We are continuing our Savannah in an RV trip. We are still camped, with Dianne and Eddie, at Skidaway Island State Park, which is located close to several interesting historical sights in addition to the town of Savannah itself, so off we went, adventuring around Savannah.
Wormsloe State Historic Site
7601 Skidaway Rd.
Savannah, GA 31406
Mon-Sun 9 am – 4:45 p.m
$10/adults and $9/seniors
$4.50/children and $2/children under 6
A short drive down a jaw-droppingly beautiful avenue lined with old live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss leads to a big parking lot and a very informative museum and small gift shop. I had no idea where or what Wormsloe Historic Site was and enjoyed learning about this beautiful place’s history.
Only tabby ruins remain of the home. There is no actual standing plantation to see, but the museum, gift shop, nature trails, and the remaining ruins make this a great family day outing.
I had no idea what tabby was but learned at the museum that it is a mixture, similar to concrete, created from mixing sand, water, lime, and most importantly, crushed oyster shells. There are many ruins along this coastal area that used tabby in its construction.
These particular tabby ruins are the remains of a Colonial fortified home named Wormsloe built by Noble Jones. Standing today are portions of an eight-foot wall that once surrounded the house and a double hearth brick chimney.
The Wormsloe family burial ground is a brief walk from the tabby ruins along with one of the many walking trails we found here. As we walked along these peaceful trails, one of my greatest delights was seeing a pileated woodpecker up in the trees! It was my first woodpecker sighting – ever.
Fort Pulaski National Monument
US-80
Savannah, Georgia 31410
Visitor Center is Closed
Fort open 9 am – 5 pm
$10 – adults, free if under 16
Free with National Parks Pass
About half an hour drive from Skidaway Island State Park, we found this fantastic piece of history located at the Savannah River’s mouth, between the city of Savannah and Tybee Island with its beautiful beaches.
This five-sided Fort is surrounded by an actual moat. It was named to honor the Polish military soldier, Kazimierz Pulaski who was under George Washington’s command during the Revolutionary War. Construction began in 1829 as part of the Third System under President James Madison’s Board of Engineers for Fortifications’ recommendations.
In 1867 the United States built a total of 42 forts along the coastline to protect the United States from any possible foreign invasion. Many of these forts are in existence today.
I had no idea forts were built along the coastline of the United States. Just don’t know much about forts. I am learning a lot as we travel and that makes these excursions so much more fun.
This Fort was tremendously important during the Civil War. A quick Google search will provide many stories about this Fort if you’re a history buff and want to know the detailed history of Fort Pulaski. A very brief, hopefully accurate, rundown is that in 1861 Georgia seceded from the Union.
Confederate soldiers moved into the Fort and occupied it until 1862, when the Union forces took possession of the Fort after Colonel Olmstead’s reluctant surrender. At the end of the Civil War, the fort became a prison for Confederate soldiers known as “The Immortal Six Hundred.” It continued as a prison for a short time after the war.
The Fort was neglected until being declared a National Monument in 1924. Fort Pulaski became a National Park in 1933 and was repaired to its current condition. In 1966 Fort Pulaski was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is now open to the public.
At the time of our visit maintenance and repair work was in progress on the roof, but the fort is in excellent condition.
The writing, not very legible, but I believe it says “They gave all to the Union” and the gold star was painted on the ceiling by the 48th Volunteer Infantry.
If adventuring around Savannah, don’t forget a trip to Tybee Island
Just a few miles down the road from Fort Pulaski is the beautiful Tybee Island, a barrier island with approximately three miles of recreational beaches. Tybee Island has excellent hotels, vacation homes, restaurants, water sports, birdwatching, and more, making this Island a perfect relaxing vacation destination.
Tybee Island Light Station and Museum
Adults $10
Seniors and Children $8 (Under 5 free)
Military $8
Coast Guard Free
Mon – Sum 9 am – 4:30 pm, except closed Tues
Tickets include admission to Light Station, a Tybee Raised Cottage, and the Tybee Museum in Battery Garland, a great deal in my opinion.
Inside the Light Keeper’s home.
Beach at Tybee Island
Georgia’s oldest and tallest lighthouse was completed in 1736 but destroyed several times by weather events, including storms and erosion. Light Keeper homes and electricity were added much later.
The Tybee Island Historical Society is responsible for the beautiful restoration of this lighthouse in 1999. It was repainted in black-white-black in 2002 and opened for tours. The original beacon still shines today.
I climbed every one of the ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-EIGHT steps to the top of this lighthouse. I could see for miles!
Fort Screven
View from the top of the fort
This fort, named after Revolutionary hero General James Screven, was built in 1895 to act as a seacoast defense. Tybee Island’s long and fascinating history is exhibited in this museum. US troops were stationed and trained here during the Spanish-American War and both World Wars.
The fort was sold to Tybee. One of the fort’s batteries became the popular museum and tourist attraction it is today. Other portions of the Fort have been developed into private residences.
Our adventuring around Savannah has come to an end.
This was a very brief visit to Savannah and its fascinating history. We could have stayed several weeks and still not enjoyed all this area has to offer. This was our first trip to Georgia, but we were looking forward to a return visit before we even left.
Opelika, Alabama
Dianne and Eddie’s home is in beautiful Opelika, Alabama, and were fairly insistent about us returning them there instead of taking them back to Texas with us forever. Opelika ranks 16 out of 20 according to Southern Living’s recent “South’s Best Small Town 2020.
We had never visited before did not know what a charming small town this was.
Downtown Opelika – beautifully decorated for Christmas1
An over 100-year-old preserved Coca-Cola sign was discovered at Smith T Building Supply’s interior wall during a store’s renovation. It is one of the oldest original paint Coca-Cola signs in existence.
Pell City, Alabama
We reluctantly said our goodbyes to our easy-going traveling companions. We traveled the short distance to Pell City, Alabama, to visit another of Steve’s cousins, Caye, and her husband, Ray. Steve truly has a beautiful family!
We spent delightful hours visiting and reminiscing. Caye fed us the very best French dip sandwiches I have ever eaten and French Toast the following morning. The pecan cake and ice cream were a hugely unexpected bonus! We may not have been able to enjoy many nice restaurants while we were in Savannah, but this visit made up the difference!
We even parked our RV on their very spacious property overnight. Tank was so curious about their horse. At one point, they stared at each other for a long time, both nose-to-nose. Tank was inside the RV at a window and the horse standing outside the window!
After our way too short visit with Caye and Ray, we continued our journey home, stopping at a Boondockers Welcome location in Mississippi overnight. Our next travel day was spent driving in heavy rain, all day long.
When we later thought back on that day, we could not figure out why we were so “driven” to drive all day long in that horrible rain! We had no deadline and did not have to be anywhere at a specific time. Our long rain-driving day was forgotten when we finally stopped for the day, though.
Boondocking in Cajun Land
Madelyn prepared the most delicious venison backstrap dinner for us!
It was our privilege to spend the evening with our great friends, Jamie and Madelyn, at their home in Southern Louisiana. Triple bonus: We were able to boondock in their driveway for the night instead of finding a spot somewhere along the road, as we had planned. This was another five-star highlight during this trip.
Home again
From our Louisiana location, we were only a day’s drive home. Guess what? The rain was gone! It was a pleasant end to a wonderful trip Adventuring around Savannah in an RV. What new (to us) part of the world are we going to discover next? Any suggestions?
