Oh Savannah...

I almost forgot I had pictures from our last outing in Savannah over a month ago. Things sped up after our return and I never had a chance to post them. Now seemed as good a time as any. What we discovered on our second trip was that we had covered all the historical sites so this time we decided to focus on a few monuments but primarily architecture. As always, click each photo for a better view.

First, what would a trip to Savannah be without a photo of our old friend Oglethorpe. The more I read about the man, the more I like him.

And then it was a mad dash off into the city to see what we could find. I included this one because it made me smile. Which time would you decide to follow?

I'll confess and say I saw these two doors and could not help myself. One is titled the noble door....and the other is the pink door. They were within blocks of each other near one of the squares (parks) and just sort of called to me.

Near downtown, we ran into this old building done in the Louis Sullivan style. Sullivan is considered the father of the modern American skyscraper and is known for creating bold designs for banks and other public buildings. The flourishing around windows and doors is his signature.

further downtown, St Mark Cathedral's facade seemed to go up to the heavens and I tried to get this shot to give the impression that it is growing before your very eyes.

By now it had really heated up and we decided to park our bikes and visit the Maritime Museum to escape the heat and southern humidity. They had three floors of miniatures of every tall ship, paddle boat or ship you could imagine....

but the most interesting was a room size miniature of Titanic!

There was a tremendous attention to detail, right down to the life boats and ice in the water.

While going from room to room I saw this shot and stitched together several shots to give the sense size and color that made you stop and savor the view.

By now we had walked a good distance going through every room in the exhibit. Once outside, I took a candid shot of Alex taking a break under a shed on the grounds of the Museum. With the hat on his knee and his position, he looks very much the Southern gentlemen.

And, back to the bikes and a few more locations near the riverfront. We ran into this vase near the Cotton Exchange which provided a degree of curious visual interest, both from the plants growing out of it and the face on the sides. The face below seems to be looking back at you just as much as you are looking at it.

And finally the Haitian Chasseus Volontaires statue. It celebrates Haitian volunteers, under French leadership, who aided America during the war for independence from England. the statue is quite noble but difficult to photograph because it is shaded by a huge oak tree and light is defused. But, we both kept running around it taking shots like children around a Christmas tree until I finally got a shot that illustrates the emotion of the piece.


By then we were more than ready to head back to our hotel and rest. Happy that we had ventured beyond the usual tourist spots and really dug into more reasons Savannah is such an interesting place.

The Hidden Jewel of St. Simons Island

Alex and I decided that we had been working much too hard and needed a break. And now I am going to surprise you and say we decided to go to the beach... outside of Florida!

We had heard a little about St. Simons Island and it seemed perfect in that it is a little over an hour away, is in another state so we could say we did a little interstate travel, and of course it would provide a chance to take some pictures! As usual, click on each photo for a better view.

We struck out with me playing the female Willie Nelson singing "On the Road Again" during the drive. The picture above is a pier we encountered which really amazed us because you normally do not think of beaches and piers when you think of Georgia.

To enter the island you have to cross this interesting bridge. I snapped this shot from the car. The suspension section at the top reminded me of sails on old sailing ships.

And after some discussion regarding directions, we saw the sign telling us we were going in the right direction.

After reading a little history of the area we discovered it was settled by the Spanish who took the name from inhabiting Native American dialect, and Fort St. Simons was built in 1738 under the command of our good friend General James Edward Oglethorpe. The fort was built to protect the entrance to the Frederica River where ships had to pass to reach Fort Frederica. At the time, the tip of St Simons Island was the most heavily fortified area in Georgia. The fort was later destroyed by the Spanish in 1748 (sounds a lot like the history of St. Augustine with the area changing hands back and forth between the English and the Spanish). Now, the area serves as a beach resort...

and one of the main attractions is the light house that long ago guided ships into the area . We discovered we were in luck, because the light house had been refurbished in April of this year and was presentable for all manner of picture taking.

I took a close-up of the globe lamp or lense which you should remember from our visit to the St Augustine Lighthouse.

One thing I really liked about the place was that bicycles and golf carts were the preferred mode of transport around the island so we felt right at home riding our bikes. There is a more personal feel to the place when compared to St. Augustine and the hotels and bed and breakfast houses blend into the charm of the area. This little hotel is a perfect example of the quaint feel of the place.

At night the island seems to take on an almost magical feel. A dusk view of the lighthouse seems very different from the view during the day.

Here is the globe in all it's glory...

Even the trees seemed to take part in the glorious dance of the night. Alex and I were walking along the beach, turned... and there they were!

And finally, my best shot of the adventure was taken as we walked near the water's edge. It seemed like a perfect end for the day. We both felt calm and rested and resolved to return for many more adventures to come...