A little stroll through the south.

I have just returned from a little trip to the south. Starting in Virginia, we drove down to Charleston, SC , then to Savannah, Georgia and ended up in Pensacola, Florida.  The trip was to incorporate as many new sites  as we could during the recent naval relocation of my flying sea monkey.

We took the poor man's tour in Charleston and acquired a AAA travel book with a detailed walking route outlined in it. We found parking easily and only 2 blocks from where the tour began. The book was handy with its detailed information about the historic significance of the buildings and the various sights. It was a pleasant adventure, and one we could share with my grand-dog. After hour 2, the heat became stifling and we were out of water. Only 95 degrees. No biggie. We stopped in a memorial park and sat in the shade, but the panting just got worse. Luckily, the Charleston Historic Preservation Society was across the street. The ladies there welcomed us into the very nice store, giving us water, snack, and restroom access. The place was air conditioned to 68 degrees. A delightful place. I stopped panting. . . .and so did the dog. I credit them for saving me from heat stroke. We weren't really on a time schedule, but needed to be in Savannah before dark so we could find our way. 

On the road from Charleston to Savannah, I began counting the number of exploded tires left along the roadside. Some were intact, some were shredded tread. To be sure, there is some problem with tires and southern road touring. From Charleston to Savannah, I counted 107 "dead tires". Unbelievable luck of the motorists to lose a tire out there in the middle of the freeway in the heat of the day! I began to worry about the state of our tires and we became determined not to be numbered amongst the dead tire count!

Arriving in Savannah was like driving up to a movie set. The trees dripping with the Spanish moss, the steamy streets and the smell of the grasses. The many homes with wrought iron gates and balconies were beautiful. We had a bucket list of things to see and do here and only 1 1/2 days to do it all. We got started right off the bat and drove through all the historic districts, narrated by the AAA tour guide book, and found ourselves eating dinner at Leopold's ice cream parlor. Who doesn't love ice cream for dinner? Totally worth the wait. The line went out the door and to the corner  , but it went fast. We tasted 6 flavors and settled on 2.

We took a paid guided walking tour with Savannah Dan. He is a native to Savannah and grew up with a passion for the city's history. We did a 2 hour walking tour around 4 of the town squares, hearing the in depth history about the residents who walked these same streets in the 1700's.

 

During one of the stops for a lecture, a young lady fell flat on her face, overcome by the heat of the day. My brain switched to nurse mode, but not as fast as the sea monkey's. She thrust her tote bag, back pack, camera, and dog into my arms and ran over to the fallen girl. Proud of her as she acted as a first responder, and seeing that the girl was pale but breathing, I stayed back with the bags and the barking dog. Sea Monkey got the pleasure of removing the chewing gum out of the girls mouth and checking for pulse. Cool cloths were applied to her head and neck as her parents, who had been walking around with her, removed frozen water bottles from their packs and strategically placed them on their fallen daughter. 9-1-1 was called, and Savannah Dan continued his lecture, admonishing us to  drink water and wear a hat.

The group of us stood there and enjoyed a liter of water each before continuing.

My Sea Monkey was put out because I didn't beat her to the dropped girl . I explained that somebody filled my arms with bags, cameras and barking pets, so I would get the "next one".

I think we covered Savannah well for the amount of time we had. Surely there was more to see and do, however the heat of the afternoon was prohibitive. Definitely enjoyed the tour of the Juliette Gordon Lowe house, founder of the Girl Scouts. So many years of our life were spent supporting and acting as Scouts.

Our trips end to Pensacola, Florida was uneventful except for the 96 degrees weather accompanied by torrential downpour bordering on hurricane force.



Definitely will be heading to the south again. We were told a week after our visit that our Charleston walk was on the hottest recorded day so far. So now I can claim I survived and didn't have heat stroke.  The people were lovely and friendly. I surely wished we had been able to be there in the Fall or spring when its cooler.

So IF you go, wear your hat, drink lots of water and try to seek out the shade from the many trees lining the streets. And really absorb some of that southern food and southern charm.