Fort Pulaski National Monument

Construction of Fort Pulaski began in 1829 and was completed 18 years later, taking 25 million bricks to complete. The fort is surrounded by a moat (which still has water in it, unlike the fort in St. Augustine) and is one of the nation's best preserved fortifications.

The Battle of Fort Pulaski during the civil war was turning point

in military history. The Union army breached the southeast angle of the pentagon-shaped fort and demonstrated the improved power, range and accuracy of rifled cannons. This signaled the end of masonry fortifications.

Ron, Bernita, Dean and I took a tour of the fort. The grounds are beautiful, the fort is huge, and the views on the second level are very nice.

We even got a chance to go into the displays of officers quarters, supply room, dining room, before we were ushered out by the national park workers. I quess someone left the door open so we tourists were going into these areas that were suppose to be closed.

The weather has been hot and humid. Time to head north!

Savannah, Georgia

On Monday, April 18, we arrived at Savannah and met up with Bernita and Ron Poutney who were staying at Bernita's son's place. He has a large lawn that both rigs could fit on. We are very fortunate to have just good friends.

Tuesday, the fourof us went into Savannah. We parked at the visitor's center and then Ron lead

us on a walking tour. We walked through the downtown area, to

River street and back to the tourist area. Savannah has lots of parks/squares surrounded by historic buildings.

British General James Oglethorpe founded the city in 1733 and laid out the plan for eight blocks and a square in the middle. There are 22 squares in the historic district.

After our walking tour and a nice lunch at the Pirates Cove we took the trolley tour and saw even more beautiful old buildings and squares.

The Khoe House has been a boarding house and a funeral parlor. Now it is an inn.

The Mercer-Williams house caught my attention since I had just read the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. This is the home where the alleged murder occurred.

Here is Ron and Bernita on the trolley.

Jekyll Island, GA

On Sunday, April 17, Dean and I went to Jekyll Island outside of Brunswick, GA. We spent the day walking around the old mansions and the lovely grounds.

East Coast millionaires, including Goodyear, J.P. Morgan, Pulitzer, and Rockefeller bought the island for $125,000 and built elaborate cottages and a large clubhouse for family getaways.

The picture to the left is the Goodyear cottage and the large hotel is the Jekyll Island club and still welcomes guests.

In the historic district is the Georgia Sea Turtle Center which is an educational, rehabilitation and research center for sick and wounded sea turtles.

We walked on the beach and then drove to St. Simons Island and had a wonderful grilled Georgain shrimp lunch at Iguanas.

St. Augustine, FL. and wildlife in Ocala NF

Dean and I are in Savannah, GA. with Ron and Bernita Poutney. I am about 5 blogs behind so I'm going to try and catch up in the next two days.

Dean bought a new camera while we were in Florida and has started taking pictures. These wildlife pictures he took while we were in the Ocala National Forest. The Sandhill Crane was in Clearwater Lake and the lizard and racoon were at Shanty Pond.

While at Shanty Pond we drove over to St. Augustine for the day. This is a picture of the one room school house. St. Augustine has a street dedicated to pedestrian traffic and the buildings are typical of the era.

We visited the big fort in the town called Castillo de San Marcos. It is a large fort right in the downtown area.

Costumed tour guides were informing guests about the fort and the time period.