Savannah, Part 3

Here is the restored Tybee Lighthouse which was one of the first public structures in Georgia, and one of the earliest lighthouses in American history. The original was completed in 1736. Today it is 154 ft. tall (the bottom 60 ft. date from 1773, the upper 94 ft. from 1867).

Little Man was SOOOO excited to see the lighthouse! He kept saying "wighthouse" over and over. Here are Little Man and hubby walking towards the lighthouse. There are 178 cast iron steps up to the top of the lighthouse and Little Man excitedly climbed 3/4 of the way until loud music from outside scared him.

Little Man looking out the window once we had reached the top.

Once we reached the bottom the guide let Little Man wear a Lighthouse Keeper Cap so he could join the Junior Lighthouse Keeper Club.


We walked outside and saw the rest of the grounds and the restored lighthouse keeper's cottage...
and then we got in the car to start the trip home, and Little Man had a smile for miles talking about his visit to the lighthouse.

We had a great time.

Tomorrow I'll post a photo of the completed pirate chests.

Savannah, Part 2

Here is part 2 of a three part series on our trip to Savannah, Georgia. When I left off last time we had turned in for the night. The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel, packed, and drove to the Historic District to walk around. (Note: If visiting Savannah, parking meters do not need to be fed on the weekend).The first sight we saw was Independent Presbyterian Church which was featured during the opening feather scene of 'Forrest Gump.'

Right across the street from the church is Chippewa Square. The city has 21 of the original 24 squares that dot the city. Many are named after the founding fathers of Savannah, and have monuments that do not match the name of the square in which they are located, for example, Oglethorpe Square does not have the Oglethorpe Monument, that is in another square. The sign pictured above is sitting where Forrest Gump's bus bench sat. The bench was there just for the movie as the flow of traffic actually flows in the opposite direction. The bench (along with the bird girl statue featured in the book and movie 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,' can both be found in the history museum (admission charged).

Speaking of what Savannahians call "The Book," above is a photo of Mercer-Williams House where the events took place (yes, there really was a murder). In recent years Jim Williams' sister has opened the house for tours...be sure you do not ask about "the incident,' the tour guide will coldly inform you that the tour is, "a house tour, therefore we focus on the three As, art, architecture and antiques," I kid you not, my friend actually asked and that was the response she got (and Elle Decor actually talked about that response as well). I was mortified!

The fountain at Forsyth park. After also checking out the City Market, and the Savannah College of Art and Design Store (shopSCAD) we headed back to the car to make the drive to Tybee Island which is 18 miles from downtown Savannah.

Little Man and hubby waiting for lunch at The Crab Shack on Tybee Island. This restaurant was featured on Rachael Ray's $40 A Day show on Food Network, and Elle Decor. We had clam chowder and...

Low Country Boil which is made up of shrimp, potatoes, corn on the cob and sausage all boiled together with Old bay seasoning. I actually didn't like it too much, but since that's a regional specialty I tried it.

After eating we checked out the alligators that live at The Crab Shack, and watched people feeding them with poles (which was really cool...you buy raw beef, stick it on the end of a pole and watch them jump up to get it...very entertaining).

After Little Man got his fill of watching the 'gators (he said wow and yes quite a bit), we left to head on to the lighthouse (which you'll have to wait for the next installment to see).

Savannah, Part 1

The husband had a project in Savannah, Georgia, that required him to go there so Little Man and I went along. We left early Friday morning in a rental car and started for the 4 hour and 15 minute trip to Savannah. We made great time and Little Man enjoyed watching Shark Tale and Cars on the DVD player.


When we arrived we headed straight to Walls Bar-B-Q which is located on York Lane (which as you can tell from the photo is an alley). Little Man and I had eaten here when we had visited Savannah with a friend of mine. Despite its depressing appearance it has been featured in Frommer's Travel Guide and Elle Decor Magazine as a great place to eat soul food. And the collard greens are the best I've ever eaten. I also had potato salad and barbecue ribs. Hubby had the ribs with macaroni and cheese and Little Man had chicken and french fries. If you go I suggest that you get your food to go, it is really hot inside and there are only 2 booths.

After we ate we checked into the Staybridge Suites which was located on Bay Street directly facing Factor's Walk (a prime location). Little Man and I freshened up, unpacked, and took a short nap while Hubby headed off to work. Afterwards we headed out to the River Walk to get some dinner. We decided on Tubby's, and although we didn't eat outside we enjoyed the live entertainment and the shrimp. Hubby and I both had the fried shrimp dinner (with salads, and french fries for him and baked potato for me). The shrimp was great, it didn't have a lot of breading so the flavor of the shrimp really stood out...YUMMY!! Little Man had a chicken nugget basket.


After dinner we walked along the River Walk. Little Man enjoyed watching the ships along the river and the weather was really nice for strolling (and walking off dinner). Savannah has one of the Ten Busiest Ports in the United States because of the always present deep water. It's amazing to see the huge cargo ships that glide by so close.

We walked down to the end of all the shops and saw the Waving Girl monument dedicated to the real waving girl who waved to all the ships that came and went from Savannah's port for 50 years.


As I was taking a photograph of the monument Little Man spotted a tugboat getting ready to pass us. As it came by he waved and the tugboat captain honked the horn and waved back, which made Little Man giggle.

The tugboat circled and then went on down the river while the sun was slowly setting. Then the three of us went to the Candy Kitchen and picked out some treats to nibble on (coconut clusters, almond clusters, chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate covered oreos and pralines..one for each of us) and to eat at home.

After we sat for a little longer we walked some more and then headed back to the hotel to relax for the rest of the evening. We had a great day and couldn't wait to see some more tomorrow.