Moping in Miami

We are finally back in Miami after a long road trip. Unfortunately, the beach time that I promised my dear wife is not materializing.  Current weather conditions are grey,windy and rainy. The Boss is sad, but she has a good book and is stretched out on the funky settee in our hotel room here at the Ritz Carlton South Beach. We will be camped out here for the rest of the trip and hopefully we get some nice weather soon.

This is what the pool looks like right now and although it is hard to tell from this picture, it is raining pretty hard.  Note that there are no people in the lounge chairs;(

We turned in our rental car today after putting almost 2000 miles on it. We had a heck of a deal from Sixt, a car rental agency that I had never heard of before this trip. We paid less than $20 per day for a brand new, full size car, with unlimited mileage. Sweet! Stay tuned!

Chasing around Charleston

Our base camp here in Charleston, is the Planters Inn. It is located at the corner of Market Street and Meeting Street and without really knowing exactly where it was, we found it by feel yesterday. It was easy to find because old Charleston is built on a peninsula and it narrows as you work your way south from US 17. With Mrs. Gym acting as reluctant navigator, we inched south and eventually hit Market Street at a point about a block from the hotel.

This is a swank boutique hotel that is right in the middle of the action. We have a wonderful big room with a separate sitting area and two bathrooms. The second bathroom was nice today when we had less than an hour to wake up and get ready for a full day of touring. In addition, I can leave the seat up in my bathroom, if I choose.

bedroom

sitting room

We had a full day today. We explored the oldest parts of Charleston by horse-drawn carriage and later on foot. We also took a boat ride out to Fort Sumter which was built on a man-made island out in Charleston harbour.

Last night we had pre-arranged the carriage tour which was set for 9:30. The carriage was to pick us up at the front door and when we strolled down at 9:20;  there it was waiting for us. Our guide Ann, was at one end of the reins and Henry the horse, was at the other. We jumped in and proceeded down a predetermined route which took us by many of Charleston's historic landmarks and many of its beautiful antebellum (pre-Civil War) homes. Ann was a great entertainer and because this was a private tour we had a wonderful introduction to the city.

Ann

Henry

Right after the carriage tour, we decided to take the noon cruise to Fort Sumter, out at the eastern end of Charleston Harbour. The site is a National Monument, so it is ably managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The ride out and back again was smooth and a recorded narrative was provided on the boat. When we got to the island a park ranger provided a detailed account of the battle that began the Civil War. The most amazing part about the story of the battle was that after a 34 hour bombardment of the fort by numerous surrounding confederate batteries, which fired thousands of times, there were no casualties. 

approaching Fort Sumter from Charleston

re-mounted cannon facing Charleston harbour from inside the fort

This illustration depicts what the fort looked like in 1860 before the Civil War

monument to the Union troops that endured the confederate attack (note that there was a James Moore here too)

looking back over the ruins of the fort toward Charleston

the flags that flew over Fort Sumter during the Civil War include the two Confederate Flags at the top, the North Carolinian flag in the middle and the two U.S. flags at the bottom (the U.S. had added two states from the first flag to the second)

Following the Ft. Sumter tour we had lunch and walked back along the route we had covered in the carriage, to take some pictures of some of the stuff we missed getting good shots of earlier in the day. Here are some of Mrs. Gyms photos of Old Charleston:

St. Philip's Church on Church Street

Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon

One of the numerous beautiful antebellum mansions

The Calhoun Mansion. This guy was a blockade runner during the Civil War and because he was paid in gold he did very well.

the last cobblestone street

White Point Gardens and The Battery at the tip of the peninsula

another beautiful home

and another

We leave here tomorrow and head back to Miami so that Mrs. Gym can enjoy the rest of our vacation on South Beach. Stay tuned!

Wandering around Wilmington

For two nights we stayed in another 4 - Diamond AAA B & B called the Graystone Inn in Wilmington, NC. The house dates from 1905 and Frommer's refers to it as the grandest of Wilmington's Inns. The main floor is all common areas which includes a dining room big enough to seat Gym's entire family for Christmas Dinner, a music room, a front room and a library where wine is served at 6 PM. The second and third floors are connected to the main floor by a beautiful grand staircase carved from red oak. Each floor is 4000 square feet, so the whole mansion is 12,000 square feet. Our room was on the third floor so it was quite a workout getting all the luggage up and down those stairs.

The Graystone is right in the middle of the Historical District and we were three blocks from the riverwalk which runs for a mile along the Cape Fear River. All the good restaurants and shops are just a few blocks away from The Graystone.

Graystone front door

Our room

music room

Dining Room for 30ish; note 14' ceiling

parlor

library

 

Staircase built around fireplace back of front foyer

second floor foyer

the sign outside prooves Moore's have been a big part of North Carolinian society for centuries

Thursday was our only full day in Wilmington and we spent most of it touring the biggest attraction on the Cape Fear River. Just across the river from the historic downtown, is moored the WWII battleship, North Carolina. It was moved into its permanent mooring here in 1961 after the people of the State of North Carolina banded together and saved it from being scraped. It has been authentically restored and is a National Historic Landmark now and a memorial to the 10,000 North Carolinians of all branches of service that gave their lives in WWII. Retired USN officers manage the site today.

Boarding this highly decorated ship on the self guided tour - looking forward from the aft deck

This is actually the same type of floatplane that was used on the North Carolina, a Kingfisher; one heroic pilot from the North Carolina rescued 10 downed naval aviators in the Truk Island campaign

We climbed up and down this tub for 2 hours. It was a great workout! Inside the ship there were many pictures of the sailors that ran up and down these stairs dozens of times a day and they were young 18 year-old men. I'm sure that they had no issues but as a 50+ guy, I sure did.

dining room

bedroom

inside a turret

Capt. Gym on the bow

We have arrived safely in Charleston and we are staying in a very swank place that is right in the thick of the historical district. We had a nice, slow drive down here from Wilmington but I was very disappointed with Myrtle Beach. It was like the southeastern equivalent of the worst of Las Vegas. Having  said that the beach was nice, especially with Mrs. Gym on it.

Mrs. Gym on Myrtle Beach

Tomorrow we are going on a buggy ride and a boat trip!

British 1; Patriots 1

Prior to leaving Savannah yesterday, we visited the remains of the Spring Hill Redoubt on the western edge of the Historical District, an area that again was within walking distance of our B & B. In this small green space are the remains of one of the British redoubts and a modern interpretation of the redoubts built for tourists like us, so we could get a feel for what the Patriots faced when they tried to take Savannah from the British in 1779. Unfortunately for the Patriots and their French and Haitian allies, those redoubts were quite effective. The well-protected British stood fast in their defences and prevented the allies from planting the Stars and Stripes in the city. This was unfortunately, a very one-sided battle, where the Patriot team lost about 1000 casualties, including about 240 dead. The British casualties included 40 killed, 63 wounded and 52 missing. It was definitely a 'W' for the British. They subsequently held Savannah until 1782.

We checked out of the Ballastone Inn at  about 11 AM and jumped in the car. We had about a four hour drive up I-95 ahead of us, and we were headed for the furthest point north on our tour of the Deep South. Our itinerary would bring us to Wilmington, North Carolina for two nights. However, the drive seemed longer than it should have, especially for Mrs. Gym. Mrs. Gym needed to have a rest stop for about the last 100 miles or so and there was really no place to stop because we had gotten off the I-95 and were driving east on US 74/76, which is a lonely stretch of highway for dozens of miles. Fortunately, there was a battlefield nearby and it just happened to be one on Gym's 'points-of-interest list'. In addition, since it was a National Monument it had some pretty swank restrooms. So, Mrs. Gym got her relief and she was then happy to join Gym on the one mile hike through the woods and experience the lay of the land on the hallowed ground of the Battle of Moore's Creek.

From inside the re-built redoubt, facing the direction of the Patriot and French attack

Looking at the re-built redoubt from the attackers perspective

The colonial Stars and Stripes near the ruins of the British redoub

Saying goodbye to James Edward Oglethorpe, the founder of the colony of Georgia and the  22 town squares in Savannah

The battle of Moore's Creek was a skirmish between North Carolinian loyalists and North Carolinian Patriots. This battle ended up being one in the 'win column' for the Patriots. Now compared to the Siege of Savannah, this was not a very big battle but it was important to me because the overall commander of the Patriots was a guy named Colonel James Moore. He is the fellow of Irish heritage who was descended from Rory Og O'Morda (or Rory Moore), and he may in fact be related to me, so I had to see this site.

The battlefield is very well preserved thanks to it's location in a rural area and thanks to the wonderful work of  The National Park Service. The self-guided tour is well laid out and the pathway through the woods is mostly laid down with a material which is comprised of recycled tires that are dyed to fit in with the undergrowth. Mrs. Gym commented that the trail would make a wonderful jogging track. The path quickly brought us into the middle of the position that the Patriots held during the battle. This time the Patriots were defending and they were well dug-in behind earthen breastworks on the east side of Moore's Creek. James Moore's officers had laid a trap for the loyalists. The Patriots picked there ground well and the loyalists were lured across a dismantled bridge which spanned the creek and lead to a narrow clearing in front of the Patriot defences. The Patriots decimated the charging loyalists who lost 30-50 men compared to Patriot losses of one killed and one wounded. This was definitely a 'W' for the Patriots.

The commander of the patriots in North Carolina really was James Moore

Re-cycled tire path through the battlefield

The bridge over Moore's Creek

Moore's Creek

We have now been in Wilmington for two nights and will be leaving here in an hour or so to drive south to Charleston. Internet access has been sketchy over the past 24 hours so I am getting this article out later than I would have hoped. I will have another chapter on Wilmington that I hope to get it out this evening if the internet access is better tonight. We will not be using the I-95 today and will instead be meandering south on US 17,  a more scenic route through Myrtle Beach, SC.

Traversing Savannah

As I indicated in the previous post, we are staying in the Ballastone Inn here in Savannah. This unique venue is right in the middle of the Historic District and is only a few blocks away from everything that is a must-see in this fascinating place. Our Inn was built in 1838 by the merchant George W. Anderson, and his son, Major George W. Anderson Jr. of the Confederate States Army, inherited the house upon George Sr.'s death in 1874. Major Anderson was the commanding officer of nearby Fort McAllister, during the Civil War, and he defended that fort gallantly until he was forced to surrender it to General Sherman in 1864. After serving as a home for the Andersons' and prior to becoming an Inn, it served as a branch office for Girl Scouts of America (because it is next door to the birthplace of Juliet Gordon Low who founded Girl Scouts, in Savannah, in 1912) and it also served as a bordello.  Celebrities such as Matt Damon, Robert Redford, Paul Newman and Gym Moore have stayed in this Inn.

Ballastone Inn

In the Inn today, there are 15 completely unique rooms on four floors, a double parlour and a breakfast room. They have a great breakfast, serve english-style tea at 4 P.M and have bar service and appetizers from 6 to 7 P.M. It has a AAA - four diamond award for 2011 and is highly recommended by Frommer's Guide. The staff here are great! The only negative is that there are only 6 parking spots in the back. I witnessed a terrible battle between two ladies for the last empty spot yesterday. Fortunately, Mrs. Gym won the battle and I wheeled the Taurus into that last spot. It was a little messy for the next 24 hours or so in the Inn but that other couple has now checked out.

Savannah is a very unique place. The Historic District is laid out like most towns in North America with criss-crossing streets running perpendicular to each other, but there are also 22 town squares set down at regular intervals in a grid which covers an area of roughly 144 blocks (12 north-south and 12 east-west blocks). Each square is unique, with some squares containing memorials to war heros or other historic figures and other squares containing playgrounds or parks. One of the squares featured prominently in  the movie Forrest Gump (see below). They reversed the traffic flow for 72 hours around that particular square, to finish those scenes. The bench that Tom Hanks sat on was just a prop for the movie but it is now a treasured piece in a museum.

Forrest narrating his life story in Chippewa Square, Savannah 

I think we have now seen the majority of the 22 town squares. Mrs. Gym and I have traversed the Historic District a couple of times and we also took a 90-minute trolley tour which was very comprehensive. Today, we also strolled along Riverfront Plaza which is about 12 blocks long and runs along the enttire length of the Historic District, adjacent to the Savannah River. The area is full of shops and restaurants which are built into the old warehouses and office buildings that originally housed the burgeoning cotton trade during the mid-1800s.

One of the things that stands out for me here, in this relatively small city of about 132,000 people, is the incredible number of beautiful mansions and churches which have been lovingly cared for by the people of this city for generations. And significantly, when General Sherman burnt down the rest of Georgia during the Civil War, the people of Savannah convinced him to spare Savannah, and he did so, making Savannah a Christmas present for Abraham Lincoln in 1864. Thank God!

Tonight we are going to a show at the very old Savannah Theatre and then a late dinner. Tomorrow we will leave Savannah and re-enter South Carolina. We will then blast through South Carolina and up to Wilmington, North Carolina to visit some kinfolk and do some other cool stuff.  Until then, here are a few shots of Savannah.

Forsyth Fountain down one of the tree-lined paths which radiate out from it in all directions

Forsyth Fountain up close - they turn the water  green every St. Patricks Day

Old Sorrel House is said to be haunted like many of these old mansions. Sorrel was a Confederate General that survived the war and General Robert E. Lee visited this house in the early years of the war.

Memorial to the fallen Confederate soldiers in Forsyth Park 

This is the Talmadge Memorial Bridge from The Riverfront Plaza. We went over this coming from Hilton Head Island. 

A Paddlewheeler moored on the Riverfront Plaza

Cotton bales loaded on wagons would be driven down this alley overlooked by 'Cotton Factors' or merchants, who would buy the cotton from the growers and sell it for export to Europe

Cotton Factors Walk with City Hall in the Background