Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC

Mary found us a very nice RV park about halfway between Savannah and Hilton Head, Lake Jasper RV Park. Actually we are in South Carolina.

Spent some time just relaxing and watching the Masters on TV.
Spent day in Savannah on the Old Savannah Tour bus. The city has done a great job of preserving its history. Savannah is one of the earliest of the American colonies, founded by James Oglethorpe in the early 1700's.
Numerous movies made in the city. We now want to watch Midnight in the Garden of Evil if we can find it.

Had lunch in one of the oldest places in Savannah, The Pirate House. Place has quite a history from hijacked sailors to ghosts. Ships needed sailors so captains sometimes dragged drunks at the pub through a tunnel to their ships. They might have ended up in China. One fellow needed two years to get back to Georgia. This house is where Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Treasure Island.

Visited Tybee Island. A small town at the tip of an island south of Savannah.
Played golf at a course near Bluffton, SC. Course not in great condition (can you tell we didn't play well?).
Next stop: Charleston, SC

We visited Ft. Sumpter...the beginning of the Civil War.  Most of it had been destroyed through the bombings from surrounding Forts, but excavation efforts are on going.

After touring Ft. Sumpter, we boarded the Yorktown Aircraft Carrier.  This is the second Yorktown as the first one was sunk at Midway (we think).  The tour is self-guided but access to most of the ship is available.  It was interesting to meet volunteers who were there to answer questions about the ship...as most of them had actually worked on the ship when it was in operation.

Did you know that Charleston has the only tea garden in the US?  There's acres of tea growing and if you drink tea from the American Tea Company, it was grown in Charleston.  Bigelow purchased Charleston Tea, but growing and packaging still continue in Charleston and they continue to plant additional acres of tea.  Mary found a tea-drinker to hang out with.

 Ok, so this is a really big, old tree.  300-400 years old...it's a Live Oak. The city of Charleston is providing funding to keep the tree growing...maybe until it's 1,200 years old...geez.  The entire park is fenced, and if you think you're going to stay after 5:00 pm when it closes...it's not going to happen. Those city workers wanted to leave at 5:00 and they made sure everyone else did, too.

 That's Charlie packing up right before leaving Charleston.

 And, look who we found?! Charleston native (well, now she is), former A-B co-worker...Sharon Moeckel!!  It was nice to visit with her as she showed us some nice waterfront, seafood restaurants.  Oh, and yes, there was beer involved...Yuengling, America's Oldest Brewery.  We still like our A-B products, but that Yuengling has become a favorite while in the South!

Next stop: Pinehurst, NC.