Tybee Beach & Savannah

September 16, 17, and 18.

It has been an action packed few weeks.  We decided to drive to a place where we could lay back and rest for a few days. 

We had visited Tybee Beach and Savannah about 30 years ago and it seemed like the perfect place to relax for a few days. When the people of Savannah and Georgia want to go to a beach they go to Tybee Beach. It is about a 30 minute drive from Savannah. We found a small older motel and our unit had a living room and kitchen.

We spent a very beautiful day in the historical city of Savannah. The plantation owners would bring their cotton or rice to be sold in the port and then put on ships. The river is a sheltered harbour and warehouses were built on the banks. Goods for auction could be brought into the warehouse on the top floor, auctioned, then lowered to the bottom floor and loaded onto ships. The plantation owners built beautiful homes near the warehouse area. The city is designed with many small and large squares where these houses are located.

The large Live Oak Trees with the Spanish Moss are beautiful.

Bev and Pete, our friends from Zihuatanejo, were driving from Florida back to their home on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and we arranged to meet them in Savannah.

 

It was great to see them again. We spent a fun afternoon and dinner in the Riverbank District where the warehouses have been converted into trendy shops and restaurants. 

We look forward to seeing Bev and Pete again in Zihuatanejo for more crazy times.

Thanks

Joanne and I wish to sincerely thank everyone for their hospitality and making our visits very memorable.
Each and every one of you went to much effort to make our stay with you enjoyable and special. 
You are all wonderful people and very good friends.
THANK YOU ALL AGAIN!

Shannon and Phil

Our lifelong friends, Jim and Susan

Malcolm and Gerard

 

 

 

Halina and Neil

Doug and Ingrid

Jim and Sis

Clay and Tiff

Shredder

Duncan and Jane

Cypress Gardens

                         

Jane has planned for us to see Cypress Gardens which honestly is one of the highlights of MY LIFE! It deserves it’s own blog entry because it was so overwhelming beautiful.

Cypress Gardens Swamp is home to countless species of flora and fauna from tree frogs, to alligators gliding along ....to wild ginger and water lilies.

 

From flat bottom boats, we paddle our way through the 80 acres of swamp, mouths open in amazement.

I am having trouble finding the words to properly describe this surreal, wildly beautiful surrounding. It is quiet, as far as you can see it is as if Midas has touched everything with a gold wand, the water is still and reflective like giant mirrors surrounding you, the air is hot and steamy like a July afternoon in the north, your emotions are keen in anticipation of what is around the next turn in the swamp, a crane flies overhead, water lilies abound on each side of the boat as you paddle slowly and try to drink in all the wondrous sights that are unlike anything that you have ever seen before. You never want this to end!

If I were to compare this Swamp to a city, it would be Venice...because like Venice, every direction that you look is another picture postcard of beauty. It leaves you in absolute awe!!!!
Thank you again Jane for sharing this experience!!!!!

Duncan & Jane

Sept 10^th through 16th in Charleston

We arrive at Duncan and Jane’s, our best buddies from Montserrat days!!! Duncan was a professor at AUC Medical School on the island and Jane worked at the local hospital there.

Just before the volcano destroyed Montserrat they sold their house and left, settling in Charleston. Duncan resumed teaching as a professor at Charleston University but has since retired. Jane is still working as a nurse practitioner at the Charleston University Health Services Centre.

We have not had contact with Duncan and Jane for 10 years and we had not seen them for about 15 years. It was absolutely amazing how quickly friendships can rekindle. We quickly confirmed that we still are great friends. In fact, it took all of five minutes for the banter and laughter to start much like it did in Montserrat 25 years ago.
It was if we hadn’t seen them for fifteen days but in reality it had actually been fifteen years!

We also were quickly reminded that, like us, they are extreme foodies and were told that it was restaurant week in Charleston. Just what we need ....more food! NOT!

Their spa like back yard.

 So our decadence continues! We are forced to eat more amazing food! Ya right, TWIST OUR ARMS!

As with Summerlicious and Winterlicious in Toronto, during Restaurant Week in Charleston restaurants offer a reasonably priced 3 or 4 course meal. We were taken to 2 of the best restaurants in Charleston and had fabulous meals.

 Duncan and Jane’s home is so wonderful and comfortable that we stayed home for dinner for a couple of evenings (Duncan, Joanne and I all cooked a meal). They were gracious and said they liked my meal.

Charleston is a beautiful historical city.

  

Jane has planned for us to see Cypress Gardens which honestly is one of the highlights of MY LIFE! It deserves its own blog entry because it was so overwhelming beautiful.
Dave Jackson, who lived in Montserrat when we lived there, is also living in a wonderful home in Charleston.  Dave has renovated a simple bungalow into a magnificent home.

 

 We spend a relaxing and fabulous week with them, all of us, sore from laughing! It was so great to see them again and hopefully they will spend Christmas with us in Mexico!

Driving to Charleston

Sept 9^th and 10^th 

This section of our trip was the most laborious driving for sure. The highways were four lanes BUT about every 6 miles or so had stop lights in the various towns along the way. It was so painfully slow that you felt compelled to speed when you were on a straight away....and so yes, I got a speeding ticket in Maryland! Urghhhhhh!

The only interesting thing we witnessed was the bridge/tunnel from Delaware to Virginia. 

We went through Virginia Beach and were tempted to stay near the ocean for the night but decided to drive until late to get to Hwy 95. We found a chain hotel, nice, but can’t remember the name of it right at the junction of Hwy 95. They served breakfast which was good but the coffee was so bad that I literally couldn’t drink it! So then it was on the hunt for a decent cup before we hit the hwy. Give me coffee and nobody gets hurt!