Can't believe it's been almost two years since I wrote here. Where has the time gone? Well two winters ago, we were in Florida for several months enjoying family and Disney World. We returned back to Austin for the summer and two knee replacements for Ernie - yes both knees. First surgery in May and the second knee in August. Needless to say, it was a long summer and a rough one for Ernie. I'm glad to say that he is recovering beautifully and has said repeatedly that he should have had the surgeries done sooner. While it was a tough summer, it was also a good summer in that we got to spend a lot of time with the kids, grandkids and friends.
We spent our normal three weeks in the Dominican Republic but went over Thanksgiving. We had a great time with our LHVC family. Upon our return from the DR, we hitched up the camper and headed down to Harlingen Texas to spend the winter in the Rio Grande Valley. What a great to return to that area. We spent our first winter as full timers at Tropic Winds Campground in Harlingen and made so many good friends. It was great to get back to our Tropic Einds family! As I write this, I can't help but think about how very lucky we are to have several extended families.
We got back to Austin at the beginning of April this year and again enjoyed spending time with the kids, grandkids and friends. In particular, our daughter Joelle and her family moved back to the US from New Zealand in January and are now back in Texas. Just knowing that we can see them every time we return to Austin gives me warm fuzzies. While we were still in Austin, Paula and Dave (our extended family from Tropic Winds) spent a few days on their way back to Nebraska. They finally got to meet the kids and grandkids that we are always talking about. Took them for wine tastings and dinner at the infamous Salt Lick in Driftwood Texas for, what I consider, some of the best barbeque around. They seemed to enjoy it as much as we do. Joelle, Trevor and Jasmin were able to join us for that.
We left Austin around May 8 and headed to Foley Alabama and the Gulf Shores. Got to spend several days on the beach with the most beautiful sugar white sand. We also went to the Naval Air Force Museum in Pensacola. We were there 2 years ago and so enjoyed it that we couldn't wait to go back.
Unfortunately, while we were in Foley, one of our Tropic Winds neighbors (Frances Hancock) passed away. She lived in Northern Alabama and we were able to drive to Cullman for the viewing and the funeral. Another TW extended family couple lived about 70 miles from Cullman so we got to spend some time with them also. Jim (Frances's husband) did not know we were making the drive for the funeral and was overcome with surprise and tears when we walked in at the funeral parlor. We were able to meet his children, whom we had heard about, and spent some time with all of them.
From Floey, we moved on down the road to Savannah Georgia. We are still in Savannah and will be leaving this area in 2 days.
Our first full day here was spent getting set up and the. Taking a drive to Fort Pulaski. Construction on the Fort began in 1829 and took 18 years to finish. By the end of 1860, the armament was still not complete and it was not yet garrisoned. On April 10, 1862, the Federal troops on Tybee Island opened fire on the fort. The troops in the fort were not concerned since the current thought was that their 7 ½ thick brick walls were impenetrable by mortar rounds. They did not realize that the troops at Tybee were using a new type of cannon, a rifled cannon, which provided increased accuracy, range and penetration power. The fort was bombarded all that day. Shooting ceased that evening and began again the next morning. By noon of the second day, wide gaps had been made in the southeast wall and explosive shells, passing through the holes, threatened the main powder magazine. That afternoon, the Confederate commander surrendered only 30 hours after bombardment began.
The fort fort was then used as a POW camp for several years. Over the years, it fell into decay. In 1924 the island was made a national monument and restoration began in earnest around 1933. Today it serves no only as a memorial to the bravery and dedication of this connected with its construction, bombardment and defense, but in a larger sense as a history lesson on the elusiveness of invincibility.
So much for our first full day in Savannah. Oh, did I mention how damn hot it was? Temperatures were in the upper 80s and the humidity was in the upper 80s also. Even my eyelids were sweating!
We decided to spend the next day touring historic Savannah on the Old Town Trolley (a hop on/hop off trolley). Learned everything we ever wanted to know about Savannah (founded in February 1733) and then some. We spent 90 minutes touring a 2 ½ mile area that included 22 squares. Each square was the center of a ward that consisted of tithing blocks (residential structures) and trust lots (civic and commercial structures). Ernie and I both agree that Savannah is one of the most beautiful cities and one of our favorites. After the full tour, we hopped off for lunch at Paula Deen's restaurant, Lady and Sons. Had a great lunch of down home Southern was great!
Walked some and then back on the trolley. Stopped for a walk through the Colonial Park Cemetery. It was established around 1750 and was closed to further burials in 1853. Even though there are about 600 burial markers there, it is estimated that there could be as many as 9000 people buried there. During the Union occupation of Savannah in the Civil War, Union troops camped and stabled horses there. Many graves were desecrated during this time as some of the troops looted graves and vaults seeking valuables. They,also changed the dates on some of the tombstones in a poor attempt at humor.
Check out the dates on this marker. Josiah died on 10/1/1820 at the age of 11 (or is that 41). His wife Mary died on 8/25/1823 at the age of 17. Then their so. Lewis died on10/18/1820 at the age of 12. If all this is true, how old was Mary when she gave birth?
This next gravestone is here with a question to Heather - any relation to you family?
Two full days of activity and yet we were not done. The next day we toured the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens. All I can say is WOW. I took so many pictures and will not bore you with the entire glut of them - just a few.
Finally a day of rest! Well actually a movie and no walking except to get to into and out of the theater.
The weather took a turn and we now getting late afternoon rains. So the pattern was hot and humid all day, then rain downpours along with power outages, and then more heat and humidity. It was now Memorial Day and we made the division to stay at the campground and enjoy the pool instead of fighting all the crowds on the road and in town.
We are now up to Tuesday, almost a week since our,arrival here and it was back to touring. This time something different - a culinary tour of the historic area. Not only did we get great traditional Southern food at several different establishments but we learned the history of the dish, such as fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits, fried chicken, etc. of course, the final stop was for dessert at a chocolatier. Oh my goodness, the chocolates were great and we learned so much about the cocoa nibs and the process of making chocolate. Fully sated and loaded with chocolate for the house, we went back home to our requisite afternoon downpour.
Wednesday found us on Skidaway Island. The original reason for going to Skidaway was that our children went to a Catholic summer camp here when we lived in South Carolina. The camp is still there and operational so we needed to get photos.
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