Georgia ~ Savannah History, Forsyth Park, Haitian Monument and Spanish Moss

I have always wanted to visit Savannah, Georgia. The pictures we’ve seen and the stories we’ve heard have always made it look and sound like a beautiful place to be. And it is all that and more.

 We started at the Visitor Center at the Savannah History Museum and the Roundhouse Railroad Museum to get a feel of the history behind the city.

We bought ourselves a ticket on one of the sightseeing tour trolleys. The windows roll up to give us a great view and our driver/guide is full of information to share.

The historic part of the city isn’t large but the 90 minute tour was definitely the very least to take for getting some of the history of the area. I am sure that our guide knew the date of every house built in that city, well almost all. She was a wealth of information and also did a great job of driving us thru the busy streets, which to me was a fine feat.

Oglethorpe St. with moss dripping off the trees

The first street of the Historic section is Oglethorpe Street. It immediately takes me somewhere that warms the heart. The Spanish moss hangs from the trees and creates a storybook look to the tree lined streets. I feel like I have been taken back in time.

Savannah Square ~ Jewel of the City

There are Squares every couple of blocks that are referred to as “Jewels of the city”, and that they are. They are filled with trees so large that it only takes a few trees to cover the complete square. Some of the squares have a fountain, but most have a statue of a prominent person of the past. Their stories are told by our guide as she slowly weaves her way thru the traffic and around the square. Imagine being able to look out your window at this every day.

Historic District Street ~ Savannah, Georgia

The districts are separated only if you notice the difference between the era they were built. We are treated to seeing the Historic, Victorian and Colonial districts. There are distinct differences and time of construction and it’s very interesting to hear the stories behind the era.

The fountain in Forsyth Park was beautiful to see

Forsyth Park was much larger than the squares we were seeing and once we were done the tour, we walked back to the park. The original fountain was restored in memory of an early mayor and his wife by their children in 1961. The fountain is so beautiful and with the walk leading up to it, it is a picture to remember. I just had to go back to get a good one to keep. I only wish I could do that beautiful fountain justice but at least you see what we saw.

A front step to enjoy in Savannah, Georgia

Wrought Iron Railings ~ Savannah, Georgia

We carried on our way and I was able to get pictures of more homes, many with wrought iron railings and trim. Most of the places we saw were not commercial but residential. It is mandatory that the homes be kept in their original historical style and if anything new is built, it must stay within the same style so that it really makes you feel you have gone back in time, especially when you’re hearing the horse-drawn buggies clip-clopping down the street.

Haitian Monument ~ Savannah

We then walked down to the City Market to take some pictures of one very important monument that is built nearby in Franklin Square. The Haitian Monument honors the largest unit of soldiers of African descent who fought in the American Revolution and were from Haiti. I wanted to take these pictures to honor some very special people who now work tirelessly to help the people of Haiti today, our friends at Starthrower Foundation.

Surrey with fringe on top

There are several ways to tour the city but the most romantic would be to ride in the horse and carriage.  They are waiting to give you a tour and help you enjoy the experience like they would have years ago.

Historic bell ~ Fire Hall in Savannah

This historic bell stands in front of the Firehall and would ring to call the firemen together. It still stands in a place of honor. 

Savannah Waving Girl Statue

Savannah Waving Girl Statue has a very interesting story behind it. Florence Martus was a young girl who would stand and wave at her brother who worked across the water at one of the lighthouses. She never stopped doing it, although her brother was no longer there, but spent the rest of her life waving daily at the ships that would pass thru the area.

Now, sadly, it is time for us to leave Savannah. No one standing out there waving at us but we’re on our way to another RV adventure, but first check out another part of our Savannah visit at http://we-love-rv-ing.blogspot.com/2009/10/charleston-to-savannah-georgia.html.

 

Charleston to Savannah, Georgia

Charleston to Savannah, Georgia

It is not a secret that we love rv’ing but there are trials and tribulations that come along with all that fun. We’d left New Burn, N. C. on a very pretty sunny day and were planning on getting into Savannah, Georgia for our next stop. There had been some rain and heavy cloud during the last few days so we were pretty excited about spending time in the sunshine, after all, we were in the sunny South.

The Ravenel Bridge over the Copper River

We hadn’t planned on staying in Charleston, Georgia but we did stop for a late lunch there, enjoying the sun before carrying on for a couple more hours to Savannah.

There is a lot of traffic on the freeways there, it is a very busy place and we were about 20 minutes from lunch when Keith saw smoke coming from the rear RV wheel and made a quick stop under the underpass of another busy freeway. There is no fire, thankfully but he believes it is a wheel bearing. We can do nothing about it so call our trusty travel insurance, and after a lengthy conversation with a couple of people we have help on the way. We wait beside a very busy freeway, unable to enjoy that sunshine.

Help did arrive after waiting almost 3 hours since we’d stopped. Then it was too late to get a replacement part so our serviceman helped us move the truck and RV down the road and we spent our nite at the local Rest Stop ! It was a nice place if we had to be stranded overnite in a rest stop, but not how we’d planned on spending a beautiful sunny day and evening in Georgia ! The serviceman arrived early the next day with the new parts and had us on the road by mid rainy morning. And it rained so heavy all the way to Savannah !

Gathering place for the swan family

When we arrived at the park, it was filled with lots of puddles but we managed to get a spot with a small puddle and were looking out at a lake within the park that was filled with several kinds of birds, ducks and swans. What a treat that was, rain or shine.

Trees adorned with egrets

The egrets fill the trees across the lake for their evening rest.  They are not a small bird and are 94-104 cm (37"-41") tall so this would give you a better idea how amazing this picture was to see in real life.

Young swan family

The swans swam within a group which appears to be the mom with her growing babies. The egrets are so graceful to watch fly but it isn’t easy getting that picture. I sat out under the large pine trees at the lake’s edge waiting but never got one to share. The ducks swim up looking for dinner when they see someone near.

The Great Egret stands quietly on shore

The large white heron we saw is called the Great Egret. They’re found around the world but not something we see much of in Canada. They’re the same family as the Great Blue Heron, which we do see more of in Canada, but are smaller. The Great Egret used to be called the American Egret but that has changed because the range extends beyond the Americas and farther than other herons.

Waiting for the lake to clear

Early morning shows steam rising off the lake. The egret sit lakeside watching for the early fish for their morning feed.  They're so graceful as they take flight but that was the elusive picture of the day.

Early morning sunrise in Savannah, Georgia

The RV park is quite a natural setting and the lake adds much to that, or maybe the RV park’s natural setting adds much to the lake. Either way, it is very nice to watch the birds that we wouldn’t normally see, and in such big numbers, carry on their wildlife ways.

Early morning swim

The swans were very comfortable in spite of all the visitors enjoying them.  They're well fed and seem to have blended well with the other birds of the area and  Mr. & Mrs. Swan are raising a beautiful family.

Click on this link and see what other gems we saw on our visit in Savannah, Georgia. 
http://we-love-rv-ing.blogspot.com/2009/10/georgia-savannah-history-forsyth-park.html