Often when one door closes, another opens.
Well, here we are at the end of this part of our trip. We have filled the map all the way through to Florida.
Here is Bill picking real Florida oranges. They are all tucked away in a box to go home for Christmas morning breakfast. I wonder when we gather the whole family together if could make a commercial????
In 1513, the Spanish landed at, what is now known to be, St. Augustine. The local natives were over 7' tall and in excellent health so the Spanish felt that the "Fountain of Youth" was near by. The Spanish leader, Ponce de Leon, was 4' 11" tall, with his hat on. He was the tallest on his ship.
Here we are in St. Augustine, FL. This is our 2nd to last stop before we go home for Christmas.
Ahhhhh, Birds of Paradise. These are one of my favourite flowers and are SO expensive. But here they are; several bushes right behind the motorhome.
In "Something to Talk About" (1995), Julia Roberts' character catches her husband (Dennis Quaid) with THE other woman in this restaurant. In real life, it is called the "Six Pence Pub".
Johnny Mercer is a favourite of the famous people that is known to Savannah's people. Here are two of his awards.
Have you seen the movie, "Forrest Gump"? At the beginning, a feather falls from a church steeple. Here it is. It's the steeple off the previously mentioned oldest church, the Independent Presbyterian Church. I heard it took over 60 attempts to get the feather to fall correctly ... the wind was not co-operating.
We attended the Independent Presbeterian Church in Savannah. It is noteworthy for several reasons. Firstly, it is the oldest church in Savannah and that it was formed in 1755 as the Presbyterian Church of Savannah for the Scotsmen who landed with James Oglethorpe in 1733. The land was granted by King George II for a place of worship based on the Doctrines of the Church of Scotland.
Savannah has been the background of many movies. The most iconic one is "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". This is the house that was the focus. It is the story of a murder in the "Mercer House" (at left). The events were true, the characters were true to Savannah. The tours point out tons of stuff in relation to this movie.
The old town of Charleston (on the Harbour) has no high-rise buildings - not even offices. Because they didn't resist during the Civil War, they were spared much damage. Some were damaged during the shelling of Fort Sumter (they shot back, too), but there are streets lined with graceful houses. Most are privately owned; s few have been turned into Inns or B&B's. Here are a couple right along South Battery.
The land around Charleston is quite swampy in various places. Here is a small piece of the beauty we saw.
Here is one wall that was fired on from the Batteries that were on the shore behind. The shells went over the wall and then hit the backside of the inside wall on the opposite side. Just below and to the left of the bricked cannon hole is an unexploded shell (close-up in the lower picture)
Originally Fort Sumter was 2 floors higher than it is now. Because of the damage sustained, several sides were reduced to rubble. Note the mark on the flag pole. That is the height that the walls were originally constructed to.
Fort Sumter was first held by the Union Army (OK, they snuck over there with 80 men and only a few working cannon). Because it was smack in the middle of Charleston Harbour, this infuriated the citizens of Charleston - who were die-hard Southerners. There were armed Batteries on all shores. At 4:00 in the morning, the first shot was fired. The Confederates opened fire on all sides. The union had ships sitting 2 miles out with supplies, men and more cannon, but they couldn't get in. After 2 straight days of non-stop firing, the Confederates allowed the Union to leave. The union won it back 3 years later and held it until the end of the war.
All 3 in the picture just had a bath. The two white fluffy ones take FOREVER to dry, so they were getting some help snuggling up to the larger one who had his shower last.
During the American Revolution, this house (which was built in 1770) was occupied by Britains Lord (General) Cornwallis for the month of April in 1781. To this day, it flies an American flag as well as a British Union Jack. The basement was used as a military prison. Lord Cornwallis commandeered the church across the street as a stables for the military horses.
These guys do an amazing job. For $10.00, you can visit the whole Colonial National Historical Park. This park comprises Jamesown and Yorktown and a strip that runs through Williamsburg. They have a movie in each park on the historical significance and, at Yorktown, we got a semi-private tour with "Ranger Ted" which lasted 1 1/4 hours. Ranger Ted knew more than a hisory book.
Yorktown. The final battle for Independence happened here. It was the Americans/French against the British. General Cornwallis held the town of Yorktown to hold it as a last effort to hold the colonies. He dug trenches all around.
Good news and Bad news:|
There were several pairs of Ruby Slippers used by 16 year old, Judy Garland. This particular pair have felt bottoms, which suggest that they were used for dance sequences. They are made of regular dance shoes, covered in a mesh that allowed the sequins to be sewn on. The combination of the mesh and the sequins allowed the shoes to sparkle.
I am a HUGE Star Trek Fan. When NASA unveiled their first Space Shuttle, many people felt that the name was more than applicable.
As we headed up the highway for Gettysburg, the freeway bent to the west. As we swept around a corner, the Temple loomed up. It is absolutely stunning. This prompted us to go to a session. The nightview is equally, if not more, beautiful.
Martins Tavern: This is the restaurant where John Kennedy proposed to Jackie. Here is Bill just before we dined there. Nope, nothing special happened. Amazing French Onion Soup.
I was entranced to see the Lunar Module. They ran a film and you could hear the famous line, "one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind". I saw many younger people look at it, but not have a clue as to the significance. Back then, so many people were glued to their TV's to watch it when it was live. And of course, live TV meant Black & White. lol
Louisville, KY is the home of the baseball bat manufacturer, Louisville Slugger. They have a museum and plant tours. There are baseball bats lining the streets showing which bat model was the favourite of each famous player.
Well, as it happens with Motorhomes, we developed a problem in Nauvoo. We have two systems for heat and/or hot water. One is a electric that works OK, and the other is through the Diesel which pumps out the heat and/or hot water.
It is funny how one is drawn to the Temple ... we drove by several times, taking pictures each time.
Bill and I attended at the Temple. It was just amazing. I think that this just might be my favourite. Because of our travels, we have the opportunity to go quite a few of them. Up to now, Cardston has been my favourite, then SLC. But now, this one is probably the best of them all.
