Savannah GA, Day Trip

On Saturday we visited Savannah, Georgia.  It was a sunny and warm day.  We have found that we enjoy historic areas and this city has a really interesting history.  If you ever have the chance to visit Savannah GA, it is worth the time.  We started on Congress Street and parked at Bull Street.  Yea, I know...Congress and Bull.  They are full of it!

We then walked toward the city market area.

Along the way we came upon Paula Dean's building / restaurant.  WOW, what a crowd!

Downtown has been 'revitalizing' since the 1970's.  Some streets are quite nice.  Some, just a block or two away, are forgotten.

We came upon the Universe Trading Company.  Amazing!!! The stuff these folks have on sale here is so comprehensive and bizarre, and in many cases rare and valuable.

There are many ways to see the sights.  Trolley, Charter Bus, Segway, Boat

or just plain car and foot exploration...that's us!

We quickly learned that there are MANY beautiful parks here in Savannah.

Many are a whole city block in size.  The are referred to by some as the jewels of the city.

I agree.  Beautiful.  There are an incredible number of historic buildings here, and every kind of diverse early architecture from the generations gone.

We also visited a Pre-Revolutionary War cemetery now called Colonial Park.

It was active as a cemetery during 1750-1853.  Then it was made a city park in 1896.  This is a remarkable cemetery; very old, worn and resting here are some great early Americans.

There are many churches here in Savannah.

And many provide an open door to those who wish to visit.

Of course, the Savannah River is of great importance to the city.

We traveled Rt. 17 in and out of the city, visible as the bridge in the background.  This is a VERY tall bridge, allowing huge ships to pass underneath without a draw span. 

The river bank was terraced in places, providing for several embedded roadways with many bridged walkways.

The old cobble stone roads are still there.  The warehouses from the shipping years are still there.

There is a very interesting mix of uses here, and of course, many FINE restaurants.  We ended up eating at Vic's.

It is on the fourth floor and we has a wonderful view of the river.

We had piano music, and the decor is great as is the food!  $25 including tip and we had a nice lunch. 

This lady....a mannequin in one of the MANY shops, sums it all up.  YEP, it was a good day!

Travel Day

On Friday we left Florida.  We had been in the Tampa area for 6 months.  It was a mild winter, with a few nights of below freezing temps and a few days in the 50's.  But winter was mostly 65F plus as a high temp and sunny.  Quite nice.  Spring came early, mid February.  For 12 weeks we had the most consistent weather I have ever experienced.  It was a dry period mostly.  8 weeks were 70s day / 50s night temps, no humidity, sunny, perfect.  4 weeks were 80s day / 60s night, warmer and still perfect.  We did begin to have days at 90s in May.  It seems that mid April is a better time to leave Florida, beat the heat and then crawl up the south east coast for a 'moving spring time.'  As it is, we left Florida mid May and it is warm and humid in the southeast.  It is also stormy and has rain from multiple weather fronts.  I found the dry weather of the Florida springtime to be a desirable thing.  Travel MAP - We are now in South Carolina -- Hardeeville -- just north of Savannah GA.  Quite a difference in campgrounds.

Previous from coach window:

Currently from coach window...

Both have their merits, another discussion.  We left Florida at 10am, after an easy morning relaxing and travel prep.  We arrived at 1pm and were fully checked in, set up and watching TV at 130pm. 

We then decided to go to Hilton Head Island for the afternoon.  It seems they specialize in GREEN, in that life is lived under the trees.  Residential and Commercial properties apparently have strict appearance restrictions.  Signage is minimal and structures are developed without impacting the landscape.  It is hard to see anything until you are right upon it.  You could easily drive right by Walmart and not even know it was there!!!  LOTS of private areas, security, visitors.  It seems to specialize in high end vacations and shopping, golf and the beach. 

We did not stay long.  Unless you are a homeowner or a rental occupant, the area does not seem conducive to visiting.  We did stop and get some fresh shrimp for dinner - stir fry - yum.  I wanted some fish and the fellow at the road side stand had some grouper and snapper - he had some beautiful fillets.  At $17/lb for grouper and $19/lb for snapper I had to pass on the fish.  One small grouper fillet was $23.  The shrimp were $7/lb head on, large and fresh and tasty. 

Today we are off to Savannah GA for a day trip.

Amelia Island FL - Day Trip

From the campground it was an easy drive to Florida Rt A1A, north of Jacksonville along the coast.  We first came upon Ft. George Island and were able to see the Florida of an era gone by.  Settled generations ago, it is lightly populated and allows you to imagine how Florida looked long ago.  As the day went on, we were more aware of all the islands that dot the southeaster US coast.  North along A1A there are many modern 'high end' gated resort and residential areas.  It is a very pretty area and a nice drive.  We visited American Beach and Jan picked up some shells.

Farther north is an older style beach front destination area, a 50's - 70's era look.  This is Fernandina Beach along the coast, and there is a FABULOUS historic downtown.  (check the link here to the photo tour on this page). We did see the Amelia Island Lighthouse...at a distance.  The road to it is closed, and we did not spend the time to venture into the Fort Clinch State Park property to see it from across the Egan Creek.

We did walk the historic area and had lunch.  Traffic and crowds were light on this mid week day.

Amelia Island is a really nice destination, a place one could vacation for a week at a variety of levels of accommodations.  Amelia Island is the northern most portion of Florida.  Across the river is St Mary's, Georgia.  We went there next.  After a short ride up RT 17 to Rt 40 we were at St. Mary's. 

It too is a historic area, but stuck in time...  There are no modern developments.  There are no crowds.  There is no beach.  It is a quaint area with many old structures that are well kept.  There are some river front activities and a nice park.

Several B&B's dot the area, and there are a few nice restaurant stops.

There is a ferry to Cumberland Island and there is a Naval Base - Submarine that looked interesting, though we did not take the time for either.  After 5 hours sightseeing, it was a quick 40 hop back to the Whale for a restful night, dinner and a movie.

St Augustine FL - Day Trip

After a wonderfully restful night and early morning routine, we struck out for St. Augustine FL.  It was about 40 minutes south of the Pecan Park RV Resort (a recommended RV park) and an easy drive right through downtown Jacksonville FL.  We first went to the St Augustine Light Station (a lighthouse with support functions).

It is just west of Anastasia State Park.  It is a beautiful property, huge live oaks, well kept structures.  There is a nice gift shop and you have to pay to go into the fenced lighthouse area.  We walked the property outside the fence and enjoyed the landscape.  Jan ain't climbing no lighthouses!

We then drove a little farther south and went to St. Augustine Beach.  They have a fishing pier and we lucked out to find a Wednesday farmers market.  I had lunch from the Taco Truck; taco plate with a fresh tuna taco and a southwest chicken taco, beans, rice, chips.  GOOD, $8.  There is a cool kids play area, safe and concrete with built in water squirts.  Quaint little beach area.  Had fresh veggies for dinner!

We then went north into 'old town'.  We parked and walked for a few hours.  I am from Williamsburg Virginia, a British Colonial settlement.  This is similar, except it is Spanish Colonial.  Different architecture and very nice.

A fellow named Flagler build several structure, including a few MAGNIFICENT hotels in the late 1800's.  They are now Lightner Museum and Flagler College.  Lots of parks in this area.

MANY old structures, houses, hotels, military facilities and the 'oldest house in the nation.'

This is definitely worth visiting if you ever are close by.

Then we headed home for a nice evening at The Whale - the big gray motorhome :)

Road Trip 2011 Begun!!

Wow!  We are finally on the ROAD. 

And predictable, it was a rush of activity and challenges.  After getting done with home remodeling and doctor visits, we finally nailed down a departure date - TUESDAY.  Then the planning and prep began.  We 'moved' into the RV on Monday.  We cleaned up and secured everything at the house on Tuesday morning; we had a planned departure time of 10am, but stuff took longer than expected.  We left at 1130.  First problem... 12volt system not working.  UG.  Decided to run the generator to make due until we could assess the problem.  Well, maybe we would still make our option A destination in SC.  We stopped for gas.  Pulling out of the gas station we lost the passenger side blind spot mirror...2nd problem and a safety issue.

So we pulled into the local RV dealer and I spoke with a technician.  I confirmed what the problem was with the 12volt system and replaced a fuse.  This thing got fried during a previously discussed incident, and was still not working right...$5 part. 

The mirror was tougher.  $40 for glass, plus shipping; $75 for the whole mirror, plus labor and time to install.  I opted for option C - good old stick on bug eyed mirror.  During a future stop I will get this fixed. 

So now, back on the road and all system a 'GO', we opted for destination 'B' - Jacksonville FL.  We wanted to visit St. Augustine anyway, so this works. 188 miles and $100 in gas later we were at the Pecan Park RV Resort.

It was an easy drive.  All went well.  The park is nice ( will comment more later) and the weather PERFECT!  The RV had been sitting all winter, so it took an hour to get everything back in good order. 

The hot water tank smelled like rotten eggs.  Had to drain and flush it, as well as flush and rinse the holding tanks.  While I was doing all this, dinner was cooking.  Had a great dinner, news, a nice walk. 

TV reception is GREAT here with the JACK digital antenna.  I also have 4G on my Thunderbolt Android - nice.  Look up the TV guide for over the air program and presto!  A nice hot shower after NCIS-LA and bedtime.  Up this morning for a great sunrise and TODAY.  Off to St. Augustine later.