Hey Guys! We spent one week in the St. Augustine area of Florida.
Our first stop was the state sign! Bring on the warm weather!
We had a ton of things on our to do list, but for some reason we had an off week. We only made it to two of the things on our list and both of them were National Park Forts. The first one we made it to was Fort Matanzas National Monument. You can see it in the top photo above. That’s about as close as we got to it. The Visitor Center was open and we were able to go through some of the Ranger Talks, but the dock over at the actual fort was damaged during Hurricane Mathew. So, that part of the Monument was closed.
Luckily, the boys were still able to work on the Junior Ranger badge and learned some handy knot tying skills. There was also a musket demonstration we were able to catch. The boys loved the hands-on experiences! I think they get more out of it when there are hands-on stations.
The other Fort we went to was Castillo de San Marcos. This is probably in the second spot on our list of best forts.
Several of the rooms were decorated with things that would have been in them during the time the fort was being used. We really enjoy it when the NPS sets up spaces like this. All of the day-to-day items and nick-knacks intrigue the boys and they end up asking more questions.
There were secret rooms and some pretty cool doorways. The doorway in the photo on the right has an interesting shape, right? Makes you wonder what they were bringing in and out of that room to require a door in that shape.
Fort Castillo de San Marcos was a free roaming fort. We were allowed to look in all the nooks and crannies and really take our time. It was wonderful! We got there later in the afternoon and it was early evening by the time we were leaving. We could have stayed longer, but they were closing for a special ticketed event that night. We’re always getting kicked out of these places because we tend to nerd out and want to see everything in depth. One day, we’ll learn to get there earlier in the day so we can spend more time nerding out.
We stayed in a cute little RV Park while we were there. They did a wonderful job of decorating for Christmas. I loved the lights at night!
The RV Park also had wonderful view. This wasn’t too far from our front door for the week. We kept an eye out for gators and snakes. We were a little disappointed we didn’t see any.
We were so bummed that we didn’t get to experience any more that St. Augustine had to offer. I’m sure we will go back sometime and hit all the neat things we missed.
The Brunswick area of Georgia consists of a bunch of little islands all hooked together. I’d been looking forward to this stop for awhile!
One of the main reasons I scheduled this stop was to see the sea turtles. We went during the off season, but we found the Georgia Sea Turtle Center where we could learn all about sea turtles and even get to see some of them. The main focus of the GSTC is to rehabilitate the turtles and get them back into their natural habitat. They also take in any straggler hatchlings and keep them until they’re big enough to head out to sea the next year. You can go in and look at the tanks with their patients. There are charts for each patient that tells why they’re there and the steps being taken to help them. We got there right before their last tour and got to see them feed the turtles!
We found another fort to mosey through. Forts are becoming one of our things. We’ve really enjoyed them this year! This one is Fort Frederica National Monument.
It was worth the trip just to see all of the old oaks and Spanish moss. The fort itself is mostly gone, but they’ve got a few foundations they’ve found and there are records that tell them where everything was and who owned what. We enjoyed walking through the grounds. I would definitely recommend it!
The Junior Ranger program here was one of the boys’ favorites so far. In the pic above you can see them with the bag the NPS gives out with the Junior Ranger booklets. The bag contained various items and instruments used to complete the booklet. It was more hands-on and the boys really enjoyed it!
We also got to play some pub games that would’ve been found during the 1700s. We’ve decided we need to make one of these. It reminded us of a pinball machine! It was pretty fun to see the ingenuity of the past and connect it to games they boys play today.
The boys earned four badges and one patch. I somehow missed getting one of the badges in the picture. Of course, it was the coolest one…because it was a little different. I’ll try to get a picture of them together again and post it up on our Instagram.
We also went to Tidelands Nature Center where we got to touch an alligator. The boys were impressed with the set of chompers on this guy. I wasn’t sure all three boys would actually touch the gator, but they did! Several times!
We also got to see this little stingray up close! Never thought I’d say a stingray is cute…but Guys, he’s kind of cute!
We found two very cool beaches! The first one is Driftwood Beach (pic on the right) on Jekyll Island. It was so fun to climb around on all of the driftwood. It was also a great picture place. We got some good family shots at this beach. I’m pretty sure we got our Christmas picture here! The other beach also happened to be on Jekyll Island, but for the life of me…I can’t remember the name of it. It was a great beach…and the best part was that not too many people there.
So…it doesn’t look like much. It’s called Brunswick Stew. I’ve seen it on menus since Maine, but I didn’t try it until North Carolina and I’ve been hooked ever since. I thought it only fitting that I had a bowl of Brunswick stew while in Brunswick, Georgia! It starts with smoked meat. I’ve had chicken, pork, and beef…any and all combinations of the three. It always has corn and usually lima beans. From there it varies. The best I’ve had was from High Cotton in Kitty Hawk, NC. Hands down the best. I’m going to have to try to make my own version of Brunswick stew!
We stayed at a great little park called Blythe Island Regional Park. It was awesome! Nice big spot, pull through, full hookups…they even offered cable at no extra cost! We would totally stay there again. This park also had a healthy community of squirrels. And boy howdy…those squirrels loved to tease our cats!! Magnus spent most of the day just watching the squirrels and “chasing” them from tree to tree all while he was safely in the RV! Sadie tried to charm them through the windows. It was extremely entertaining!
I even found a few pretties! Love these pink flowers with the Spanish moss and the oaks!
That’s all we had time to do. We could have spent at least another week just exploring all the different beaches and forts in the area! Maybe one day we can come back to this area!
We spent a week in the Savannah area of Georgia. When I planned our loop this year, I was disappointed that there weren’t a lot of hiking opportunities. We’ve spent most of our time during this loop exploring cities (big and small). Cities aren’t really our thing. We prefer the wilds. But, when you’re trying to see all fifty states…well, there are states known for their great hiking and then there are states known more for their history. I’ve come to realize that most of our loop for this year has been spent on learning history and going to cities because we felt like we should see them. Savannah is one of those cities I felt like we should see.
Savannah is known for its beautiful parks (all 22 of them) and its cobblestoned historic district. We only went to two of the parks. They were both shaded with oak trees covered with Spanish moss and super picturesque. We enjoyed walking through them even thought they were really crowded. Savannah is smaller than I’d thought it would be. It had that small town, homey feel where time seems to slow down and suddenly everyone is addressed as “honey” or “sweetie” and no one’s a stranger. It made us feel welcome.
While we were wandering around the downtown area, we found the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. It was beautiful inside and out. One of the big touristy things to do in Savannah is take a carriage ride. We opted against it. I’m sure the history and info given during the tour is worth the price but we like to go at our own pace. I can’t be rushed when I’m taking pictures and we usually find something interesting we want to investigate.
We took a stroll down by the river where all of the shops are. I’d looked ahead of time and had two places I wanted to visit. Now, one of the questions we get asked all the time is about souvenirs. Do we get them? What do we get? Where do we keep them? How do we decide when to get one? We get a lot of questions about souvenirs. Honestly, we don’t really get many souvenirs. We simply don’t have room. And, I’m more interested in food anyway. If I get something it’s more than likely going to be something I can eat. Or we opt for experiences. We do get a shot glass from each state and I pick up postcards and stickers from the various places we go.
It may come as no surprise to y’all that one of the souvenirs I’d already decided I was going to get from Savannah was some pralines. They were soooo good! I’ll be making my own over the holiday season sometime. Jerl got something called a gopher. It reminded me of a Texas millionaire. It must have been good…his eyes kind of slid up to the back of his head and glazed over during his first bite.
We also hit up the Peanut Shop where we sampled all of the various flavors of peanuts before making our decision on which to buy. There were soooo many flavors! And we definitely bought several flavors.
The best thing we did in Savannah was visit Fort Pulaski National Monument. The boys snagged another Junior Ranger badge here. Fort Pulaski was damaged during hurricane Mathew so we couldn’t just wander around it. We had to stick with a guided tour. Y’all know how I feel about having to hurry up. I was at the end of the line trying my hardest to take my sweet little time without holding everyone else up. Fort Pulaski was great! Seriously, if you have the chance to go…do it. It’s been set up to represent what it would have looked like while it was occupied so there are several rooms with furnishings. During one of the times the fort was in the hands of the Union, some of the soldiers decided to leave a little…graffiti. It’s still there. I like that the NPS doesn’t make everything completely shiny and new. I like to see the old stuff too. The proof that life was really lived in these spaces.
While most of the fort has been reconstructed and restored, some of it is has been left in ruins. The wall was left to show the damage a cannon could do. More proof of life. The boys were impressed with the amount of damage a single cannon ball could cause. We would have liked to spend more time poking around, but we had to stick with the tour and the tour had to be out before the next one could go in.
Let’s talk food. I’d initially planned on eating at Lady & Sons…because…well…Paula Deen is the queen of southern comfort food, right? But, when I looked up the reviews and then the price. If I’m going to pay that much to eat, the reviews had better be outstanding and not just mediocre. So, we drove by it and waved at all the people inside eating what we can only assume to be an overpriced, ok meal designed to bring in all of the tourists. Sorry Paula.
We ended up going to a place the locals go. Sandfly BBQ. Everything we had was great and the price was very reasonable. Now, I will admit, the meat was fantastic, but the sides were super sweet and very salty. But the meat was spot on!
We enjoyed our time in Savannah more that we thought we would! We almost passed on it because we felt like it was one of those spots we were stopping at just because everyone else does, but we learned a lot of history and found some foodie favorites!
Hey Guys!! We spent two weeks in the Charleston, SC area!
One of our favorite things to do is go check out a beach in the area! We happened to make it to the Kiawah Beachwalker Park on the last warm day during our stay. It was a fantastic day with temps in the low 80s! We’ve collected a little sand and some shells from each beach we’ve visited from the start of our adventures. One day, we’ll have to get them all out and display them!
We found our first sea star out in the wild! I think it might have been…a little…dead. I’m hoping when the tide came back in the sea star perked up and made a recovery. We left it there in hopes it would survive. We also found one of the best shells we’ve found on a beach so far! Too bad it was already spoken for. We put this little guy back into the sand. We love to collect shells but we won’t evict the current resident to get them.
We stayed until the park started closing and it got a little too cool for us. We had the beach almost to ourselves! It really was a great day!
We visited Fort Moultrie. You might not recognize the name…Fort Moultrie is right across from its more famous counterpart, Fort Sumter. One of the coolest things we get to do is visit old Forts. We don’t always get a chance to see them all, but we try to hit at least one in the area when they’re available. Some Forts are open for visitors to roam around on their own while others require you to sign up for a guided tour. We like them both…we like to take our time and look, but we also enjoy the knowledge the tour guides impart. Fort Moultrie is a free roaming Fort. There were tons of nooks and crannies we ventured into.
This is as close as we got to Fort Sumter. While it is a part of the National Park System, a private ferry ticket is required to reach it. We can’t always do everything in a city we want to. Since we’re not technically on vacation, we have to pick and choose keeping in mind the cities to come and what those offer, as well.
The biggest reason we didn’t spring for Fort Sumter is because we wanted to visit Boone Hall Plantation. Boone Hall Plantation is one of America’s oldest working plantations. You’re looking at the Avenue of Oaks in the top picture. I love the look of the giant oak trees with the Spanish moss! The trees were planted back in 1743 by Captain Thomas Boone. It took more than 200 years for the two rows of trees to meet overhead in the middle. You might recognize this Avenue of Oaks form the mini-series North & South or maybe from the movie The Notebook. Boone Hall Plantation has been in quite a few movies, shows, and print articles.
Boone Hall has quite the history and is part of the Underground Railroad. Our favorite experience at Boone Hall was the Gullah Culture presentation. This surprised us. To be honest, we didn’t know what Gullah is.
This isn’t our video. I didn’t take one. I could just kick myself for not taking a video. But, this is the same woman we saw and she was really good. If you get to visit Boone Hall Plantation, don’t miss the Gullah Geechee presentation. Plan your day around it.
I’m going to add one more video. This one isn’t at Boone Hall Plantation, but this is a story she told us. Her name is Jackie Michael and she’s a retired schoolteacher turned Gullah Geechee story teller.
The sweetgrass baskets everyone loves comes from the Gullah culture. You can find them all over Charleston. We got to see them being made at a few different places. The picture above was taken at Boone Hall Plantation, but we also saw them at the Charleston City Market and there were some roadside stands as well.
This is the Charleston City Market and if you’re ever in the area you should definitely at least walk through it. You’ll find some of the best souvenirs here…and food! You can find local food, souvenirs, sweets and BBQ…what more do you need?
There’s a lot more history in Charleston than we thought there’d be. There are several different tours you can go on. If history is your thing, I would definitely suggest a tour. This is the Old Slave Mart. I’m sure you can guess what happened here. They’ve turned it into a museum. We didn’t have time to go through it but it’s on our list of things we want to do during our next visit.
In the left picture is an area called Rainbow Row. You’ll see this stretch of houses on sooo many Charleston souvenirs since it depicts the quintessential Charleston neighborhood. I love that the buildings are pretty pastel colors! Another Charleston must see is the Pineapple Fountain you can see in the right picture. There were tons of people at this park…all taking photos. The park is gorgeous and right by the waterfront. We saw just as many locals enjoying the park as we did tourists. Sometimes these spots are just for the tourists so it was nice to see so many locals milling about too.
Welcome to the land of cotton. We saw so many huge fields of cotton while we were in this area! It was pretty neat to see. The one in the photo above was one of the smaller fields, but it was the only one I got a decent picture of.
Lets talk food. Guys, plan to splurge here. The food is ah-maze-ing. Amazing! In the right picture you can see one of my splurges…it’s a pimento cheese, fried green tomato, bacon, and fried egg sandwich on Texas toast. And please notice the pickled okra next to it. Have you ever seen anything more southern on a plate? It was fantastic and firmly one of my favorite sandwiches of all time! The other foodie find was a place called Charleston Burger Co. It’s definitely splurge worthy! Alex got The Killer Beehive burger…and yes, he ate it all! According to Alex, it tasted even better than it looked.
Angel Oak is a live oak tree that is estimated to be anywhere between 400 and 600 years old. The state of South Carolina has it fenced off and has set hours to visit to try and keep vandals away from it. The sheer size of this tree was unbelievable! We love how gnarled it looks.
The last touristy thing we did was go to the Charleston Tea Plantation where we learned all about what goes into making the tea we drink. It was pretty cool and…it was free. Seriously. The tour and all the samples you want…free. It’s definitely worth a stop.
Are you ready for some pretties? There were tons of pretties in the Charleston area! Nope, I don’t know any of their names. I could do an entire post just on the flowers we saw in this area! I was in flower heaven! We also saw more butterflies and honey bees than we have in a long time.
So, there you have it! Our two week stay in Charleston! We didn’t see even half of what there was to see so we’ll definitely have to go back!
