We had some wonderful scenery!

We drove by alot of swamps. I saw an alligator lift his head up a little! I did not get a picture of it or any of the egrets that were in there.

Then we went through some march country. I did not see any wildlife other than birds!

We stopped at Carolina Cider Company
And no, I would never sell my little honey

What a fun little place. Lots of snacks and ciders of all kinds! It is really not that far from the house, so Lon and I can make a short day trip out that way!

Lon was starting to get really hungry, so we got him a whoppie pie. He enjoyed every crumb!

From the Carolina Cider Company we went and explored a little bit of Beaufort, South Carolina. We are going to go back there. We stopped for lunch at a place called Ryan's Famous Pizza. Mark and I did not have much hope for this place, but it was pizza for Lon. I ordered the fried shrimp appitzer. WOW. I was amazed at how good it was. Big, fresh shrimp, hand breaded and fried to an absolute perfection. I very much liked those. Lon enjoyed his pizza too.

It was still early in the afternoon, so we thought we would see what there was to see in Hilton Head. We probably won;t go back there. Lots of shopping places, very little beach access and what was there was very little parking and long walks to the beach. Tremendous amount of golf courses. Not really us.
We went through Bluffton on our way south. That little town looked like something we would enjoy exploring. Small and charming. You can buy green curry and tandori chicken at the gas station. Who would have guessed that?

Getting off the main road into Savannah! Gotta take pictures of the train!

This was near the hotel. WHY. I am still not certain.
It says Savannah Mortgage Company on it, in faded letters.
We got to our hotel, the La Quinta , where we had reservations, only to find out the pool was closed. We searched for another hotel. There were none to be had for the entire length of our stay. Next time we know to call and ask as we make the reservation the status of the pool. It is not a bad place. Cozy, but inexpensive. We really are not spending much time in our room!.

The Oaks were so pretty!

Mark wanted something good for dinner, so I looked up the place Mark and I went for our first anniversary. It was still there, still in business. We thought it would be fun to go back and see if it was still good. It was. It is the River House. Right on the river, of course. River walk is always a fun place.
We got a great parking spot too! Lon had an adult portion of fish and shrimp, Mark had to eat 1/2, but Lon still ate very well. Mark got the low country paella and I had some peel and eat shrimp and the salad called Purple Salad, a crab cake on greens with feta cheese, pistachios and beets, topped with a crab cake. It was wonderful!

We decided we needed a walk before having any dessert. We walked along the street.

The old stairs, there is a sign that says: These stairs are old, use at your own risk!

The back side of City Hall

Mark and Lon got some ice cream.
Lon had mint chip and Mark had key lime pie gelato! It was very good. He let me have one taste!

Some of the old buildings.

We looked into getting on the river boat. For all three of us for the Sunday brunch cruise, it was 100 dollars. We thought we would give it a pass this time. There will be other times!

We looked at the boats moored at the Hilton. Yes, you can moor your boat there! If you are a guest of the hotel, it is 5 dollars per foot per night. Nice moorage.

We looked around the shops, bought a couple post cards to Lon to send.
We saw the spot where Ogelthorpe landed in 1733.

This yacht was also moored at the hotel. It is a very nice yacht.

History Bit

Lon walking around the SS Savannah fountain.

I saw a sign that said, Waving Girl Park 10 blocks. We got back into our car and drove down there. There was no parking near enough for me to walk to, so Mark illegally parked the car, he stayed with the car while Lon and I took a couple pictures! That was fun.
History Bit:

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 Waving Girl Statue by renowned sculptor Felix De Weldon, the sculptor of the United States Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington, Virginia (also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial,) depicts Florence with her loyal collie.

This is Savannah's Olympic Flame. In 1996, the Olympic Yachting events were held in Savannah. The flame burned for the duration of the centennial games.

As we were driving back to the hotel, we saw a hearse with the top stretched! It was a Hearse Tour. The picture is sort of funny. We saw it in front of Colonial Cemetery, DAR entrance.