Hopefully you all enjoyed the tales of Savannah yesterday, I thought I would drop in today and tell you about our trolley tour and Tybee Island today. I could have continued on yesterday but I didn't want to picture overload! I do plan to give you all a bunch of fun facts about Savannah as well!
So the second day in Savannah we knew at this point we really wouldn't need to spend the whole day in Savannah because we covered so much ground the first day. We decided that in the morning we would get our trolley tickets, park there, visit Battlefield Park and of course the Whistle Stop cafe!
I won't lie I was a little disappointed about Battlefield Park, there just wasn't much there! I suppose it wasn't in the most ideal part of the city to have a massive display but I guess I just had something else in mind.
The Battle of Savannah was fought for control of the city. There were roughly 2,500 British defenders who wanted to keep Savannah within the clutches of the crown. They faced down a determined Allied force of 5,500 French and American troops. Soldiers from Haiti, Germany, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, and Poland took part in the fighting. When the smoke cleared the city remained in British hands.
Right across from Battlefield Park was the Railroad Museum which was right up Jason's alley so we decided to check that out as well.
Now we are getting to the exciting part.. the part that changed my outlook on taking this trip in the first place. You may ask why it took me so long to realize there was the potential I could go to this place but if you know me you would get it. From the time I realized I was going to get to go here I spent every day waiting for it. Have y'all ever seen the movie Fried Green Tomatoes? Well I have, about 8,432 times! I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE that movie and when I realized I could get to go to the WHISTLE STOP CAFE I was pretty freakin' excited!! So ladies and gents.. here it is.. the famous (maybe just to me) Whistle Stop Cafe! Eek!
I still think it is just exciting as I did before we went! It was just one of those things that I think is absolutely awesome and I got to see it! How lucky am I!
After we got done there we decided we would get on the trolley! We got a a day pass which allowed up to get out at every or any stop and do what we wanted in that area and then get back on. We had all day to do this and then the trolley would take us back to where we got on and where the truck was. While we were in the trolley the driver gave a great history lesson throughout the entire city! We learned so much!
This is where I get into the fun facts about Savannah!! If you could care less read on, I however am a history buff and love this crap... so deal with it!
1. Savannah was founded in 1733 by General James Edward Oglethorpe, who came here from England.
2. Oglethorpe organized Savannah into grids and now the city is dubbed 'America's First Planned City', with wide streets and 24 public squares. 21 of the original squares were carefully preserved throughout the years and still exist today.
3. Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low was born in Savannah, and the very first Girl Scouts meeting was held in Savannah.
4. Parts of Forest Gump were filmed in Savannah, most notably the bench Forest sat on the north side of Chippewa Square, for the famous "Life is like a box of chocolates" quote.
5. After General Sherman marched through Savannah during the Civil War, he was so impressed by Savannah's beauty that he sent a telegraph to President Lincoln to offer Savannah to him as a Christmas present. This is also one of the main reasons Savannah was not completely destroyed in the war.
6. The book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is based on events in Savannah from the 1980s, particularly on the murder trials of John Williams.
7. The Pirates' House was an inn that is mentioned in Robert Louis Stevenson's book "Treasure Island", it is now a restaurant. (WE WENT HERE!!!)
8. The Pirates' House was an inn that is mentioned in Robert Louis Stevenson's book "Treasure Island", it is now a restaurant.
9. Savannah was the first capital of the 13th colony and later of Georgia.
10. On January 19, 1861, Georgia joined the Confederacy.
11. The oldest portable steam engine in the United States is on display at Historic Railroad Shops in Savannah.
12. Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi River.
13. Georgia's population ins 1776 was 40,000.
14. Georgia is often called the Empire State of the South and is also known as the Peach State and Cracker State.
15. Savannah is located at the mouth of the Savannah River and was an important port city for the industries of cotton and lumber for many years.
16. Savannah is called 'America's First Planned City' because Oglethorpe carefully organized the town into grids, with wide streets and 24 public squares. 21 of these squares were carefully preserved throughout the years and still exist today.
17. Savannah's rich soil and great port location made it a hub for the cotton industry and slave trade until the Civil War brought sea-blockades.
18. After the Civil War, freed African-American slaves remained in the area and helped develop one of the most historically significant black communities.
19. Post-war years saw resurgence in the cotton industry, and Savannah once again rose as an economic hub.
20. Through the years Savannah was restricted by 4 prohibitions, they were as follows: Practicing the Catholic Religion, Slaves, Alcohol and Lawyers.
Oh and by the way, all the stairs in Savannah are scary as hell too.. I kid you not!
So moving on.. after we left Savannah we decided to head over to Tybee Island! I didn't have a lot of information about Tybee Island, it was one of those things that we were thinking we may not have time to do. Really there isn't much on to do over there so we toured around the beach and the historic lighthouse!
The lighthouse was nice, we didn't go in and do the tour because there really isn't much to see in those places and they wanted us to pay some outrageous fee to do so. We toured around the premises though and then decided to head to the beach, although it was quite a chilly day there were actually people in the water and bathing suits.
Spring or summer the beach is the beach and I LOVE it! I would have obviously preferred to be laying out getting a tan and drink a cold alcoholic drink but whatever.. we had beers at the bar afterwards. The beach really was beautiful and somehow the salt water in a warm climate just smells different, good different! Generally I don't care for the smell of the "salt air" because I think it smells of rotting seaweed, but not in warmer climates!
Anyways again I think we are at our picture limit so I will get to Charleston tomorrow and then I think we should be all caught up and there really hasn't been much going on around here, so to speak. I do have some things I would like to tell you guys but its just not the time.. not yet.
I hope you are all enjoying Spring like weather, we had absolutely GORGEOUS weather here yesterday and today, I spent most of yesterday out touring around and enjoying it! Tomorrow is suppose to be in the mid to high 70s which is fantastic but a tease yet again because then we are due to get back into the 40s! Its just NEVER ENDING!
Happy Friday all!
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