The beach is good, but we've seen so many spectacular beaches in Florida this year that we've become jaded. This photo is of North Beach, and it was busy. We didn't get to South Beach because we couldn't find a place to park!
There is a lighthouse near North Beach, but the admission fee seemed a bit steep, so we passed. Besides, we've seen lighthouses in Maine, how can you top that?
Along the road to Tybee lies Fort Pulaski. Named for the Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski, the Polish expatriate that lost his life in the siege of Savannah in 1779 while fighting for America. This fort is particularly important because it marked the end of the use of armored forts in warfare. During the Civil War, Union troops set up cannon batteries on nearby Tybee Island, and began to bombard the Fort. Eighteen years of work, 25 million bricks, and $1 million were destroyed in 36 hours. The quick fall of one of the most spectacular harbor defense structures in the United States both surprised and shocked the world. The reason? Union forces used cannon with rifled barrels, which caused the shot to rotate during flight, causing tremendous damage upon hitting the target, and giving the cannons tremendous range. The Confederacy was still using round shot, which had a much shorter range, and therefore were defenseless against the longer range Union guns.
Union troops garrisoned at the fort until 1880, when the fort was essentially abandoned until 1924 when it was made a national monument and restoration began during the CCC days in 1933. Many of the old ammunition bunkers can be walked through.
The fort is constructed entirely of brick, including stairs used to transport munitions to the upper level guns.
The detail work of the brick masonry is unusual, to say the least. Note the corners angled for strength.
On the lower levels, cannons were mounted about 30 feet apart. Imagine the noise and smoke from them in the heat of battle!
Brick arches and curved corridors give us a place to meet the ghosts that must wander here.
A quick side trip to Wilmington Island to try and figure out which of the multimillion dollar homes along the waterfront belongs to Paula Deen and her husband! Didn't find it, but it is a beautiful area.
Sasha spent the day at the Hipster Hound, so we cruised back into Savannah to pick her up and return home to prepare Nessie for the next segment of our Summer '16 trip!
Thursday morning found us on I-95 north, heading into South Carolina.
Here's where it gets interesting.....We have just come out of a KOA in Savannah, chosen because the options were limited. It was an ok place, about what we expected from a KOA park. The same situation existed in Charleston, so we again chose a KOA. The Charleston/Mt Pleasant KOA has a four star rating, and a price to match, and the reviews were good, so we booked a stay. When we arrived, the staff was super friendly, and the checkin was quick and easy, and we were escorted to site B21. OOPS! Nessie would not fit! We waited for about an hour for the office to rearrange their reservations and send us to site B28. OOPS! No sewer connection! The office claimed that I had made an error when I booked, but the confirmation email didn't reflect that. Short story: the park was too small and the roads too crooked to allow us to drive to the dump station every three days. Given a refund, we started calling for a place to sleep tonight. As luck would have it, Oak Plantation Campground was 20 miles back along the road we had just driven, and they said they had a site. Sold! Full hookups, less money, mucho grass and trees, and an end site with a "front yard". Perfect! If you are ever in the Charleston area, call Kathy or Travis at Oak Plantation a call. They'll make it happen! And....it's a great park!
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