Bike riding in Savannah and Jekyll Island, Georgia

On Friday we asked the fine folks at Red Barn Campground if we could leave our trailer there for the day as we took our van into Savannah.  They said, "Sure, go ahead, y'all!"  We parked the camper between two behemoths and got ready to go.  But first I took a shower in their office building, which evidently used to be a home...  the tub and shower were just like being at home.  Boy, did that feel good!  I don't know if I mentioned this before, but Karen and I have a guideline that if we feel ourselves heading toward a dustup, we have to take a shower.  Mellows out the soul...

So anyway, armed with a Savannah street map from the Red Barn, we headed into Savannah.  We cruised past the historic district and found ourselves a parking spot on Ogelthorpe Street.  Plugged in 5 hours worth of quarters and took off on our bikes.

Cotton Exchange Building

I really enjoyed Savannah!  The first stop was the Historic Cotton Exchange.  At one time, Savannah shipped out more cotton than anywhere in the U.S., and second most in the world.

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There were blocks of buildings actually built on top of another street, paved with bricks and cobblestones.  We rode our bikes along the Savannah River.  We wanted to eat shrimp and grits, another regional delicacy.  Karen asked a native where the best place was, and he replied that Vic's was the best.  So of course we found our way there, being smart enough to eat lunch there rather than dinner, to save some money.  We ate fried green tomatoes and shrimp and grits...  deeeeelish!!

 

 And we were lucky enough to be served by Michael, the best waiter under the sidewalk tent!  I told him he looked like Dan Akroyd, and he quickly shot back, "Yeah, but I'm in way better shape than he is!"







We asked Michael if he would take a picture and this is what he did...










"Oh, you mean a picture of you!!"


















Later we had a cup of wine to go at the sidewalk cafe Vincent Van GoGo!  Yes, a cup of wine to go!  You ordered, got the drink in a plastic cup, and strolled out the door!

Then we stayed again at the free digs at Walmart!   

We came up with the idea of rating different Walmart parking lots, complete with pics, plusses (lots of room, landscaping, fairly quiet etc) and minuses (Did not feel safe, too noisy, small lot etc).  We would publish it as WalSmart.  Sound good? Sell a million??  Never have to work again???
WAIT!!  I DON'T HAVE TO WORK AGAIN!!!!
So that gets us to today, Saturday the 14th.  We planned to head south to St. Augustine, but could not get a camp reservation until tomorrow night, so we made an impromptu turn to Jekyll Island off the SE shore of Georgia.  What a delight!!

First we took Tank to the Driftwood Beach, which he absolutely loved!!

 

What a wonderland, with huge trees washed up on the beach.  I think they were live oaks.  Tank couldn't decide what to do first, as he pranced through the trees and into the surf!  Add in that I threw his tennis ball for him, and he was in Heaven!!  It tired him out enough that he was ok with staying in the van as we went for a bike ride around the island.

We rode several miles through a fairyland of live oaks festooned with Spanish moss (which we have learned is neither Spanish nor really moss, being instead a closer relative of the pineapple!)  Karen mentioned that she felt like she was riding through a Dr. Suess landscape.

We made our way to the little cafe called Latitude 31, where we enjoyed a lunch of Sherry Crab Bisque, with a Cajun blackened Mahi taco and a pulled pork BBQ.  Great!  And guess what?!  They have live music tonight, so we rode our bikes back to the van, went around the island to another beach, and now have returned to the camper to work on the bloc a little before we head back to Latitude 31 for dinner and music, then back to the mainland to sleep at Walmart again.

And as I was typing that last paragraph, the computer started making a new noise that we hadn't heard before!  A call from Karen's daughter was coming in through the computer!  A month or more ago our computer-savvy friend Terri had synched all our electronics, so the call was accepted and the computer turned itself on to Face time!!  Whoopee!

So we had a great conversation with Laura as she drove in computer and we sat in our camper on an island off the coast of Georgia!  Laura laughed at us a bit (or with us!), but I said what she was seeing was the equivalent of the first people that saw fire.  Aaaah, technology!

Headin' south!!

Well, it's been week or more since we wrote about the trip... we tried to remember where we've been, but needed my camera to fill in some gaps.  Hmmmm, where were we?  Must have taken some photos there!

"Karen Joplin" singing her heart out with bass player Chic and the Rockers!"

Let's start back in Bel Air, MD, where we left off last time.  Dear friends Larry and Mary took us on Thursday night to an open mic in the Ashland Cafe, about an hour's drive from their home.  It was great!  Larry, Karen and I sang four songs total, with a drummer joining in on two of the songs, and Chick, the house bass player playing along on all four!  Felt great playing with Larry again, as we figure we've played guitar together for 54 years!

Chick upclose...kinda looks like a drummer friend of ours...Jamie.

Then the next morning, Larry and Mary took off for a week in Branson, and Karen and I started south on the second phase of our trip.  The first two months we were pretty constantly with friends and family, but now are going to be on our own as we head toward the Florida Keys for Thanksgiving!

On our way we headed to colonial Williamsburg to explore history.  For a town that makes mucho dinero on tourism, they sure made it difficult to find a parking place.  Lots of No Parking signs on one side of the street, then at least a million small red signs saying that only residents could park on the street.  Finally we found a spot and walked about a mile back to the historical section of the town.  Cool stuff!


We ended up in Newport News, Virginia for the next two nights.  On Saturday night, we played another open mic, this time at the Bar None in Virginia Beach.

Sergio, our chef (Hulk Hogan for sure, right?!)

On the website it said the music started at 8, but when we got there we found out it was 9.  We debated about whether or not to stay, but hey, we're retired!  We are very glad we stayed!!  First, Karen made friends with most of the patrons, including Sergio the Hulk Hogan-lookalike, who was the cook.  Then Dottie, who said that she was going to "find her next husband in Lowe's or Home Depot instead of a bar!" We filled the time with a delicious fish sandwich and an even better pulled pork sandwich!  Thanks to Sergio!

This is Anthony, the open mic night host at the Bar None.
 Both of our sons are named Anthony as well. 

Then the music started!!  Anthony, who hosted the open mic, had an amazing drum setup, with both acoustic and electronic drums, about 7 cymbals and even two cowbells!  He played drums for the first two of the five songs we played, then I asked him to pick up his saxophone... wowza! Stanley, a very joyous young man, filled Anthony's spot on drums.  Michael played bass.  He later picked up his electronic ukulele.  We had a ball, and got back to the campsite after midnight!

Stanley, a joyous young man!  Grew up listening to Gospel and now it's all Good!!

Sunday found us traveling to Wilmington, North Carolina.  We arrived around 4 and met Jordin and Daniel's friend Rory at a sports bar, watching the last few minutes of the Packers' defeat at the hands of the Carolina Panthers, which of course brought a roar from the home crowd!  Rory and Daniel met in the Marine Corps. We talked a bit about that, but also picked Rory's brain on the Wilmington area.







We arrived after dark at our home for the night, the Carolina Beach Family Campground.  We kind of wondered why they only charged $24 for a spot with hookups, when most of the other campgrounds were anywhere from $30 to 40.  Well, it's a good thing we got there after dark, because if we had seen it in the daylight, we probably would have drive past.  Very nice people, but the campground was a definite "fixer-upper!"

On Monday, we toured the WWII battleship the North Carolina at Rory's suggestion.  It was incredible!  A very impressive and sobering tour, especially a couple of days before Veterans Day.  We liked the "Crew's Memories" posted in each area, including mess area, bunks, engine rooms, laundry, bakery, tailor, cobbler, post office, butcher, sick bay, barber, and even a movie room.

Later that day we went to Front Street, again at Rory's suggestion.  It was about 5 or 6 blocks of bars, restaurants and shops.  We had a great time window shopping, and had a glass of wine to top off the tour...  We spent that night parked in a Wal Mart parking lot, a definite upgrade in accommodations, and free to boot!

A dreary Front Street, but a glass of wine at a little dive helped. 

The next day we headed south again, stopping at Myrtle Beach State Park along the way.  What a beautiful spot, palm trees and the Atlantic!  Tank enjoyed the waves!!

We found Charleston, South Carolina just about dusk, and made our way to the James Island County Campground, an awesome place, with a big dog park including a lake, and miles of bike trails.  Our arrival was a surprise for us though, as we turned the corner to enter the park, we were greeted with a huge sign saying Welcome to the Holiday of Festival Lights!!

A HUUUGE display of Christmas lights, complete with movement! And three weeks before Thanksgiving!

We got cleaned up and drove a few miles to the Roadside Seafood restaurant, where we enjoyed She Crab soup and fried gator tail nuggets!!  Mmmmmmm...  Tasted like chicken!!

We stayed on James Island for two nights and enjoyed the wooded, secluded camping spot.  On Wednesday morning we took Tank to the dog park and threw his tennis ball into the lake so he could swim out and get it.  He loves doing that!!  Then we took about an hour bike ride around the trails...

Later we unhooked the camper and headed into Charleston for the day.  First stop was a well-deserved oil change for the van.  Knock on wood, it has been stalwart since the new fuel pump several weeks ago!

Then I used two gift cards given to me by the teachers union upon my retirement to pay for an hour long horse and carriage tour of historic Charleston.  Really cool! Following that we walked around the historic area for a while, enjoying the architecture, which reminded us somewhat of old San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Historic Charleston

We enjoyed a nightcap at the Drop In Bar in Folly Beach, on the recommendation of Hayley, the friendly bartender at A.W. Shucks in Charleston, where we enjoyed warm hush puppies with praline butter.

At the Drop In we met fellow teachers Curtis and Bob, both math teachers, the former in middle school and the latter in high school.  They gave us recommendations for camping and sights to see in St. Augustine, Florida.  Thanks, guys!!

Curtis and Bob! We are adding this photo right now from St. Augustine at Anastasia St. Park!!!

This morning, before we left the campground we enjoyed a bike ride.  Crazy, riding a bike at ten in the morning, on a "work" day!  One of our favorite questions is, "Who's working today?"  Sorry to rub it in, all you five day a weekers...  beautiful temps, blue sky, and riding by palm trees!  Sweeeeeeeet!!!

We were depositing some garbage at the small dumpster when I noticed a garbage bag that appeared to be breathing!  I called Karen over and she agreed!  We both thought "a baby!" but neither spoke the words...  we called over a campground host.  He poked the bag, started laughing and said, "Coon!"  The raccoon had eaten his way into the bag and either couldn't or didn't want to come out.  The man put a board into the dumpster for the animal to exit when he chose to...

And that brings us to the present, camping at the Red Barn campground just outside Savannah, Georgia.  A fine pasta dinner by our impressive resident chef, Karen, plug in the computer and try to get caught up.

Tomorrow we plan to see what Savannah has to offer, probably staying in a Wal Mart lot again, to offset tonight's rather expensive accommodations.  We have reservations in the Keys for November 25, the day before Thanksgiving, so we'll take a look at the calendar and figure how many days to spend here before heading further south.