I’d like to begin this post by complaining about the Georgia heat but it’s currently hotter in Lowell!
We are 0 for 4 with finding a Pilot/Flying J rest area so we stayed at another Walmart last night. It was still hot and humid when we went to bed and without a fan, sleeping was very uncomfortable. This morning, we were on the road early to visit the picturesque Savannah, Georgia. Route 17 turned into Charleston Highway, which both alternate between two and four lanes, and the drive was very serene,
The Carolina Cider Company in Yemassee, SC was featured in the cookbook “Off the Eaten Path” by Morgan Murphy and sells one of the best pecan pies in the Southeast. Unfortunately, I couldn’t have any pie but we stopped and picked up several other goodies in this wonderful country store. Peach cider, glazed pecans, boiled Cajun peanuts…this is southern eating! Jay also bought me a sweetgrass basket. Sweetgrass baskets, which are a big part of Charleston culture, originate from West Africa and are mostly made along Route 17.
After leaving the store, we continued toward Savannah, eating our boiled peanuts and listening to the oldies. We arrived at the Savannah Welcome Center around 2 PM and parked at the Georgia State Railroad Museum. Inside the visitors center, a very helpful woman gave us a 10-minute overview of the city and also advised us to move Lady T into their parking lot. The lot is free for the first hour and a dollar an hour after that. We moved the rig and then set off in the blaring heat to visit The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist,
This Gothic style church serves thousands of Catholics in the Savannah area and portrays scenes from the Bible with stunning murals and stained glass. You can’t help but be moved by the images, regardless of your beliefs. I sat at the front for a short oral history of the cathedral while Jay took pictures.
According to the visitors center, Jones Street in Savannah is one of the prettiest streets in America, After the cathedral, we decided to check it out, passing through several of the city’s famous squares. Jones Street is indeed one of the prettiest streets I’ve ever seen, However, we’re not experts so you’ll have to check it out someday for yourself! Our last stop was Forsythe Park, which has a huge fountain and is also home to the Candler Oak, the oldest live oak in Savannah.
Despite the heat and intermittent rain showers, we had a nice time. As early evening set in, we bid farewell to Savannah and pointed Lady T toward Tybee Island.
Tybee Island is the easternmost point in Georgia and home to Fort Pulaski and the Tybee Island Lighthouse. Unfortunately, we arrived a little too late to tour the fort so we moved on to the lighthouse and were able to get close enough to for several good pictures. Afterward, we walked down to the beach and watched the sunset from a swinging bench built in the sand.
Leaving Tybee Island, we set the GPS for a Pilot/Flying J in Dublin, GA but when we arrived there about three hours later, we found that it was just a Diddy mirage. That made us 0 for 5 and out of gas. Luckily, we found a gas station, got some ice, and pulled into another Walmart just as the air conditioner overheated. Stay tuned tomorrow to find out if we’ll be spending the day on the road or at a mechanic!
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