We stayed at a beautiful park called XXXXXXXXXX. It had an amazing pool.

Uber to town. Historic. Shopping bought earrings.

Lots of walking. Met Karen and John.

Add pics.

Caroline and Geoff came over to spend the day with us. This time popping into Savannah we had two goals. 1. See the inside of the JW Marriott and 2. Go to a hot spot for lunch.

The JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District is located in the heart of historic Savannah on the riverfront. The original power plant has been repurposed as a contemporary riverside retreat while still looking like a power plant. The lobby is HUGE, housing a chrome-dipped dinosaur, and many gem gourds on display which were amazing. Here are some pics:

There was also a cool bar in the lobby:

Back out onto the street, the buildings were just as cool as the last time. The stairs getting from the river walk to the upper street were steep but manageable.

Next stop lunch at The Crystal Beer Parlor. In the early 1900’s, what was to become the Crystal Beer Parlor opened as the Gerken Family Grocery Store. Sold in the early 30’s to William “Blocko” and Connie Manning, The Crystal was one of the first American eating establishments to serve alcohol after the repeal of Prohibition. (Probably because the booze was already on the premises) It’s rumoured that Blocko ran illegal hooch and operated a speakeasy during Prohibition.

Native Savannahians still talk about The Crystal. Some got engaged there, had their first date, or first beer there. Many of the pictures on the walls depict scenes from Savannah’s past and some of her more famous and infamous citizens. There is also a photo album in the Monroe room, which is lovingly named after Monroe Whitlock, who, along with A.G “Smitty” Smith, were servers here for almost 45 years. During COVID the restaurant almost closed. When the citizens heard this, they set up a Go Fund Me page to keep it open. HOW COOL IS THAT!! You have to love a place to make that happen. The meal was great and our server Emily was excellent. The word “no” was not in her vocabulary. We had extra crab dip and instead of more chips, we wanted toasted pita instead. Not only did Emily deliver, she brought two plates of pita “just in case”. We started with fried green tomatoes, crab dip with homemade chips and onion rings. Geoff had a BLT, Caroline had a smash burger. Barb a Greek salad with blackened chicken, and Lori had a N.O.G.S burger. Here are a few pics of the place. No pics of the food (we forgot).

Glad we went and so happy to get together with friends a final time. Tomorrow we are off to St Augustine Florida. We are packed up (as packed up as one can get) and ready to head out in the morning!!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN !!

Running water, heat, air conditioning, electricity. The simple things in life that make living comfortable, easy, joyful.

What could possible go wrong, or not work well in an R.V?

1. Water: We have never had an issue with water. We have either had a tank full for when we don’t have city water, or we have had city water. What we didn’t have apparently was pressure. Given we are new R.V owners we thought, ah well the water pressure is not like in our homes because we are in an R.V. So showers took a little longer, filling the Brita took longer. Getting the hot water on demand to work took longer, and at times took us turning on a couple of taps to get it kicked in. Then a long came a R.V maintenance guy (Tod) who we hired to clean our tanks, as you should get this done at least annually. He suggested that we buy a regulator and place it at the source, you know one with a gage to tell you the water pressure you are getting. He said, you won’t be sorry, it will make a huge difference. SOOO, into Amazon I went and got it within a few days, I installed and WTF!! We have serious water pressure, we have hot water immediately on demand, AND we have shaved 5 minutes off our shower time! Wish we knew this 7 months ago. Life is glorious when it comes to water!
2. Heat: When you are down south you would think you wouldn’t need the heat. Well in fact the temperature swings can be significant here. Tonight it will go down to 1. That is a little chilly even under the covers. So when the gas furnace stops working, you need to get on top of it! So once again, we hire Tod. He cleaned our furnace, and we got him to do the A/C’s (we have 2) at the same time. He found some animal hair (go figure), a little wasp nest (and I mean little), and some stink bugs (which were alive and out of season, again go figure). There was some corrosion on a furnace part, so he got rid of that. Perfect! We are all set for a very chilly night………..until the furnace kicked out early evening. Texting Tod he now thinks it may be the thermostat itself. That would take ordering and he won’t get it for 4 days, at which time we are in St. Augustine…….so that won’t work. Well we still have electric heat……..right? It is 5am here, I have been up since 4:30 because the thermostat has decided to be finicky. It’s a smart thermostat, meaning that when the electric has to work too hard, the gas kicks in. Well the thermostat doesn’t like the gas function anymore…….so what am I doing up so early FFS?? Trying to Magiver the thermostat into keeping the R.V warm enough so Barb and the animals don’t freeze. 1. Turn thermostat off. 2. Turn thermostat back on and to 70. 3. Turn it to the electric function 4. Wait for place to heat up. When electric stops working (which it now has at 5:00am) then you turn off the thermostat, wait (while the temp drops) and then turn back on and push it to gas furnace hoping it gets to the desired temp. (As I am typing I have now set the temp at 75 hoping I can get out of the two blankets I have wrapped myself in to make myself a cup of tea). Stay tuned on this new development………….
3. A/C: well I don’t know if this works or not at the moment as this is also using the same thermostat, and I AM NOT trying the A/C at the moment when it is 1 outside……..so shit, more to come on this as well. Not only do I not like extreme cold, I really can’t sleep when it’s warm. A/C is my best friend most nights.
4. Electricity: Other than the thermostat electric function, knock on wood, we have no issues at the moment.

OK it is almost 5:30 and the gas furnace is still pushing the temp up to the 75 mark. Fingers crossed!!! I am wide awake now so will make some tea and read my latest book, continuing to monitor the thermostat and keep this place liveable. Maybe when Barb wakes up she will make me breakfast……………

It is such a pleasure to be close to fiends when down in the U.S, and when you are this close it is great to spend time together.

CS and I spent the better part of the day wandering the Historic District of Savannah. We hit the largest square Forsyth Park. The fountain which is historic, was purchased to emulate the Fountaine des Mers in Paris. The fountain in fact was purchased from a catalogue. Tour guides tell us it was the Sears catalogue…..but that is incorrect. It was purchased from the Janes & Kirkland Co. Catalogue and was called no 5. So the fountain was purchased from a catalogue that based their product design on a piece shown at an exhibit in London, by a French designer for a Parisian ironwork co. There is hope however that somewhere down the line, the fountain does somehow have ties to Paris. So there you have it! The truth according to Google.

Forsyth park on a Saturday is full of SCAD students and other artists selling their product. The quality, is outstanding.

I also took some more pictures of the architecture of Savannah. I can’t believe some of these homes, which are now either museums or offices. And of course one can’t have a gallery without a church.

When travelling, who doesn’t like to eat out and taste the local cuisine. Savannah is #4 in the top 10 in the USA of best cuisines! So other than seafood boils, which I had already tried, I wanted to try southern fried chicken. I wanted to go to Mrs Wilkes home, but they are on vaca until Jan 30th, total bummer. Anyway, I thought how about Paula Dean?! She is famous, is on cooking shows, and has numerous restaurants in the U.S. So off we went to her flagship restaurant The Lady and Sons in downtown Savannah. I have to say, I don’t think I have been MORE disappointed in a meal. This is a family style all you can eat restaurant. You have choices of mains, and sides. These are unlimited, and it comes with dessert. There are NO to go boxes, which I knew ahead of time, so in anticipation I did what one does in this situation…….I brought a large ziplock!

CS and I ordered the 2 mains of roasted chicken, and southern fried chicken. The sides: broccoli casserole, beans, collard greens, and poppyseed salad. We got 2 cheese biscuits with garlic butter to start. I ordered unsweetened tea and CS had a Diet Coke. What did we think? I loved the fried chicken and liked the salad. Collard greens OK, beans looked and tasted like they were out of a can. Broccoli casserole had a spice I didn’t like, as well as the roasted chicken. There is not much I don’t like, but that spice……HMM not my taste. Total bill for each of us with tip was $35, with NO alcohol. NOT worth it. I am just glad I had my ziplock and was able to slip 2 large pieces of fried chicken in my purse! A small consolation for a disappointing experience.

We continued on our merry way after lunch making our way back to the vehicle. Much to my dismay I could not believe what I was seeing and frankly it took me a moment to break down what I was seeing.

CS and I had to stop, look around to see what the hell was around us. We discovered we were beside the arena that holds all sorts of events, today was an expo…….so I guess they had to get rid of the ice? No other explanation because I can guarantee you it did NOT snow down here in Georgia. But it did stop us in our tracks. LOL

One of my favourite things when travelling is the plants and flora. I love the moss and I love all kinds of flowers.

Barb is back on Tuesday, so we will finish up here in Georgia, seeing our friends one more time, then head down to St Augustine Florida. Stay tuned for the adventure to continue as we say fare the well to Georgia!

To refresh everyone’s memory, a nationwide constitutional law prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcohol, from 1920-1933. Seriously, what a disaster !

Savannah has the only prohibition museum in the U.S. Here are some “fun facts”: In 1850 the American Temperance Society reached its highest membership #s with over 238,000 individuals supporting the cause. As a radical member of the temperance movement, Carry Nation embarked on a decade-long era of saloon smashing with the aid of her famous hatchet. The Anti-Saloon League founded by Reverend Howard Russell in 1893, was the leading organization lobbying for prohibition. Bill McCoy was a rum smuggler, known for selling premium liquor and top brands, although he was never a drinker himself. Rum-running was profitable and it was said several ships carried over $200,000 in contraband in a single run. (That’s a lot of money back then). Juice joints also known as speakeasies, where smugglers often brought their cargo. Moonshine came about as soon as prohibition came in. XXX on a moonshine jug signified it had been run through a still at least 3x resulting in almost 100% pure alcohol. Tainted booze, more than 10,000 people died from low-quality moonshine. Flappers became a “thing” when prohibition started. This generation of women were some of the 1st to drive cars, get jobs outside their homes, and socialize with men in public. The “IT” girl – famous silent film star Clara Bow was one of the most famous flappers. The dance the Charleston was born and swept the nation, peaking in popularity in 1926. Most importantly prohibition brought forth gangs. Al Capone and his crime network brought in $100 million a year during prohibition, where the average worker brought in $1,000 a year. There was a 78% increase in the homicide rate in large cities across the country compared to the pre-prohibition era. Feb 14th 1929, it is believed that Scarface himself ordered the St. Valentine’s Day massacre where 7 of his rivals were brutally slaughtered in Chicago. The Model T was created by Henry Fork and due to Ford’s efficient assembly line process, 15 million Model T’s were built and were the first cars affordable to the masses. Given the Model T was incorporated into many 1920 movies and songs, it became an instant classic. (It was also the car of choice for gangsters). The rise of the Speakeasies, also known as Blind Pigs, were secret establishments where alcohol was illegally served to the masses. To enter these hidden saloons, you needed to whisper a code through a small opening in the door. The age of Jazz was ushered in through these underground saloons. And most importantly mixology was born as bartenders were forced to get creative with this cocktails in order to mask the taste of poor quality liquor.

OK so there were some GOOD things that came out of all of this: Jazz, The Charleston, the Model T, the ability for women to socialize with men in public, NASCAR, and of course the cocktails. Other than that, again what were they thinking!

Here are some pics of the Museum. If you ever get a chance, this is a must do for its information and entertainment. There is a speakeasy in the museum of which we did partake in a cocktail of the era.

I have a lot of pics of the museum but this should give you a taste of what it has to offer. Loved it!

Now I think we can all agree, with Slavery, the Civil War and lord knows what else that went on down here in the southern U.S, that there were a lot of people who lived and died here in horrible ways. In fact I think it is Charleston N Carolina where the waterfront was built over slave graves. Seriously rude.

SB and I did the Savannah hop on/off when she was here over Christmas, and this time we went into two homes. The first was the Kehoe house. The Kehoe family consisted of 10 children, and it is said that two of them died in the house. Not sure if that is true or not, but what the hell let’s believe it. While I didn’t see/feel anything SB did say she felt cobwebs on her neck most of the time she was in the house.

Now onto the next home, which is where SB got a couple of photos of a ghost. First let’s look at the house itself and its contents.

OK, now onto the ghost. I will capture content in each picture. You can decide if we are losing our minds……or if indeed we captured a spirit.

I wish these pictures showed clearer. On our cameras the picture on the left where you can see the back of the lady’s head/hair in bun, you can enlarge and see the detail of the lace around her neck. It is quite extraordinary. We showed the picture to the lady at the ticket counter, and without blinking an eye, she said “oh you got a picture of her too, that’s wonderful”. We would like to think this is Juliette Low, founder of the Girl Guides, but that is just a guess.

Like I said, you decide. If you want me to text you the picture so you can blow it up on your phone to take a better look, then send a message on this blog and we will connect. Or you can just roll your eyes and chalk this up and into the “Lori is losing it” category. HA !

First off this is NOT going to be a history lesson, lord knows how much I “loved” history when I was in school!

What this post is about is some of the things I have learned about the South. IE: Georgia in particular.

There is a difference between Yanks and Damn Yanks. Apparently Damn Yanks are from Illinois? Huh

Georgia is very prejudice. Now this statement came from a black man. I can say that as he himself looked at me and said, “I don’t know if you noticed, but I am a black man”. He was my Uber driver. While you don’t outright see it, it is flourishing here apparently.

I have found the people here very friendly. Very hospitable, and generally surprised when I tell them I have been here since Dec 1. They wonder why. I reply “why not?”. I find Savannah and surrounding area very beautiful. Tybee Island and Hilton Head to name a couple of spots, which I have already posted about, are fabulous.

I have seen ghosts, I have pictures that SB took that proves it. That will be my next post….

When people ask me where I am from, I say Toronto Canada. It is not uncommon for people to say, I am from the north as well. Now when someone says this to a Canadian, one thinks ahh, Michigan/Minnesota/Buffalo NY/Seattle etc. But NOOO that is not what they mean. To them north is north of the Mason-Dixon line. Well shit, one more thing I had to look up as I pretended that I knew what they were talking about.

Apparently the Mason-Dixon line, for those of you like me didn’t listen in class, is a demarcation line separating four US States, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia. Apparently there was a border dispute in the 1700s. Of course there was… So North of Mason-Dixon is really most of Pennsylvania. Not sure why one just can’t say, I’m from Pennsylvania. Would make conversation that much easier. I guess the most important distinction of this “line” is that it became informally known as the boundary between the Southern slave states and Northern free states.

Then there is the War of Northern Aggression as the Georgians call it. We know it as the Civil War. Apparently, and frankly no surprise here, there was a dispute on the “naming” of the War. It tells you a lot about the culture in the South. In fact did you know when you look up War of Northern Aggression, you can find it listed under the Uncyclopedia (no idea there was such a thing) which states the War of Northern Aggression was a tremendously unjust war instigated by Abraham Lincoln and his Northern elitist cronies in 1861. Now if you read further in the Uncylopedia you can see this is a bit of comic relief. But seriously, I might have to read more from this “Uncycopedia”

On a high note, Savannah is the most haunted city in the U.S and has more paranormal researchers here than anywhere else. It is also the #1 tourist destinations for St Patricks day in the world….according to the locals. I have not verified this with google.

While I was in Bluffton years ago with Barb, CS, ER and myself, it was nice to get back to revisit the town. SB & I travelled to Bluffton and met CS, toured the area then headed off to CS home to drop off her car and continue the Hilton Head tour in the Jeep.

The next pics are of a beautiful Church with CS and I, and other pics of Hilton Head Island and of course our lunch! It was another fabulous day down south!

And let’s end this short post with a great selfie of the three of us !! All retired BMO employees and all very happy !!

This is a famous cemetery, maybe because of its opulence and the fact the rich got to be buried by the river? Well in fact this is considered to be one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the entire U.S. Now I haven’t been to all the cemeteries in the U.S so I will have to take googles word for it. But I will say it is quite pretty with all the Oak trees and plants indigenous to the 1800s

There is a lot of famous people buried there. Among the military generals, poet Conrad Aiken, his poetry apparently is negative and a real Debbie Downer! (God bless Rachel Dratch from SNL!) Academy Award-winning lyricist Johnny Mercer who wrote Moon River which we can all agree is a famous song, and is the most visited grave in Savannah.

One grave that gets a lot of attention and is the most famous, is the grave of Little Gracie Watkins. Gracie died when she was only 6 years old. The iron gate around her tomb is often adorned with trinkets and toys left by guests of the cemetery.

Gracie was born in 1883 and moved to Savannah with her parents, as her father had been given the opportunity to manage one of the most popular hotels in Savannah, the luxurious Pulaski Hotel. From the moment they arrived, Little Gracie’s face become one of the most recognized in all of the hotel. The guests loved her, and she them. She would laugh and dance, sing and play for anyone willing to give her a moment of their time.

At 6 Gracie caught pneumonia, and passed just days before Easter. Their parents, obviously distraught had a beautiful stone carving erected in Bonaventure Cemetery by famed sculptor John Waltz; it was the exact liking to Gracie. Her parents eventually left to return to New England and are buried there, leaving poor Gracie all alone. For over 100 years now, Little Gracie has been a favourite stop for visitors. While not buried with her parents, one could argue she is not alone as everyone makes it a priority to visit her tomb and leave toys, or just say hello. I dare say, we are her family.

Some pictures of the Jewish part of the cemetery

SAVED BY THE BELL!! IN THE NICK OF TIME!! Don’t you always wonder where sayings come from?? Apparently the story goes that people were buried alive “back in the day”. So people bought the option of having bells when they bought their plot, “just in case” they were buried by accident. Charles Mills clearly believed that this could happen, as you can see his is quite elaborate. If you were buried alive, then you would ring the bell from underground and someone would hear and you would be dug up. Saved by the bell and frankly just in the nick of time!

Some random pics of the cemetery itself.

The tour was great and the cemetery was indeed beautiful. I would recommend you take it with Bonaventure Don. He is a historian and his whole family is buried here. He tells the story of the cemetery, the people and Savannah from historical research and facts. (There are a lot of bogus tours out there) He was great, talked fast, but great.

And the Oaks are just amazing.

A beautiful coastal Island !

We went to the lighthouse and museum to start. The lighthouse is the largest in Georgia. We climbed to the top and enjoyed the views!

We then moved onto the museum, which is also a hurricane shelter today, inside the old Fortification building. The museum was OK, but what was really interesting is that on the far end of the building a section of the Fort was purchased by someone for $600,000. He then renovated it for his home, which is now assessed at 10.5 million. It is the white part of the structure. He also apparently bought a 1.9 million home on the Island so his architect could live there during the Reno/build…..as one does when you are renovating any home.

Then off to lunch at Stingrays for fresh grouper and fries! It was delish!

Next, the beach and pier. The Island of Tybee has 3,000 permanent residents. In the summer it swells to 25,000. Not a tourist destination at all!

I find it interesting and sad that even the beaches were at one time “white only”. Here is another reminder of that.

We still have a few things to explore around the Savannah area, so stay tuned for more adventures!