Skidaway Island

Tuesday for New Year's Eve, we had breakfast then took Alex for a hike at Skidaway Island State Park.  After paying admission, we parked at the picnic area and got on the Sandpiper Trail Loop.  The trail started with a long boardwalk through the salt flats.

There were lots of holes in the sand but a little too cold for any fiddler crabs.  At the intersection, we went left around the loop.

There were a lot Palmettos growing here.  We then took Avian Loop Trail out to a bridge over the tidal creek.

We turned left again where the trail looped.

There was a lot of Spanish moss growing around here.

Soon, we came to a nice views of Skidaway Narrows and Diamond Causeway.

Then we got on the connector trail past some campsites to Big Ferry Trail.   Turning left again, we passed the alligator ponds, but it was too cold for them.

Soon we got to the observation tower.

Stairs led up only to the second level, but there were great views of the surrounding salt flats.

Continuing on the Big Ferry Trail, we took the Earthworks Loop to extend the hike and see a couple more sites.  Shell middens formed where Native Americans had discarded shells; shellfish were an important part of their diet.

The earthworks were constructed as a Confederate defense during the Civil War.

There was also an old liquor still from prohibition days.

Shortly past here, we got back on Big Ferry Trail.

It finished up past a freshwater slough.

Then we took Connector Trail back to Avian and Sandpiper Loops.

We finished up our hike around lunch time.

On the way back to Savannah, we stopped at Bonaventure Cemetery and took Alex for a walk around the graveyard.

There were lots of live oaks draped in Spanish moss.

Some of the trees had resurrection ferns growing from their trunks.

It's really a beautiful cemetery and full of history.

The Guardians of Bonaventure is a plot of war veteran graves in a triangle, pointing towards Savannah.

The statuary on many of the graves was very elaborate and beautiful.

And even more elaborate were the mausoleums.

The famous Bird Girl statue is no longer here; it's in the Savannah for safekeeping, but other statuary in the cemetery was beautiful.

And the setting among the live oaks was beautiful.

One of the most well-known statues in the cemetery is little Gracie Watson, who died from pneumonia at age 6.

There were lots of beautiful spots for pictures.

General Lawton was a Confederate General whose monument is known as Heaven's Gate.

Conrad Aiken, a notable novelist and poet, gravestone is a bench that he hoped poets would sit on and use for inspiration.

We drove around a bit through the cemetery, stopping to see a few more interesting sights.

When we finished here, we went back to the hotel to park and then headed to Wet Willies for dinner.  We had some drinks down by the river, but didn't make it to midnight.

Fort Pulaski

Monday, we had breakfast at the hotel and then headed to Fort Pulaski National Monument.  Although it's a national park, dogs are allowed on the trails and even in the fort.  After getting our stuff together, we first headed over towards the fort.  There is a moat surrounding it.

Down the trail, there was a drawbridge over the moat.

Here we got our first views of the massive brick fort.

Across the moat, we went left and explored the tunnels.

It was a bit of a maze with the tunnels popping above ground and going back underground.  We really had fun going through the tunnels.

When we had our fill of the tunnels, we crossed another drawbridge to the main fort.

It was a really impressive site and lots to see.  Colonel Olmstead, who surrendered the fort to Union forces, had his quarters here.

There were many interesting interior rooms, showing the magnitude of the bricks to construct the fort.

And of course, being a fort, there were lots of cannons.

Another area housed Confederate prisoners of war.

We toured around the first level of the fort.

Climbing up to the second level, there was a great view of the tunnels.

There was a Parrott Rifle cannon up here, like the ones that defeated the Confederate defenses.

Heading back down, we stopped to see the soldiers' quarters, mess hall and other living areas in the fort.  The commanding officer's quarters were certainly the nicest.

After that, we left the fort, crossing the drawbridge back to the main part of the park.

Near the parking lot was an old cemetery that was the final resting place for many who lived at worked at the fort, including the Immortal 600 Confederate Officers.

We walked around the northern end of the fort; it was cool to see it from the outside.

Here, we picked up the Lighthouse Overlook Trail.  It was a scenic trail leading through the maritme forest.

There were a lot of little mud fiddler crabs just off the trail.

The trail ended at an overlook for Cockspur Island Lighthouse.

On an eroded island, there's no way to visit the lighthouse but we got about as close as we could.  There were a lot of little fiddler crabs in the sand.  It rained briefly, but we sheltered under a big tree.

After finishing our hike, we headed back to Savannah as the weather cleared.  It was still early and the rain was over, so we parked at the hotel and had lunch at City Market, then walked around to a few of the squares.  First, we went to Johnson Square where there is a monument to Nathaniel Greene.

Then we continued east to Reynolds Square with a statue of John Wesley.

Heading south, the next was Oglethorpe Square, named for James Oglethorpe who founded the colony of Georgia.

Going west, we passed Wright Square.

And the next was Telfair Square.

Heading south, we then came to Orleans Square that had a nice German Memorial Fountain.

And finally, we went east again to Chippewa Square with a statue of James Oglethorpe.

That was out last square; we then headed down to the river and got some Wet Willies and relaxed down by the river.  Alex was tired from walking around and appreciated a rest.