June 29 – Thunderbolt, GA

Day 103 – Growing Roots

Bahia Bleu Marina

I think we are growing roots here in Georgia…the boat is growing a little green gunk and barnacles on the bottom. We are both ready to move on, but we know it’s easier to get things done while we are here and we are paid up until July 8th. We ran a few errands this morning and then went to lunch at Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House. We returned our rental car this afternoon, so now we are back to buses and bikes. It was a good day to be in port…a large front moved through and it was stormy all evening.

Uncle Bubba's

View from the boat this evening

June 28 – Thunderbolt, GA

Day 102 – We’re Back on the Boat

Bahia Bleu Marina

We returned from our home visit this afternoon, 1142 mile…one way. We had a wonderful time catching up with friends and especially our family last week. We’re enjoying our adventure, but we really miss our family. Now that we are back we have a few projects to catch up on before we move on. This area was hit with some storms while we were away and the straps on our bimini broke. Since I don’t have a sewing machine, we are getting the canvas shop across the street to make us a few more. Stan is also going to replace the pumps on our heads (toilets) and we may get the bottom of the boat cleaned.

We plan on staying here through July 4th...taking advantage of area celebrations. July 5th we will start moving up the coast…so blog fans there will be new pictures and information soon.

Our bright little rental car...Dodge Caliber. It was easy to find in a parking lot.

Tidal Changes

These pictures show how much the tide changes in a few hours here in Georgia. There was a full moon this day. Good thing for floating docks! 

    

June 15 - Tybee Island, GA

Day 101 – Getting Ready to Go Home

Bahia Bleu Marina

Just a quick post to let everyone know we are heading home for a visit. This will be the last post until we return in a few weeks. We really have missed our family and can hardly wait to see everyone.

We spent the day getting the last minute things done on the boat and packing. We picked up our rental car around two and then drove out to Tybee Island. We looked at the lighthouse and went through a few shops, but didn’t go to the beach. They wanted too much money for parking and we knew we weren’t going to be there long (and it was hot!)…so we passed on seeing another beach.

Tybee Island Lighthouse

A few of the cute little shops we found

June 14 - Savannah, GA

Day 100 - DAY 100!

Bahia Bleu Marina

We spent another day in Savannah. Our first stop was the barbershop...Stan was looking a little shaggy. I can't wait to get home and have my hair trimmed. After lunch we went to the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum located in the old Scarbrough House. It was interesting, lots of history of ships that were built in Savannah and others that contributed to Savannah's history. We spent the rest of the day wandering through a few more squares, walking along the river and having ice cream at Leapold's. Leapold's was first opened in 1919. We've truly enjoyed Savannah and all its history.

The little barbershop where Stan got his haircut

Scarbrough House built in 1819. Home to the Ships of the Sea Museum 

Some of the model ships we saw in the museum

Scrimshaw display at the museum

Leopold's Ice Cream

An old fashion ice cream parlor...the ice cream was wonderful.

One of the little shops in a building along the river. The cat walk is from the street level. The river level is two stories down.

Old Harbor Light - It was erected in 1858 as an aid to navigation of the Savannah River. It stands 77 feet above the river and was illuminated by gas.

1996 Olympic Yachting Cauldron - The five fluted columns on the round bases represent the five Olympic rings, the fluted slice of a classic column symbolizes the Olympic Greek heritage. The sails represent the Olympic yachting events and the copper flame was added to replace the real flame that burned during the games.

Florence Martus was known well by Savannahians and sailors of the sea as the Waving Girl. She would welcome each ship by waving her handkerchief. Sailors began returning her greeting by waving back or with a blast of the ship's horn. She continued her waving tradition for 44 years and it is estimated that she welcomed more than 50,000 ships during her lifetime.

The Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department occupies the oldest continually active police headquarters in the nation. The Barracks, as it is fondly known, was opened in 1870.

June 13 - Thunderbolt, GA

Day 99 - Movie Day

Bahia Bleu Marina

We've been doing little jobs on the boat the last few days. Stan cleaned the ICW mustache off the bottom of the boat and then finished polishing the stainless stanchions. I took advantage of the free laundry at the marina and caught up on everything that needed washing. We've also done a few chores to get the boat ready for our absence. We don't want to have any problems while we are at home.

The summer heat has arrived in the Savannah area...the temperature was close to 100º today. It's supposed to be a little cooler tomorrow, so we will wait to go back into Savannah until then. This afternoon we went to a movie...a nice way to spend a hot afternoon. We saw Super 8. It's a Sci-Fi/thriller. It kept our interest and we enjoyed it.

Bahia Bleu Marina

The Pearl...all nice and clean

June 11 – Savannah, GA

Day 97 – Asian Festival

Bahia Bleu Marina

We went to Savannah this morning. The Savannah Asian Festival was being held this weekend at the Civic Center; they had entertainment, food and an Asian market. It was a nice way to spend part of the day. The weather was wonderful, less humid and cooler than yesterday, so we walked to some of the squares. The homes and parks are beautiful. We learned yesterday that each of the statues in the parks face the direction of their enemy. We found the statue of James Oglethorpe in Chippewa Square...he faces south towards Spanish Florida, an enemy at the time, with his sword drawn. This square is where the opening scene of “Forrest Gump” was filmed. We also visited the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. It's beautiful and very large...it was hard to get a decent picture. We had a relaxing day, even though we walked a lot, we took time to relax in the parks and watched the world go by. We went back to Tubby’s for a bowl of delicious Crab Stew for dinner. 

The Matsuriza Taiko Drummers

One of the historic houses

Chippewa Square and James Oglethorpe's statue

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

The Six Pence Pub

June 10 - Savannah, GA

Day 96 – Savannah

Bahia Bleu Marine

We took the bus into Savannah this morning…it was only a 15 minute ride. We took a trolley tour so we could hear a little history of the city and see all the squares. In 1733, General James Oglethorpe landed on a high bluff along the Savannah River. Chief Tomo-chi-chi and his wife Senauki were there to greet the settlers on their arrival. The gentle and civilized Indians pledged their friendship and granted the colonists permission to settle on the bluff. Oglethorpe and the chief became lifelong friends. The Yamacraw Indians would prove instrumental to the success of Savannah, and the town flourished without the warfare and hardship suffered by so many of the other colonies.

Oglethorpe named the thirteenth colony Georgia after King George II, and Savannah became the first city. Under the charter, the colony was to benefit the poor, increase trade, and to provide a protective buffer between the northern English colonies and the Spanish in Florida.

Oglethorpe and his engineers designed “America’s first planned city” around a system of wards and shady public squares, which were used for public services and as meeting places. Homes and shops were built on the town lots, while the larger lots facing the squares east and west were reserved for churches and other public buildings. The original plan of the city included 24 squares, 22 still exist today with many of the original buildings still in use. Most of the squares have some type of statue or monument to honor those who helped in some way to Savannah and Georgia’s development.

We stopped at Paula Dean’s restaurant, The Lady & Sons, for lunch. The food was traditional southern fare and was delicious. We definitely ate too much. We spent hours walking around town so I guess we needed a big lunch. We walked through some of the squares and then walked along the riverfront. The waterfront is 20-30 feet lower than the rest of the city…very different from other water side cities we have seen. The city is very pretty and we will need at least one or two more days to explore it.

This picture shows the difference between high and low tide. Most docks in this area of the country are floating docks. The dock in the middle of the pictures is fixed and the dock on the right moves with the tide. Quite amazing how much it changes.

The Lady & Sons Restaurant

City Market

Forsyth Fountain

Forsyth Park

These pictures show the difference between the riverfront and the rest of the city

June 9 - Thunderbolt, GA

Day 95 - Savannah Suburb

Bahia Bleu Marina

After watching the amazing sunrise and dolphins catching their breakfast we pulled up the anchor headed towards Savannah. Most of our travel today was through low marshland, few homes or boats. The last hour or so of our trip we began to see more trees and beautiful homes. We also saw a sign that said this area was the yachting venue during the 1996 Olympics.

Savannah isn't on the ICW and there aren't a lot of marinas in the downtown area, so we are at a marina in the town of Thunderbolt. It's only five miles to the historic district from our marina and we can catch the bus a few blocks from here. There is a marina right downtown, but you can only stay there for a few days at a time and we plan to leave the boat here when we go home next week. It won't be as fun as being in the middle of things in Savannah, but this will be a good place to leave the boat when we go home for a visit.

We walked over to Tubby's for dinner. It's a local favorite known for its fresh seafood. On Thursday nights they have a sunset celebration, which includes a live band. We sat on the front porch in rocking chairs and enjoyed our dinner with a front row seat to the entertainment.

Our beautiful sunrise...I haven't seen too many of these on our trip

Isles of Hope marina...nice boats

Looks like we are in the south...doesn't it?

Bahia Marina...the boats home for the next month

Tubby's Tank House

The Band

June 8 - St. Catherines Island, GA

Day 94 - Beautiful Day

Wahoo River - Anchorage

We had a beautiful day on the water. The humidity was low and the temperature was only in the upper 80's, so it was very comfortable. We had a fairly long day since this area of the ICW goes through a low part of Georgia, no towns close by. We had a very peaceful anchorage that we shared with quite a few dolphins. We were serenaded by crickets, birds and the sound of dolphins breathing. It was wonderful.

Low tide as we left Jekyll Island...even the floating dock was sitting in the mud.

Most of the scenery today looked like this...a few trees on the horizon

One of our views in the Wahoo River...it was a wonderful anchorage

Sunset...can you find the dolphin in this picture?

June 7 – Jekyll Island, GA

Day 93 – Jekyll Island Club

Jekyll Harbor Marina

We spent the day exploring Jekyll Island, mostly the historic area around the Jekyll Island Club. The Club was started by a group of incredibly wealthy men with names like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller and JP Morgan, so they would have a place to escape the pressures of their busy lives and the cold winters in the northern cities. They used the island as a "members only" private preserve and hunting club during the winter months and erected a clubhouse and apartments where members could stay while on the island. Some members wanted more private and permanent houses, so individual cottages were built around the Grand Lodge. The club flourished from 1886 until the mid 1940’s when changing times brought change to the island. It was sold to the state of Georgia in 1947. Members enjoyed a grand life on the island hunting, playing golf and tennis, swimming, riding horses, walking on the beaches and participating in the new fad at the time “bicycling”.

We enjoyed sitting on the veranda at the Jekyll Island Club visiting with a couple while we waited to have lunch in the Grand Dining Room. The room was elegant and the food was delicious. We visited with another couple in the dining room that gave us wonderful advice on things to see and do in Savannah and Charleston. After lunch we used some of the bike trails to explore more of the island, then it was back to the marina to relax in the pool. We had a great day on this beautiful island.

Jekyll Island Club 

Grand Dining Room

Grounds around the Main Lodge

Faith Chapel - the stained glass window was signed and installed by Louis Comfort Tiffany

One of the cottages built beside the main lodge

Part of the bike trail