Tuesday, April 4, 2017

5. Fort McAllister and Savannah, Georgia

5. Fort McAllister and Savannah, Georgia,
March 30-31


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Fort McAliister and Savannah, Georgia Photo album





Forsyth Park
"Oh Savannah you did not disappoint ... giant oaks, Spanish moss, St. John the Baptist Church , Tybee island , Forsyth Park, Fort Pulaski, botanical gardens and Wormsloe Plantation ... oh and we found the coolest geocache ever!!! What a day ❤️

Off to Florida tomorrow for a 2 week hiatus 


This was our Facebook Post ..allow us to elaborate;


We arrived at this very secluded campsite after a 4 hour drive from Myrtle beach. Then it hits you why it's so remote, it was a fort used in the civil war in the 1860's between the Union and the Confederates.  The campsite itself is very well maintained and the sites are very spacious. Our site overlooked the salt marsh which we drove across on the causeway.  I've included a brief history of both forts below FYI.

Our first night we decided to hang out here at camp and realized there were a ton of geocaches. Time to hop on our bikes and head out hunting, and hunting we did....we found 5 out of 7 caches and were attacked by noseeums.....arghhhh.... we also found a baby tick on us sooooo off we went to hit the showers...I am super paranoid about ticks. We decided that tomorrow we were gonna go check out Savannah, which I heard so many good things about. 
Wormsloe Plantation
"A breathtaking avenue sheltered by live oaks and Spanish moss leads to the tabby ruins of Wormsloe, the colonial estate of Noble Jones (1702–1775). Jones was a humble carpenter who arrived in Georgia in 1733 with James Oglethorpe and the first group of settlers from England. Wormsloe's tabby ruin is the oldest standing structure in Savannah."

 Got an early jump on the day. Drove about 45 minutes to our first stop, Wormsloe Plantation. We arrived to this beautiful site of oak trees draped in Spanish moss lining the plantation. It's the only plantation left with its descendants still living in it, they are the 9th generation. We took many photos, as did many other people, then headed out. 


After the Wormsloe plantation we went to Fort Pulaski where we took a guided tour. Our young tour guide gave a very good animated version of the history that took place here. I guess this place is significant because it marked the first time that rifled cannons were used instead of smooth-bore ones. These rifled cannons were extremely accurate in comparison and the union soldiers were able to rip through the fort wall with relative ease resulting in the Confederates' surrender. We walked on the top layer of the fort walls and took several photos..... thoroughly enjoyed this fort...now off to Savannah!

Arrived in this beautiful city of 136,000 people ( way smaller than I had perceived) and tried to find parking. Apparently their meters are designated 30 min, 1 hr, 2  hr, 3 hr!!! So we had to drive around until we found a 3 hr one cuz we wanted to bike around the city. Turns out we parked on one of the prettiest streets, Jones Street. There were many other gorgeous streets such as Oglethorpe etc.  

This city is surrounded by 22 squares (parks) of famous places or people. It's a wonderful place to go sit and have respite from the biking. Wowwwww what a beautiful city....we biked up and down the streets, felt super safe on the roads as the cars are very respectful of cyclists and they would stop for you....a far cry form Montreal. We cycled to most of the popular attractions such as Forsyth Park,  St. John the Baptist Church, the riverfront, which reminded me of old Quebec, they have an upper and lower sector. We also went to city market and the botanical garden, where we found the coolest geocache I have ever seen. It was a birdhouse with a very clever system. Have to admit I need help from google to open it..... but wowwww it was cool...it involved a balloon to release the latch!

After a full day of cycling and visiting, we called it day and headed back to camp. Indeed Savannah did not disappoint, we highly recommend visiting this very historical city. 

sending love and hugs to all!

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Fort McAliister and Savannah, Georgia Photo album




The First Battle of Fort McAllister was a series of naval attacks that took place from January 27 to March 3, 1863,[1] in Bryan County, Georgia, during the American Civil War. The commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron Rear Adm. Samuel F. Du Pont decided to test operation of new monitors against Fort McAllister before conducting a major naval operation against Charleston, South Carolina.[2]




Map of Fort McAllister Historic Park



A Turning Point in Military History

For much of the 19th century, masonry fortifications were the United States’ main defense against overseas enemies. However, during the Civil War, new technology proved its superiority to these forts. The Union army used rifled cannon and compelled the Confederate garrison inside Fort Pulaski to surrender. The siege was a landmark experiment in the history of military science and invention



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4. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina



4.  Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
March 28-29

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entrance to our state park

at the beach


We hit the jackpot with this state park campground. It's an absolute gem in the middle of this city. It's extremely well maintained and has its own beachfront. We are soooooo pleased to be here.

Anyway, today was a very chillax kinda day. We leisurely woke up, had a very relaxed breakfast,  then proceeded to check out the main boardwalk at Myrtle Beach. The beach itself is gorgeous and of course the boardwalk is a tourist attraction or "trap". It must  be jam packed in the summer time but today it was super calm and quiet, only a few die hard kids  in the water and the odd fisherman or two trying to catch the big one! 

Decided it was time to explore a little so we headed off towards Murrells Inlet just south of our campsite. It's a quaint fishing  village, now mostly known for "Restaurant Row"...a cluster of award winning seafood and BBQ restaurants on Main Street. We pulled up behind a church and had a picnic lunch, ti was most delightful.
As usual , we always check our geocache app to see if we can hunt one down before we leave. As luck would have it , there's one right in this parking spot. Mission accomplishment ....found signed it and decided to hop on  our bikes and hunt some more. .....so off we went....we found 3/5. One in particular was a very touching geocache tribute to 911. An original beam from the Twin Towers was erected to honor all affected.

Spent the rest of the day walking to the pier and hangin' out at the beach. We also enjoyed this destination very much. It has something to offer for all tastes. Boardwalk, nature trails, etc, but most of all, the ocean.!!!

sending hugs to all

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Myrtle Beach Photo Album


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3. Assateague National seashore, Maryland ❤️


3rd destination!!! March 26-27

Greetings from Assateague National seashore, Maryland  ❤️

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Assateague photo album

sunrise
Wild horse roam free



Ahhh Assateague!!!

It was definitely worth the 25$ or so in tolls to get here. What a treasure this place is .... untamed ... untouched ... "primitive"......wild horses roaming free like they did about 300 years ago . Here's a brief history of this place;

This place is a barrier island stretching over 2 states Maryland and Virginia. The wild horses roam free in both states but the management of them is different. In Virginia they let the wild horses roam free and allow them to breed at will...then once a year the "saltwater cowboys" round the horses and  swim them across the bay to an auction;thereby controlling the population roughly 300 or so. Maryland's approach is allowing the mares to foal once and then they are given contraceptives , via a dart gun,on a yearly basis. They have  roughly 200 horses here.  The story  behind the wild horses dates back to 300 years ago when the Assateague Native tribe was here. When the colonists  arrived on the mainland, they were issued a grazing tax for their livestock so they decided to use the island as a natural corral for grazing ... they've been here ever since. The horses are absolutely gorgeous and calm, not jittery at all at human presence... having   said that  we are very respectful of them and do not touch or feed them ... it's an offense and you will be issued a ticket.  

Today we cycled 18 km up and the coast line. We checked out our geocache app and found all  3 geocaches on the island. Time goes by realllly slowly here....it's primitive ,to say the least, we sat on the beach watching the  waves roll in while soaking in all of the island's simple beauty. if you ever want to completely disconnect, this is the place for you...

Sleeping in the van is going super well for me...since I'm short , I fit nicely in there. It was very cozy under the duvet while it howled outside spitting  freeezing cold see breeze at us. The bed is super comfy 4 inches of foam mattress with a 2 inch memory gel topper.Peter's not having such a good go of it, he's still adjusting. 

Overall thoughts on Assateague. thoroughly enjoyed  this island....calmness and serenity comes over you while being in the presence of these magnificent beasts ... I rate this leg of the he trip a 9/10... cuz it was super cold and windy otherwise "10"
Tomorrow more by we're off to Myrtle Beach state campground and hopefully it'll be a little warmer! 


Sending hugs 

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Assateague photo album



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1. Home and 2. Albany, NY

Destination #1 & #2 Albany New York March 23-25

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Well it was a really good idea to leave yesterday as the bad weather that was forecasted panned out and the drive would have been miserable. We arrived at Nikki’s house around 5:30 and were immediately whisked off to Ryan’s art exposition at Roessleville Elementary. Ryan’s in grade one and was really proud to show us his work…the teacher in me enjoyed snooping around the school and took some photos for our teacher friends….

Today’s order of business was to get an American cell phone number, so we headed off to the mall in Albany and got all that sorted. Turns out that not all carriers are compatible with my iPhone 6 …so spent 25 minutes on the phone with a clerk and the verdict is that only AT &T or T mobile are compatible…who knew it was this complicated…. anyway we’re getting ready to head off to a traditional Fish Fry at the local firehouse tonight…. Mike (Nikki’s husband) is a volunteer firefighter and they are doing their fundraiser …. we’ll see how our first fish fry turns out....I expect it’ll be a lot of fun!

Once again the weather is playing havoc with our plans….we’re keeping a close eye on it cuz we’re supposed to leave on Sunday for Assateague National Seashore but freezing rain is on the menu…..argghhhhh …..we MAY have to stay an extra night here …we’ll see…..hope you’re all doing well….please send messages on our message board …we love hearing from you …

Love always

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