Here it is November already. It is hard to believe that we have been on Tybee Island for 2 months. I didn't think that we were very busy but after looking for pictures for the October blog, I realized that we've been out and about a lot...either that or someone else has been using our camera. We went into Savannah and took a trolley tour. It is a great way to get an overview of the city and the plus side is that they make several stops along the way and you can get on and off as much as you like. We did get off at the Pirates House which is a restaurant where Holly made a new friend and we had lunch. This used to be a tavern years back and was frequented by the undesirables and pirates. It is rumored that more then a few men went to have a night out and a drink and woke up the next morning on a ship bound for places unknown.
Our next stop was River Street. These buildings originally were warehouses for the docks. There are now shops and restaurants and bars all along the river. We did a little shopping, had some ice cream and sat along the river and watched the boats. Savannah is one of the busiest ports in the states. After all of this we headed back to visitor center and caught the shuttle back to the Island. The trollies are mostly open sided so you get a great view and like I said earlier, it's a great way to get a quick look and then go back and explore at a later date.
Another trip we took was to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum. It's a good thing the museum is privately funded as we went during the government shut down. The Mighty Eighth flew B-17 bombers during WWII. They have done a really nice job of showing what led up to the United States entering the war and what part the bombers played in it.
The museum is huge. They have several great displays and they are also restoring a B-17 inside the main hall. I was just amazed at the actual size of the plane and to think that it had a crew of five plus all of the equipment and guns. Not a lot of room left inside of one.
October also brought out the pirates. Pirate Fest is the last big event on the island. It is said this is when the residents of Tybee take back the island. It's a three day event and people dress up in their best pirate attire. We had a number of pirates and wenches in the park that week end. As you can see, we now have our own Jolly Roger.
The big parade on Saturday was full of pirates, scoundrels and scallywags. I had to work but Holly went down and took some great pictures and came home with a lot of beads. I'm just curious about what she did to get so many.
We went to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, which is about 45 minutes from here. Holly found an empty beach chair and couldn't resist sitting on the beach for a moment. Tybee Island doesn't allow pets on the beach but Hilton Head does and Brutus sure was glad they did. He misses being on the sand by the ocean. They even have times during the day they can be off leash. We kept him on his due to the fact he is a little bully and there were a lot of people and dogs on the beach.
We climbed the light house, even though it was built in the mid-90's and was privately funded. It is not an official aid to navigation but does mark the entrance to the harbor.
Speaking of B-17's the Memphis Belle was in Savannah giving rides for $400 each. It flew over the island several times which gave me a chance to get several nice pictures. Those four big engines were very noisy and that gave me plenty of time to go outside to see it fly over.
Our long time friends Jack and Lynn stopped by with their motor home on their way back to Florida. We had some time to visit and see the sights together. We went into Savannah, walked around the town, saw the many squares and fountains, walked on the river front and saw some of the great old buildings that I didn't notice the first time I was there. We had lunch by the river, then ice cream (don't forget the ice cream) and then came home.
That's right we finally climbed the Tybee Light House. The light tower is 145 feet tall and has 178 steps to the top. It was very windy at the top but the view was great. Holly volunteered to run down and take a picture of me, Lynn and Jack at the top. It has a first order Fresnel lens. The lens is 9 feet tall and 6 feet across the bottom. The lower picture sort of gives you an idea of how big the lens is. The light can be seen 18 miles out to sea. Most of the original buildings are still there. It is considered one of the most complete light stations in the U.S.
The last day they were here we drove to Charleston S.C. and took a carriage ride. We saw a part of the old historic district. The homes were just fantastic and so well taken care of. We went to the market area where there was a little bit of everything for sale. We had lunch by the bay and enjoyed a great view along with a very good lunch.
This is Bubba Gumps in Savannah. Some of the move "Forest Gump" was filmed here. We saw the restaurant where Jenny worked and the town square where Forest sat and waited for the bus. The bench he used has now been moved to a museum.
This is our carriage and our guide for our tour. He was very knowledgeable about the history of the area. It was a great day to be out with friends. It was nice to see them again. Too bad they had to go home...some people just don't get to have any fun.
We went to a local game refuge that is only about ten miles from here. We were able to see some animals native to the area. I was able to sit and relax and think about the good old days when I grew up in a log cabin and studied by the light of the fire place and grew up to be president. Oh ya that's right, that wasn't me; it was my friend Abe. Oh well, I did get a nice picture of Holly.
Our last trip of the month was to Darien which is a town about 90 minutes south of us. The fort was closed that day, the plantation was closed as well, but we did have a nice lunch and I was able to get some shots of the shrimp boats. Well, that's about it for now... I guess we were busy. See ya'll next month.
