Category: Alabama

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Savannah to Bonita Springs

We crossed the border into Georgia across the Savannah River and discovered another lovely, historic town.

We walked along the riverfront, then through some of the beautiful streets and city squares.

This very large sculpture was a fitting reminder of the importance of sea-going vessels for trade, transportation and cargo. The first steamship that crossed the Atlantic Ocean, the SS Savannah, took 27 days to reach Liverpool, England and sailed from this harbour on 22 May, 1819. Today, this is still a bustling port, with paddle boats and container ships regularly sharing the waterway.

As we traversed the coastal boardwalk, we passed several original cobble stone roads, and a fascinating sculpture of a waving girl with her dog.

The blurb on the statue told us that Florence Martus or Savannah’s waving girl, greeted ships entering the Savannah harbour by waving a cloth at every passing ship during the day and a lantern at night. Ships returned her greeting with 3 blasts from their horn. She continued her greeting every day for 44 years and according to the legend, she did not miss waving to one ship, day or night. Florence and her brother lived on Elba Island and operated the lighthouse. Her brother died in 1940 and she followed 3 years later. They are buried together, their epitaph reading, “In memory of the waving girl and her brother. Keepers of the lighthouse on Elba Island. Savannah River for 35 years.”

There are many legends to explain why she waved at every ship, however according to her own testimony, she lived on a remote island, with little to do but look at the ocean, she was lonely and bored, so watching for ships helped to pass the time.

As we walked around the town we also discovered Colonial Park, the burying ground for Savannah from 1750 until 1853 and many of the towns notable residents are interred here, including governors, Revolutionary soldiers, and war heroes. In 1896 it became a city park. It seems a strange place to convert to a park but even though it was quite hot and humid, there were people wandering through the graves and sitting on the seats.

The duelists grave was very interesting and worth reading the information sign. It seems that dueling was common as it’s not the first time that we’ve read about this method of ending an argument, permanently.

Savannah’s CBD is interconnected with 22 squares and parks over one square mile and they are iconic to the city. Each one has varied gardens, water features and statutory and are surrounded by beautiful churches and homes. We managed to walk through more than half.

Our camp for the night was at Fort McAllister State Park, on the Ogeechee River, another beautiful location among the salt marshes, waterways, forests and of course, the archaeological remains of the fort.

The morning was already hot and humid at 6am, but the light was beautiful for early morning photos.

On our return we noticed this interesting sign by the picnic area.

The information about the fort states that it is “the best-preserved earthwork fortification of the Confederacy”. It was hellishly hot and humid by the time we came back from our morning walk though, so we preferred a cool shower and the air-conditioned comfort of Joey, rather than walking around the fort in the sun. Just as well, because as we sat inside looking out we saw these deer right outside, grazing just next to Joey.

And there’s always a squirrel! Their gymnastics are amazing. Jumping between trees and branches and racing up and down tree trunks.

Continuing our coastal jaunt, we decided to take the bridge across to Jekyll Island. They have a great system for access and parking. Access to the island is regulated with a toll system with a charge of $15 per vehicle. Then, you can drive around and park without meters or restrictions.

We arrived at 7am, found a lovely, shaded spot for Joey and went for a walk around the “Millionaire’s Village,” along the beachfront past the gold course and several large resorts and then back through the middle of the island.

Jekyll Island is a State Park with about 1,000 residents and enforces a strict ‘conservation clause’ limiting future development so that 65 % will always remain a natural habitat.

Millionaire’s Village is an area of 240 acres, with 33 historic houses and buildings that date from the 1880s. It was an exclusive vacation destination for some of America’s rich and famous of the era, many of whom are still very recognisable names today, for example, the Pulitzers, Vanderbilts, Rockefellers and Goodyears.

Jekyll Island was first settled in 1733 as an outpost to protect the nearby Fort Frederica on St Simons Island by Major William Horton who also ran a prosperous plantation using slave labour.

These are the remains of the home he built in 1736. He resided here until his death in 1749 and is buried adjacent the house with other family members. The remains are a good example of the popular building method used during this era. Called ‘Tabby’, meaning “wall made of earth or masonry.” This method of construction was brought to America by the Spaniards and made from sand, lime and oyster shells collected from Indian burial mounds, burned, then poured into shapes.

By 1792, Christophe Poulain DuBignon purchased the island and harvested Sea Island Cotton successfully for another century.

In 1858 it had the dubious honour of being the location where one of the last groups of illegal slaves from Africa were landed from the Wanderer and sold in America.

A hunting club was built and in 1886, a number of the most prominent residents purchased the island outright and in 1904, and Munsey’s Magazine entitled it “the richest, the most exclusive, the most inaccessible club in the world.”

As travel and tourism opened up new opportunities, gradually the island’s wealthy inhabitants preferred villa’s in Europe to the small island and in 1947, it was sold to Georgia for $675,000 as a State Park.

We were also lucky enough to see some other locals while walking.

After a a wonderful morning on Jekyll Island, we continued on to the larger and more commercialised, St Simons Island and Fort Frederica.

James Oglethorpe, who founded the State of Georgia, built Fort Frederica to protect the region from the Spanish in 1736. Today it is a prominent archaeological site containing numerous foundation remains, a small museum and when we visited, was giving reenactments of musket firings.

The demonstration certainly gave us an insight into the difficulties of using muskets. Each loading for one firing took about a minute and the three times we saw them demonstrate, one or other misfired. We joked that you’d have to ask your enemy to stand still while you readied to shoot him! And of course, they weren’t using live rounds. There was just as much chance that a misfire would do the shooter as much damage and they were also most likely deaf the firings were so loud!

We very much enjoyed our coastal travels through the Carolina’s and Georgia and now we’ve crossed into Florida and the last state we’ll visit this year. I snapped this shot as we sailed on past in Joey but you get the idea!

Our first stop was Jacksonville and another lovely coastal morning boardwalk past some wonderful sculptures, buildings and murals. Including cows that were painted under a bridge. We had no idea, much like the horse statues in Duck, why the cows were so prominent but they were lovely murals.

The pelicans here are very much darker than ours and quite a bit smaller. They renge in colours from browns to dark greys like this one.

Next stop, a short drive to St Augustine, “the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European and African-American origin in the United States.” It was founded in 1565 by the Spanish, 42 years before the English colonised Jamestown and 55 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock and traces of this period are evident in the old part of the town. Although today, most of the remaining buildings are renovated shops and eateries aimed specifically to the tourist, there are 36 restored colonial buildings and 40 reconstructions.

This store had about 60 different flavours of saltwater taffy and we bought some to take home. It’s a popular ‘candy’, found in many tourist spots, especially in beach suburbs and dates from about 1880 when John Ross Edmiston who owned a postcard shop in Atlantic City, Edmiston, hired a man named David Bradley to sell taffy (or I imagine, toffee). The story goes that one night, ocean foam soaked the taffy and the following day, when a girl insisted on buying some, even after the soaking, and loved it, the name “salt water taffy” stuck. Even though there is no salt water in the recipe.

Excuse the reflection in the window but I wanted to get this picture of the machine that works the taffy.

The Cathedral of St Augustine is the oldest Catholic parish in America today, dating from 1565, although the church itself was not completed until 1797. The current cathedral was restored in 1888 after a fire and then further restored in 1965.

The morning we visited, there was an orchestra doing a rehearsal for a performance so we sat and listened for a while.

Horse and carriage rides for tourists are iconic in New Orleans but we didn’t realise that they were also prevalent in some of the smaller tourist towns we’ve visited. Here, this fellow was waiting in historic area of St. Augustine, which we walked around early the following morning..

We also visited the iconic St. Augustine fort.

The Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in America, established by the Spanish. Construction began in 1672 and was completed in 1695. Its location placed it in an optimum position to protect the area from pirates and colonial attacks because any ship entering the harbour had to enter forwards, through a narrow channel. This meant they were incredibly vulnerable to attack because there was not enough room to broadside and return firing of their cannons towards the fort.

The fort was constructed from coquina, a locally sourced shell stone which has lasted through hundreds of years of weathering. The fort changed into British control in 1763, after the Treaty of Paris was signed, briefly returned to Spanish control in 1783 and then was transferred to the United States in 1821.

Today, it’s one of the tourist drawcards for St.Augustine and provides a fascinating glimpse into the regions history.

After a full morning sightseeing around St Augustine and the Castillo de San Marcos, we continued our coastal journey south, stopping briefly in “the Birthplace of speed,” Ormond Beach.

Its fame was relatively short lived, with the last speed record run in January 1906. In 1911, Indianapolis became the venue for racing and Daytona Beach eclipsed Ormond Beach, becoming the precursor to NASCAR.

We continued our drive south, taking in more of the scenic intracoastal waterways and an interesting little botanic garden and sugar mill.

Originally farmed by Patrick Dean from 1804, he grew sugar cane, cotton and rice. The property changed hands several times over the ensuing years, the mill was burned down and rebuilt. It was an army camp during the Civil War when the kettle drums were used to produce salt for ammunition. Eventually, the plantation land was sold off into small lots and the mill became a tourist attraction as an amusement park in 1939.

Bequeathed to Volusia County in 1963, it was left neglected until 1985 when it gained its new lease on life as a small botanical garden with the remains of the sugar mill protected.

Leaving this little gem, we headed out along the coast again, our destination, Cape Canaveral to view Elon Musk’s Falcon rocket launch to deposit starlink satellites in orbit.

The viewing spot we chose was Playalinda Beach in Merritt Island National Wildlife refuge. To beat the crowds and considering Joey isn’t a small vehicle, to get a parking spot, we were at the gates for opening at 7am and picked a great park about as close as they allow you to be.

The launch was scheduled for 1.15pm so we saw the sunrise and went for a walk down the beach before it got too hot.

We even saw some fresh turtle tracks from the night before. Between May and August predominately Loggerhead turtles but also Green and Leatherbacks lumber ashore to lay as many as 100 eggs. Teams of volunteers check the beach every sunrise to record the nests.

We walked as far as the no go zone on the beach, then retreated to Joey as the temperature warmed up.

The launch went off on time and without a hitch, taking only a few minutes from blast off to disappearing into the atmosphere. A local who regularly viewed the launches said that this rocket would launch its payload, then land 600 miles off the coast on a platform before being retrieved and reused.

So, within 5 minutes it was all over. We chatted with some other tourists for a while, a couple from Sweden on their honeymoon who were coming back in a coupe of days to view another launch and a couple from Brazil who had also bought an RV to tour America. After exchanging travel tales we headed off again, getting closer to our eventual destination of Bonita Springs.

While sailing along the Queensland coast and the Whitsunday’s we met some wonderful people. One amazing couple, Brad and Gloria, had been sailing full time around the world for 26 years. Reaching the end of their sailing adventures in Bundaberg, Queensland we sailed with them down to Scarborough and became great friends. Their home in Bonita Springs, Florida was to be our final destination for this years American adventure. As we neared the areas they were familiar with, they gave us some fantastic suggestions for destinations to visit. Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium was one that we thoroughly enjoyed.

Having its beginnings in 1955, when “Shark Lady” Dr. Eugenie Clark began a small marine lab in Florida, today it is an an international marine science enterprise that combines research, science-based conservation and facilities open to the public to expand our knowledge of the oceans and their creatures. 

There are two separate areas in Sarasota, the marine laboratory and aquarium housing numerous different habitats including a large shark and fish aquarium and the marine mammal centre which houses otters, alligators, turtles, river habitats and a manatee.

Some of the creatures are hands on, like this stingray which you are encouraged to touch as they glide around and others, well, they’re best left alone.

The following day we checked into our RV park for our last week in the USA and caught up with Brad and Gloria. We had a wonderful afternoon wandering around Naples and celebrated Brad’s birthday. On Thursday morning we had an early morning trip to check on the turtle nestings on the beaches and learned some wonderful information from Gloria and the other volunteers.

On Friday we discovered an interesting walk around some playing fields and ponds in the Bonita Springs area, coming across this sign.

Did I mention this was adjacent sports playing fields and athletics tracks?

Something we’ve noticed that’s a constant in Florida, is water! Everywhere there are ponds, swamps and waterways, many natural like these around the sports fields but just as many surrounding housing estates and gated communities. it’s hardly a wonder that they have an abundance of critters that call the water home.

That afternoon, which was also my birthday, we had lunch at Bonita Springs Botanic Gardens before having a walk around some of the beautiful plants, until the heat and humidity got the better of us.

There were so many beautiful plants and blooms! Then we discovered this wonderful sculpture. Called “Circle of Friends” it was very apt since we were visiting with wonderful friends!

And to top off a fantastic birthday, Gloria made me THE BEST Hummingbird cake!!

And yes it tasted as good as it looks!

The following day we visited Revs Institute, a private car museum whose blurb states it is an “educational institution dedicated to the study, preservation, conservation, and restoration of historically significant automobiles”. The vehicles they house include some of the rarest professionally restored vehicles to their original constructions from 1896 – 1995.

Aside from the cars being so unique and in such pristine condition, being indoors in air conditioning was wonderful. The heat without the humidity would not have been too bad but with the high humidity, by lunchtime it was uncomfortable being in the sun. Because of this, we were walking very early in the mornings to escape the worst of the humidity.

We found some wonderful places to walk around Bonita Springs and throughout the gated communities in the area.

Bonita Springs township has some amazing murals and sculptures.

But some very strange speed limits around the gated communities.

And everywhere there is water!

Last time we were in America we arrived at LAX on July 4th. Independence Day so we didn’t experience the event. This time, we spent it with Brad and Gloria who took us to a fantastic Asian restaurant for dinner, then we watched fireworks from the beach at Naples.

The sunset was outstanding.

And the locals turned out in there thousands.

And then, just like that, our 2024 USA adventure came to an end. We had some of the most amazing experiences and absolutely loved our journey across the southern states. Bring on 2025 and our next American adventure in the eastern states. Meanwhile, a very long trek awaits us. Thank you so much to Brad and Gloria for their wonderful hospitality, to see you again next year!

And to those following our travels, tune in again next year for part two of our jaunt around the USA.

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Natchez Trace Parkway to Nashville Pt. 2

After our sojourn to visit Oprah Winfrey and Elvis’s birthplaces, we rejoined the Parkway and took one of the walking trails.

A varied walk from lush green forests, to open grasslands it was an opportunity to stretch our legs.

And among all the greenery, there were small pockets of wildflowers and pops of colour.

We’ve discovered that America is a wonderful destination if you enjoy history. It’s not only travelling destinations, like the Natchez Trace or specific towns that provide historical information but across the country we’ve seen many signs that give historical information in a few short sentences. They’re similar to our Historical Markers in Australia. For the signs we see along the road we can rarely stop, and if we did we would never complete our lap, there are so many. We also notice that many of these signs, monuments and statutory are attributed to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

The above historical marker is an example. Today, we spoke with someone who told us that they are greatly esteemed in America, so it was about time we found out more about them.

They were founded on October 11, 1890 by four women, and now boast a membership of over one million women. There was a renewed patriotism at this time and women, being excluded from men’s organisations, sought a way to make an impact in society. As a result, Mary S. Lockwood, Ellen Walworth, Mary Desha and Eugenia Washington formed a female only organisation to perpetuate the memory of those who helped America gain independence, to preserve history, promote the “diffusion of knowledge” and to foster freedom, patriotism and liberty throughout America.

They raise money to maintain historical sites, including graves, headstones and monuments, contribute to restorations, memorials and commemorations and preserve historical archives and documents. They also provide scholarships, volunteer and support veterans past and present and provide awards and medals.

To become a member you must provide proof of descendance from an ancestor who helped America gain independence and provide their Revolutionary War service history between 19 April 1775 from the Battle of Lexington, which was the first major battle of the war and 26 November 1783, when British troops left New York.

So, now when we read historical markers like those here on the Natchez Trace Parkway, we can appreciate who was responsible for them. And, as we travel further north, we’re learning not only about the settlers and westward expansion but the ecology, geography and the original inhabitants of the land.

For example the Pharr Mounds

There are a number of locations along the Trace that have burial mounds like these, but this is the largest, and most important grouping in Northern Mississippi, containing 8 mounds. Some have been excavated by archaeologists and then returned to their original state.

They are deeply spiritual locations where members of the Chicasaw and Choctaw Indian tribes still come to remember their ancestors.

It wasn’t long that we passed from Mississippi into Alabama and another walk through the beautiful forest.

Shortly after, we crossed the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway on the Jamie L. Whitten Bridge. A navigable route from the Gulf of Mexico, for the early settlers however, the Colbert Ferry provided access across the waterway. Chicasaw George Colbert ran the ferry between 1800 and 1819 and also a stand that provided travelers food and lodging. He was one of many Chicasaw that owned plantations and used slave labour.

And shortly thereafter, we crossed another state line

During our last lap of America in 2008/09 we spent some time following the Meriwether and Clark history trails. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were appointed by Thomas Jefferson to undertake an expedition exploring the newly purchased Louisiana region. Lewis was Jefferson’s protege and personally chosen for the expedition. They began in May 1804, reached the Pacific Ocean in 1805 and completed the journey in September 1806. Meriwether returned with detailed documentation, maps and journals, having established the presence of Americans across the new land as a deterrent to European arrivals and had favourable encounters with at least 24 Indian tribes. The endeavour was hailed a great success. Meriwether was appointed Governor of Louisiana as a reward but it was a posting that caused him great depression. While journeying along the Natchez Trace in 1809 he committed suicide and is buried where he died at Grinder’s Stand.

This monument was erected over his grave in 1848, the broken column symbolising a life cut short.

After we visited the small Meriwether museum, we did another of the hikes through the forest.

Finally, we’d come to the the end of journey along the Natchez Trace Parkway and Gordon House, one of the last historical homes. Built in 1818 by Captain John Gordon, it was one of the most imposing homes in the region. Gordon and his wife Dolly had 11 children and ran a ferry across the river and a stand for weary travelers. Gordon died not long after completing the house but his wife remained until her death in 1859.

And just like that, we were in Nashville, Tennessee, the home of country music, Ryman Auditorium built in 1892 and the Grand Ole Opry launched in 1925.

It was great to see our Keith Urban front and centre.

This mural is painted on the Honky Tonk Bar. How many can you recognise?

Fun fact: The fellow on the barstool sitting between Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson is Brad Paisley. His image replaces Taylor Swifts, because she “shifted away from her signature country sound”. Effectively, the locals complained that a “pop” idol shouldn’t share the same space as “country legends”.

Our sojourn into Nashville, the capital of Tennessee was on a warm but overcast day that threatened rain. We left Joey behind, about a 40 minute bus ride out of town, so he could have a scheduled service. With the booking for 7am, we arrived in Nashville city centre before the tourist crowds and enjoyed our walk around the famous streets, sans tourists.

As you can see, even at 8am in the morning, the neon lights were ablaze.

Cowboy boot shops were prominent too, but don’t let the street frontage fool you. There were long racks with hundreds of boots lined up in this store! We also noticed that a lot of tourists(mostly women) wear fancy boots around and some are quite amazing. If I thought for a minute that I’d actually wear a pair, I would have been very tempted! But I was told by a local, “they’re pretty uncomfortable to wear all day”. He said most tourists buy them, take them home and don’t wear them again. So I left without a nice new pair of boots.

Our city walk took us down to the Tennessee river front, with the intention of walking along the boardwalk to Riverfront Park and the Nashborough Fort. However, we discovered a slight issue.

Unbeknown to us, they’d had a lot of rain here, which we had pretty much managed to dodge, and the river front was flooded.

So, we wandered back to the happenin’ part of Nashville.

There were guitars everywhere and I lost count of how many establishments had drum kits in the windows. We discovered, as the morning wore on, that all these establishments have live bands playing from about mid morning until well into the night.

Artists sculpture of Charlie Daniels “Reflections”

Nashville city centre is certainly a colourful and vibrant city, that comes to life once the tourists venture out. By mid morning, live band music was playing from most establishments and the streets were quite busy. It’s hard not to immersed in the music vibe.

This sculpture was in an Ariat store (they sell riding apparel and country clothing) and very well done.

it seems Taylor Swift wasn’t ousted from everywhere in Nashville.

At one point during our wanderings we came across this police officer/security guard who was exceptionally chatty and very happy to give us some hints and tips for visiting his city.

There was a lot of road and building works causing road closures so I asked him some directions. We learned that a man had detonated a car bomb in downtown Nashville on Christmas Day 2020 which had decimated an entire city block. More than 50 buildings were either destroyed or damaged and the building works are ongoing to restore the city block that was destroyed.

But our friendly police man also pointed us in the direction of some iconic venues.

Chief’s, a music/bar/restaurant is quite famous and a must see, he said.

There are 5 floors in the venue and it’s open for anyone to wander through. So we did. The “stained glass” windows are actually stickers but in conjunction with the floor to ceiling artwork, it’s serious sensory overload. In the photo above, you’re actually looking at the floor and a wall. In the picture below, the ceiling is also covered.

The band were playing, people were sitting around the bar and it was barely 11 am! And this was the vibe everywhere! Numerous venues were serving food and alcohol and playing live band music. Including on the rooftops.

Determined to explore more than the country music scene, we took in some of Nashville’s food, the Capital building, learned about their push for women’s vote and visited their Parthenon.

Seriously, a heart attack in a jar!

And to go along with the milkshakes, a GooGoo. The “Home of America’s First combination Candy Bar”, according to the sign.

The novelty here is that you use a touch screen to customise your GooGoo biscuit by choosing the chocolate, nuts, caramel etc. You pay at the screen and it takes about 10minutes for someone to hand make it. We made a selection but at $12.95 for 1 biscuit, decided to give it a miss.

We walked around Nashville State Capital building which is situated upon a grassy hill, providing great views of the surrounding area. Like other state capitals we’d visited, they welcome the public, so we took the chance to have a look inside.

Although it wasn’t as ornate as Baton Rouge, it wasn’t any less majestic.

It was interesting to see the bust of David Crockett sitting in the company of Andrew Johnson and that his credentials were frontiersman and Militiaman.

As lunch time approached, we discovered the market and these interesting artworks.

After lunch we found out that our service was complete but that Joey had a leaky seal in the front hub that they needed to order a part for but they could finish it first thing the following morning, Friday. No worries, that meant another day exploring Nashville.

On Friday, we caught the same bus at the same early morning time then walked out past Vanderbilt University to the Parthenon. Apparently, for the 1897 world exhibition, Nashville movers and shakers decided to build an exact size replica of Greece’s iconic building. It was to be the centrepiece of the exhibition but also only a temporary construction built from wood, plaster and brick.

When the exhibition concluded, Nashville locals petitioned to stave off the demolition and it remained until 1921. By then, it was such an iconic part of the city that over the following ten years it was reconstructed in permanent materials. So, here it is, the Parthenon in Nashville.

If you ignore the wide expanse of lush, green lawn, you would easily think you were in Greece. It’s also not only to look at. They hold regular exhibitions, and give a variety of guided tours, including studies on the architecture.

Our walk back to Nashville’s city centre took us through the beautiful park that the Parthenon sits in, some stunning murals and a walk through the old Marathon Motors factory.

And I can never resist a cute squirrel photo!

Another lesser known fact about Nashville, it’s home to the Marathon Motor Works which began in 1907 and was relocated to Nashville in 1910. Although it lasted only 4 years, closing in 1914, it was the first factory to make automobiles entirely in the Southern USA and this was not surpassed until General Motors made the Saturn in 1990. In 1910, Marathon made 600 cars but also all the components. Today, there are as few as nine Marathon cars in existence.

The building now houses an eclectic collection of gift and souvenir shops, a micro brewery, a Harley Davidson apparel shop and a couple of art galleries/shops, however many of the original tools and machinery pieces are on display in the halls and there are information display boards detailing when and how the Marathon car was made.

As we walked back to Nashville city centre, we got a call from the mechanic. Grim news! No one could find the part they needed and being a Friday afternoon, everyone was going home. While they were confident they could locate a part, it would have to wait until Monday. So, instead of being on our way, Joey would be parked in their forecourt for the weekend and we were without transport. At least they hooked us up with power. We figured, if you’re given lemons, you make lemonade! So after some googling, we located a reasonable car to hire for the weekend, picked it up within an hour and drove it back to Joey. Now, to plan where to go on our unexpected extra weekend of sightseeing, with unlimited mileage.