We'd been trying to get to Savannah for a couple of months and finally made it for a few days. Our first day, we drove through the town a bit, took some photos and decided to head out to the Tybee Island lighthouse. Kim really loves lighthouses so this should be a good one.
 |
| We get all the way out here and, because it's Tuesday, it's CLOSED ! So, instead of a tour and getting to the top, we headed across the street to see the Atlantic Ocean and the entrance to Savannah River. |
 |
| Walkway out to the beach. It was drizzling and rainy by this time....but 75 degrees. |
 |
| There was a storm surge from Debby that pushed all this seaweed up the beach. The water was warm. |
 |
| Savannah is a big shipping harbor. |
 |
| The lifeguard was watching me verrrrry closely. |
 |
| Artsy-Fartsy photo. |
 |
| Tybee Lighthouse with sea grass in the foreground. Steve, the photographer at work. |
 |
| Check out this Hurricane Storm Surge Elevation marker. I would not want to be around during a Stage 5. |
 |
| After we caught our shark, the local surf shop wanted to display it out front. |
Instead of posting numerous photos of Savannah, we made a simple collage instead. The town was set up around a series of squares, all of them very lovely. Savannah is city that is best seen walking and strolling around.
 |
| A very symmetrical city layout. |
 |
| All through our journeys through the south, Kim kept trying to get someone to make her a Mint Julep. Finally, the bar in Savannah made one for her. |
On the way back from Tybee Island, we saw some signs for Fort Pulaski.
 |
| Aerial view of Fort Pulaski. We got to tour the insides in the driving rain....well, I did. Kim stayed in the dry car. |
Now...I LOVE forts so off we went to check it out. Turns out this fort, which was placed where it is and partially designed by a young Lieutenant named Robert E. Lee, guarded the entrance to Savannah
http://www.nps.gov/fopu/historyculture/robert-e-lee.htm
During the Civil War, the Union bombarded the fort until it surrendered. How they did is very interesting. The Union artillery commander, Captain Quincy A. Gilmore knew the blueprints of the fort and therefore knew where the magazine (the gunpowder) was kept in the fort so he devised a way to aim his cannon at that spot hoping to blow it all up. The complete story is in the website below.
http://www.nps.gov/fopu/historyculture/rifled-cannon.htm
So, for all of you fort lovers, here are some photos as well as the artillery sighting maps showing how they aimed towards the magazine in the fort.
 |
| The rangers in the visitor's center were extremely knowledgeable about the fort's history and details. |
 |
| The damage from the artillery still shows to this day. Notice the different color bricks around the windows. Those were made of a different material than the rest. |
 |
| You can see the arcs in the wood, especially in the far cannon, where they could rotate the gun. |
 |
| This is the magazine room that was opened up by Union cannon. A couple more hits and it would've exploded taking the entire fort with it. This is why the fort surrendered. |
 |
| How the lifted the cannons into place after servicing. |
 |
| This shows the sighting of the Union cannon on the fort. |
One last thing about Savannah...when we were walking down the street next to the river, a couple of HUGE ships went by...right next to us ! Pretty darn impressive. The locals just yawn when they come by while all of tourists go rushing to the edge to gawk and take photos.
 |
| Each one of the containers is equal in length to our motorhome...about 40-ft. !!! |
 |
| We could not figure out what this one is carrying. |
 |
| One of the gawking, photo-taking tourists...oh wait...that's my Kim ! |
Savannah was a nice town...nice people. We posted a few of the home photos here if you're interested.
https://picasaweb.google.com/100376105788369441882/Savannah03#
Hope you enjoyed this one.
Kim and Steve
