History Southern Style

Ft. Sumter - First shot of Civil War fired here

There were 60 of these but they only had enough soldiers
to man 35 of them.

Getting a good dose of southern history and enjoying a visit with my brother Clay.  The girls love Uncle Clay because he is so funny.  He is a hoot to be around just like when we were little.  Always making folks laugh! Thank goodness he was with us on the way to Ft. Sumter National Monument.  We put it in the GPS and we didn't realize it was taking us to Ft. Moultrie, also part of the Ft. Sumter National Monument.  We would have literally "missed the boat" because our ferry was leaving from Liberty Square in downtown Charleston.  GPS was taking us about 8 miles away.  You can't DRIVE to Ft. Sumter so it's no wonder it was confused!  So we gave up on the electronics and went with good old fashioned know how - lol! The island that Ft. Sumter is built on is one of the two forts (Ft. Moultrie is the other one) that guard Charleston Harbor.  This is also where the Union ships tried to blockade shipments of supplies and equipment to cripple the Confederates.  The USS Hunley, the first submarine, sank here and they only found it in 1995.  Finally, in 2008 they recovered it.   (Please do not quote my historic facts - I'm trying to remember the information from the tour.  Double-check all facts for accuracy - lol!)  It was amazing to stand where the soldiers fought and also to see Charleston from out in the harbor.  We got back right before a big thunderstorm blew threw.  I sure hope the girls remember some of this as they study the Civil War in their classes.  They'll definitely have pictures for show and tell.  Heck, I can't wait to show the history teachers at my school!

Northern Flag at Ft. Sumter

Flag of the South - Palmetto Guard Flag

Visiting the park with Uncle Clay.
 He'd never been here before and he's
lived in Charleston for 30+ years.

I picked up Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara that gives the history leading up to the Civil War.  It's all so fascinating. I'm also trying to listen to the audio book version of Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (Jeff Shaara's father), but I think it might just all confuse me. Again, why didn't I pay more attention when they were teaching me this stuff?!?!

Monument to Indian Chief Tomachichi

Monday we headed to Savannah, Georgia, the "most haunted town" in America.  We promised Jade we would take her on a Ghost Tour so my work began.  Do you know how many Ghost Tours are offered in Savannah?  I refused to take the one that took you around in a hearse - gross!  So we did a walking tour that started at 9 p.m.  Our normal bedtime - we were stretching it!  Savannah is absolutely gorgeous and so much history.  The Spanish moss hanging from the trees just added to the haunting beauty.  So many beautiful old buildings.  Both Jeff and I said we would like to go back and spend some more time there.  A very interesting place.

Hanging Tree

Skippy, our ghost tour guide, was very knowledgeable about the history of the area.  He told us that Chief Tomachichi was actually buried under a different monument (some railroad tycoon has this giant monument that was built on the site of Tomachichi's actual burial spot)  and so folks say they often see him wandering between where he is buried and where they put this stone to honor him. I say, kick the tycoon off the spot and let Tomachichi rest in peace!

Colonial Graveyard - One of the oldest graveyards
 in United States - burials back to the Revolutionary War.

We also got to see this hanging tree.  People were housed in a building just at the corner of this square and could see where they were going to be hanged. Looks like a good sturdy limb to me!  It was really awesome to wander the streets at night.  Put a whole different perspective on the area and the historical monuments.  We would have liked to walk through the cemetary but it was closed.  However, because of how they have developed the city, we were actually walking above the bones of the dead.  The graveyard holds about 600 tombstones but there are over 9000 people buried under the streets of Savannah.

St. Augustine, Florida - Three days on the beach here

 As we drove from Savannah down to Florida we saw a bunch of "roadkill".  But unlike Texas where it's all raccoons and possums, here it's little alligators!  They are everywhere and I don't think it's wise to wade or swim in any random pond around here.  Clay said there are at least two in the pond behind his place.

So we have made our way to the northern part of Florida just south of Jacksonville.  The town is called St. Augustine and is actually on a barrier island.  Quaint little town and the beach is spectacular.  So clean and no seaweed.  Tons of seashells.  We had a refreshing thunderstorm tonight; temperature got down to 74.  So tomorrow is going to be spent at the beach.  I'm going to take my kayak down there and see if I can run around a little in that.  The only thing that's creeping us out is there are these big spiders everywhere - hanging in their spiderwebs.  YUK!  There is no way we are walking through the woods around here!!  I don't know if they are poisonous or not but they sure are creepy!  We may try to stay here through the weekend but they are booked so we will wait to hear about any cancellations.  It is beautiful!  We are so fortunate to be able to make this journey.  We live in a beautiful country despite what the politicians are doing.  They all need to get out of their Ivory Towers and see what REAL America is all about.  Might get them to rethink their ridiculous behavior (oops!  got up on my soapbox there for a minute!)

It's started to rain again.  The tree frogs are all singing to one another.  Another magical night on the road!