I have a flight to Atlanta then onto Lima, Peru. I will be on an organized tour with 14 other travelers and a tour guide. Our plans include Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley and the Lake Titicaca area.
I will try to post when I have wifi, but that probably won’t be often. Most of my posts will happen after I’m home again. But never fear, I have my travel journal and pen packed. I’m off to new adventures! Can’t wait!
With Linda P behind the wheel, and me navigating with my phone’s GPS, we were off to Charleston. It was a two hour drive from our condo.
Our first adventure was to take a carriage ride through the town. Our driver was David and his horse was named Gibbs, who came from an Amish farm in Lancaster County, PA. A ping pong ball decides which tour you will get out of four different tours. This is how they regulate that the carriages don’t all take the same route.
Charleston’s history goes back to 1670 when the first English settlers came. Fort Moultie was the site of a successful 9-hour battle over the British during the Revolutionary War. Fort Sumter on an island just off the waterfront is the site of the first shot of the Civil War in 1861.
The town has had it’s share of disasters. In 1888 there was a great earthquake that cracked, damaged or leveled many of the buildings. Then in 1989, Hurricane Hugo damaged most of the historical homes. Thanks to government aid, most of those buildings have been restored. Today, Charleston ranks second in the world only to Rome for having the most preserved historical buildings.
Instead of high rises, Charleston Is filled with a multitude of steeples. It’s nicknamed the “Holy City”.
During the tour, David shared an interesting fact about carriage houses. They were originally built to house the slaves. There were a lot of fires in Charleston. They suspected they were started by the slaves, so they needed to be moved behind the house in a carriage house. We know know that the fires were caused by creosote in the chimneys, not by the slaves.
We had a fun day. The carriage ride helped me envision the “classic elegance” that symbolized the southern way of life. I was glad we had taken the time to explore Charleston. Too bad about that schooner. Maybe next time we’ll win that regatta!
After our busy day in Savannah, we were ready for relaxing and some pool and beach time. Here are some of the highlights.
Our condo came with four bikes. Since the Palmetto Dunes area is filled with bike trails, Linda P. and I decided to try them out. First, we had to figure out how to unlock the bikes with the combination the owners provided. Next we had to adjust the seats. Then one of Linda’s tires was low. Luckily the bike rental place near our condo graciously filled the tires. Then we were off! We loved riding in the resort. The trails are either concrete or black topped which made riding easy. Mastering coaster brakes took a little time. Linda and I really missed hand brakes.
On Wednesday afternoon, Linda P and I stopped at Krogers to get a few groceries. While we were there we saw camera men filming a episode of The Great American Food Truck Race. This show is on the Food Network; they were filming for the 10th season. Teams from around the country were brought to Hilton Head to compete. The teams were given a grocery list and challenged to cook a meal from those items. Spectators are then given samples and vote for their favorite food. The winning team gets $50,000 to buy their own food truck.
All in all, we had a lot to keep us busy around our condo: biking, swimming, walking along the beach, turtle watching, shopping, gabbing, and just plain relaxing. We even played a few games of Dutch Blitz. Sadly, our Hilton Head vacation was almost over. Why do all good things have to come to an end?
It was decided. We were driving to Savannah. Linda P drove while I navigated with my phone’s GPS. We parked at the Welcome Center parking lot which was almost immediately after we crossed the bridge.
Gen. James Oglethorpe and his settlers founded Savannah in 1733. They designed the town with the village square system. Originally there were 24. Through the efforts of some preservation minded ladies, the Historic Savannah Foundation was formed. Today 22 squares remain. All new buildings must follow guidelines to preserve the architecture of the square. Savannah’s successful preservation has brought about other civic renewal projects elsewhere.
During the Civil War when Gen. Sherman burned a trail through Georgia, the Conferderate Gen. Hardee knew that resistance was useless and withdrew his troops to prevent Savannah from destruction. Sherman entered Savannah on Christmas Day 1864 and offered it as a Christmas present to Abraham Lincoln.
Savannah once had three cemetaries. Over the years when they needed more space, they voted to relocate two of them. Moving the caskets was very expensive, so they decided to move just the markers. Savannah has the distinction of “building over their dead”.
The organ was made of solid oak with a lot of pipes -2,081 !
We got to see the square where Tom Hanks sat on a bench to say “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get” in the movie Forest Gump. Also the idiom about “keeping up with the Jones” came about from Savannah’s gorgeous oak lined Jones Street.
Of course, a day of adventure with the four of us cannot be had without a bit of drama. We had to switch trollies when we were done the complete loop. In doing so, I realized on the second trolley that I did not have my cell phone. I told our new driver and he contacted the office. Luckily we remembered out driver’s name was Jamie. Calling the trolley company later the day, I was told to find Malcom at the last stop to get my rescued phone. What a relief! Just like I said before, there’s always something!
Hilton Head Island is the largest island between New Jersey and Florida. It is 12 miles long and 5 miles wide. It was named after an Englishman named Captain William Hilton who sailed into the Port Royal Sound in 1663.
Starting in 1526, colonists tried to settle on the island but were hampered by Native Americans and pirates. By the mid 1700’s plantations began to prosper growing rice, indigo and cotton. During the Civil War, the Union forces used the island to block Confederate ports. After the war, freed slaves called Gullahlived on the island developing their own culture by farming, fishing, and hunting.
In 1956 the bridge to the mainland was finished. Since then the island has been developed as a year round resort. There are about 30 golf courses on the island. Tennis and pickleball courts abound as well as bike trails everywhere. Loggerhead turtles nest on the beaches in the summer. To protect them, artificial light is at a minimum.
Our condo is in the Palmetto Dunes Resort area. The landscaping is amazing as are the variety of hotels, condos and private houses within this area. Saltwater estuaries that meander throughout the resort.
After our bike ride, all four of us headed for the beach. It was cloudy and about 70. I took a walk along the beach, then headed back to our condo while the others enjoyed the ocean.
Harbour Town was our next adventure. It is an area within the Sea Pines Resort which is a gated community. At the guard stand, I drove into the passholders side. Then when the guard wanted us to roll down the window to give us directions to get on the other side, we couldn’t figure out how to unlock the windows. Well, after all, it is a rental car! We hadn’t needed to roll down the windows until that point. We got turned around, paid our eight dollars for a day pass, and continued on our merry way. Always something….
Driving back to our condo, we made the decision to drive to Savannah. It is about an hour’s drive. Stay tuned for more adventures tomorrow.
Off on our yearly adventure with my college friends, Linda P., Linda H and Janet to Hilton Head, S.C. All of the ladies drove yesterday to our house so we could head out this morning at 7:30 am for the Philadelphia Airport to catch our flight to Savanah Hilton Head Airport.
Our flight was rather uneventful. We were really glad to check our luggage until we discovered that Linda H’s luggage never made it. . Too many golf clubs in transit, so some of the luggage just did not fit. American promised to deliver it to our condo later that night. (It turned out to be 4am. )
Driving to our condo which is in the Pametto Dunes Resort,. Our condo is gorgeous. It has two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and balcony. There is also a kitchen living room area.
Since we all had basically snacked throughout the day, we were famished. We stopped at a nearby sports bar. Not a scrap of food was left! Next was a stop at Krogers for groceries.
We ended the day with a walk to the the beach in front of the condo.
