Travel Journal – January 18, 2016

I have my day planned, nothing special for this overcast Monday morning. Last weekend we took it easy visiting a few family members, but mostly hanging around the Coach. I guess we do a lot of that 😉

Jagger and I will go for a walk this morning then return shortly to continue my journal from our stay in the Savannah area last Summer.

I believe we left off on our first night after our arrival in Hardeeville…

Travel Journal – August 13, 2015

Reflection: Savannah – Visit to the past

Jagger Exploring the Dog Park

Thursday morning after getting ready for the day I take Jagger to the Dog Park. He runs and plays even though no other dogs are there with him. I think he just enjoys the freedom after such a long time without being off leash much.

We hadn’t been there more than five minutes when I see a man walking what looks like a German Sheppard. Jagger ran over to the fence and proceeded to jump up and down, actually higher than the four foot fences height. The man asked if Jagger was friendly. My answer that I always hate to give was sometimes. He does have issues with most dogs, but he has some friends too. Jagger settled down and went nose to nose through the fence. Maybe…wait for it…grrrr. Oh Jagger you just spoiled your fun. It makes me sad every time he does this. The man left with his dog and we stayed at the dog park for a while longer before going back to the Coach. Unfortunately every time we saw the man and his dog after that, they avoided us.

Shortly after arriving back at the Coach, I said goodbye to Jagger and left for what turned out to be about six hours.

Savannah

On the way – Savannah, Ga

As soon as I leave camp I am driving through some thick hardwood forests while negotiating potholes in the heavily traveled two lane highway. I pass many picturesque views, but there is nowhere to pull off the road to grab a photo. So I settle for the pictures here taken from my phone that’s mounted on my front window while I travel most of the time. As I reach the end of the forested road I turn on highway 17 and enter an open, more swampier area and that continues as I approach the Savannah river. Then I cross a very impressive cable-stayed bridge for the first of many times during my stay there. The Talmadge Memorial Bridge was named after a Georgia governor, Eugene Talmadge, who held office in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s. Savannah is the busiest seaport on the Eastern seaboard and fourth busiest of our nation.

Once I crossed the bridge, it then dropped me right into Savannah. Like many large older cities I have visited, the streets are very narrow. Some even too narrow for the Workhorse, but an impressive old city with so much history you could spend a month here and not see it all. I already realize the short week I have here won’t give more than a sample of the offering.

The Savannah History Museum

I drive past many old mansions and historic landmarks until I arrive at my destination, The Savannah History museum is in the Central of Georgia Railway passenger “shed”. An old brick building from the mid 1800’s. There is lots of parking here with a steep fee to match, but at least there is room for the Workhorse. I enter the Museum and step back in history, enjoying my visit of the exhibits. The small museum itself can be seen in an hour or two. My favorite though, is a presentation given by a volunteer.

The American Revolution Battlefield

When I first saw Aaron, he was decked out like a colonial soldier. I thought he was waiting for questions from passersby. So I made him work. I am fascinated by this era. After we talked for about ten minutes he excused himself. He then proceeded to play the fife and the drum while walking to the museum entrance. He Shortly returned with about nine or ten children with their parents in tow.

Our guide then proceeded to live out the Battle of Savannah using figures on a diorama built to scale of the Battlefield Memorial Park. This park, which is across the street from the museum, is on the location of the second bloodiest battle of the American Revolutionary War, where 800 soldiers were killed or wounded.

After his talk, he shouted I need volunteers to fight the British. Then he inducted his audience into the American Revolutionary Army, issuing them rifles, pistols and hatchets. Of course they were wooden, but very effective for the imagination. For myself and one other dad, we were given the deadly choice to carry the banner. I carried the flag of the Thirteen Colonies and the dad carried the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag.

Savannah History Museum – On the Battlefield of Freedom

Then our “commander” had us line up and march to the “battlegrounds”, crossing the street and stopping traffic in the process. Once on the Battlefield he described the battle as we moved across the deadly lawn toward the fort berms. Many were “lost” along the way, only to be “resurrected” as we went. Once in the fort we protected it, loading our rifles and firing in rows. He fired his flintlock rifle to give us an idea of the sound and true feeling of battle. The description, along with the demonstration of the battle and how it was fought was excellent. I don’t think any history class I ever attended told the story like he did and being on location was remarkable. The children were in a trance, eating up every word that came out of his mouth. It was one of the highlights of my trip to Georgia.

Until next time, Safe Travels…Gary