Savannah, GA

Savannah is a short drive from Charleston but we had trouble getting a reservation at a campground since it was the Saturday before Halloween. Most campgrounds have a big to-do around the holidays for kids. So we had another Walmart night and stocked up on groceries and Halloween treats.

The next day we back tracked a little, which we do not normally do, but we had time to kill before checking into the campground. We drove north to visit Hilton Head Island, the land of professional golf courses. We found some parking and took our bikes with a couple sandwiches and found a beach to sit beside for a while. It was hot so we soon discovered the local tiki bar to sip on a couple cold ones and watch the Pats squash the Bears. 

Later we checked into the Skidaway Island State Park campground. We biked the trails around the park, weaving our way in and out of the Spanish moss dripping from the trees. Other than that we mostly relaxed and caught up on phone calls and emails these past couple days. We did venture to another cool island, Tybee Island, and packed a picnic for the beach. It was perfect weather. We watched dolphins swim by as we snacked on cheese, crackers and wine. On the way over, we also stopped to check out Fort Pulaski National Monument. This makes 2 National Monuments and 3 National Park visits for us this trip. Still looking forward to a few more in Florida. 

We visited the nation's most haunted city yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, we didn't have time for a ghost tour, but we had fun wandering around the cobble stone walkways of Savannah. The city has an open container policy, so you can literally walk into a bar and walk out with the beverage of your choice. Happy hour AND open container policy? Awe-some. The downtown area is along the Savannah River, which was beautiful. We also got to see some tall ships that were docked alongside. 

Spanish moss

Old moonshine barrels, axed.

 Fort Pulaski National Monument

 Tybee Island

 Savannah, GA

 798lb pumpkin

Charleston, SC

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore". I guess I should say New England but it is very clear that we've entered a new and very old territory. Charleston, in many ways, is similar to Boston. The bustling harbor is full of fishing boats, car carriers, sail boats, naval ships and vessels of all kinds. The shopping is endless and the restaurants are fabulous.

We parked the camper just outside the city and toured around in the truck. We wandered around the streets of Charleston on the first night, checking out a few bars and tasting our way through happy hour. Side note: happy hour is the best thing on this planet. Our friends, Wes and Caitlin, recently visited Charleston for vacation and recommended Poogan's Porch for dinner. It was an awesome combination of southern and American cooking. We split a bottle of chianti and Brian had the roast duck with sweet potato gnocchi and I had the seared scallops and shrimp with grits. We left fat and happy.

The next day we wanted to hit the beach so went checked out Folley Beach, otherwise known as "the edge of America". We took a walk on the beach to view the lighthouse then visited a rooftop deck and threw back a couple raw oysters and cocktails. We drove back to Charleston to do a little more exploring and found ourselves signing up for a sunset cruise to see Fort Sumter. It was the last cruise of the year so we thought we better jump on this opportunity. Fort Sumter is now a National Monument but more importantly, it is where the first shots of the American Civil War were fired. So, we learned a little history, enjoyed a nice boat ride, toured the fort, then enjoyed a cocktail and some appetizers on the ride back. It was really a lovely time and a perfect way to spend an evening.