Savannah

Thursday of our vacation was spent in Savannah.I love Savannah so much! I hate that I lived so close for all of those years and didn't take the time to enjoy the history and beauty of the city. I did, however, explore the nightlife! But, now that I am old and uncool, I want to see the other stuff. I couldn't hang with the nightlife anymore! The day we went, it was hot and I mean, melt your face off HOT! But we wandered in and out of the air conditioned stores on River Street, so that helped with the heat some. We don't have a Five Guys Burgers and Fries around here, so the kids wanted that for dinner. The adults were thinking mexican and margarita's but the kids, as usual, won out. I do wish I would have run into Wet Willy's and gotten a frozen drink! That would have cooled me off! After we ate, we wandered around some of the squares and went to the 432 Abercorn house so the kids could see it in the daylight. Yep, just as creepy in the daylight as it was at night! This year, we went on a Tara Tour walking ghost tour. I do have to admit, I enjoyed the Blue Orb Tour we took last year better, but it was still fun.We didn't get too many pics of the tour. My camera just doesn't take very good night pics. One of these days, I will have one that will!

Me and my kiddos-this was before I got too hot!

Mom and Ricky with the kids

Ricky and Johnny with the kids

Bry had me a nervous wreck walking around the brick and cobblestone streets of Savannah in the shoes! She didn't trip though, until she put her flip flops on later for the ghost tour.

Just my 3

Best place to cool off? Savannah's Candy Kitchen! It felt great in there! And you could watch them make salt water taffy and  occasionally they would toss one to you! Plus, we got free samples of the pecan pralines! Yum! Coulda stayed there all day!

It was so hot that we bought fans. Johnny looked awfully pretty with his!

The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist-absolutely breathtaking! Next year I want to get there early enough to tour the inside!

432 Abercorn Street. I stayed on the sidewalk. That place creeps me out!It is said that people's camera's have quit working after taking pics here. My camera didn't quit, however my memory card got all screwed up. On the way back to Beaufort, I was trying to see the pics I had taken that night and my pics weren't in order. They were all over the place! At first, I thought they somehow gotten deleted. We found them, but like I said, they were all over the place! Coincidence? Who knows! But, I truly believe this house is evil! Read more about it here-http://savannahghostpost.com/Abercorn.aspx

Ricky was more brave than I was. He actually looked through the mail slot! Not me!

It was getting dark, but this is the Mercer-Williams House. If you have ever seen or read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, this is the house they are talking about. Read more about it here-http://www.visit-historic-savannah.com/mercer-williams-house.html

Waiting of the ghost tour to start. The kids in front of the gate at Colonial Park Cemetery. http://savannahghostpost.com/ColonialPark.aspx

The Spanish Moss just adds to the creepy effect!

Like I said, I didn't get any good pics of any of the houses we saw, but Johnny did get a pic of some orbs at Wright Square. Alice Riley was the first female to be hanged in Georgia. She was pregnant so, they had to wait until after she had the baby to hang her. There is no Spanish Moss hanging from these trees. It is said that Alice won't allow the Spanish Moss to grow there as a sign of her presence. I don't want to totally butcher the story so, read more about Alice Riley here-http://savannahghostpost.com/Alice.aspx

This isn't a ghost story, but you know at the beginning of Forrest Gump, where the feather starts floating down? This is the church from that scene.

Beach Day!

Wednesday of our vacation was spent at the beach. We went to Hunting Island State Park. I really love that beach. It's not all touristy and crowded. It's beautiful and peaceful. We had a really good time. I had not planned to get into the water, but I had forgotten how hot it gets! So, I ended up getting in. Got knocked over by a few waves, got a few mouths full of salt water and had fun!

One of the downed trees on the beach.

I just love the natural beauty!

The kids being all cool and junk

Uuummm yeah, so I am scared of birds. One of my greatest fears to be pecked to death by a pack of evil birds. So, I have no idea whatever possessed me to throw a piece of popcorn for the lone seagull that was in front of me. It was alone for about 2 seconds! I believe this is where the term "flock of seagulls' came from. I started throwing popcorn by the handfulls just to get them away from me!

Bryson and Jordan-Thanks Jordan!

Another tree

Loggerhead Turtle nest

Bryson

The Hunting Island Lighthouse

After we left the beach, we all went home and cleaned up. I love the beach, but I am just not a fan of sand! And then, we all ended up taking a nap. That heat just zapped us. Our friend Chris came up for dinner later and we made the Frogmore Stew that we had bought the shrimp for the day before. Man, I love that stuff! Sure, we can made it in Indiana, but with frozen shrimp. Doesn't even compare to the fresh stuff! We stuffed ourselves to the point of being borderline sick, drank wine and caught up. Bry ended up hearing a few stories that should have been kept in the mom vault. Oops! It was a really fun night!

Frogmore Stew- http://allrecipes.com/recipe/frogmore-stew/

Shark's Teeth and More Dock Lounging

Tuesday of our vacation was pretty low key. We went down to the Sands of Port Royal to look for shark's teeth. We went down during low tide because that is the best time to find them or just as the tide is coming back in. After that, we stopped and picked up some fresh shrimp for Frogmore Stew, which we didn't end up making until the next night because we wanted our friend, Chris to join us for dinner. So, more on Frogmore Stew in my next post! The place where we bought the shrimp just happened to be right next to Alvin Ord's sandwich shop. I hadn't had Alvin Ord's since we lived down there, so it had been at least 14 years! So, we couldn't resist and it was every bit as good as I remembered! Next, we swung by Steve's mom and dad's and visited with them for awhile. We ended up bringing my niece, Makaylia back with us to the cottage to hang out for awhile. Makaylia had been staying with Steve's mom and dad for awhile and was going to be leaving to go back to California on Friday. The remainder of the day was spend on the dock. There was a great breeze and a gorgeous sunset. We stayed down there until the storm ran us back to the house. And it was one heck of a storm! Yikes!

Bry displaying her shark's tooth

Bry and I- the wind and humidity was really cruel to us curly hair girls!

The gang hunting for shark's teeth

I snuck a pic of Jordan!

There are a lot of oyster shells here, so walking in the water with no shoes on isn't even an option! Those suckers will cut you right open!

Another of Jordan

Dusty

Swamp monster

Here are a few of the teeth that they found. I didn't get a total count because everyone had their own bottles and they sure weren't going to let us mix them together for a pic!

Bry found this tiny little heart rock

Johnny caught this shark!

My little fisherman

Just as the sun was starting to set

Bryson and MaKaylia

Such a gorgeous night!

Finally Some Vacation Pics!

I am behind- really behind. We have been home from vacation for a month now and I am just getting around to getting some pics posted. But in my defense, right after we got back, my sis-in-law and nephews were in town, we had to get the kids ready for school, plus there's that pesky thing called work... Anyway, we had another wonderful trip to Beaufort, SC. Sad, that once again Steve wasn't able to get off of work. One of these days, he will be able to get down there again with us. But we met up with some great friends and family, went to the beach, went to Savannah, did some site seeing, and did a whole lot of lounging on the dock. Here are some pics from our first few days. And once again, you will see there aren't a whole lot of pics of Jordan. That is because he is a turd! He turns his head everytime I get the camera out and holds his hand in front of his face. Even though his great aunt and great grandma have told him how much they enjoy the pics I post. This is their way of keeping up with the kids. He did soften after that and let me get a few. But even I didn't realize how much the family enjoys the pics I post. Modern technology is so great with keeping touch with our loved ones that live far away!So, this is for you all! :)

We always get a pic at the South Carolina Welcome Center. My kids are goofy!

Bry didn't even unpack before she parked her butt in a chair on the dock!

My dear friend, Stacy and 3 of her boys drove over from Georgia to meet up with us. Well us and her brother who also lives in Beaufort. We have gotten to see each other twice in one year after going 12 years without seeing each other! We met them for dinner right after we got in on Saturday night. And then we met them for breakfast on Sunday before they headed back home. It was a short, but definitely sweet visit. As always with Stacy, the visit was full of laughs.

My  mom, Stacy and I at Ihop before they headed out.

The kids and I 

After breakfast, we headed back up to the cottage to spend the rest of the day on the dock. The guys fished, the girls lounged. And took pics.

Bry had to go down to get a pic of the stingray that Ricky caught.

We snapped a few pics, then set him free.

Monday we went exploring at the old Fort Fremont on St. Helena Island. Read about Fort Fremont here http://www.sciway.net/hist/fort-fremont-st-helena-island.html.  It is said to be haunted. In fact, it used to be the place that we went when we wanted to scare ourselves during our teenage years. And after that, you parked up the road and waited to see the Land's End Light. I never saw anything, but it sure was fun trying! I guess back then we were trespassing, but they have cleaned the place up and opened it to the public since then. So, we were there legally!

The remains of Fort Fremont. From the other side and down by the water, you can't even tell it's here.

Johnny inside of the fort

All of the kids in the fort.

Bry was kinda creeped out. Jordan kept scaring her....

Closer to the door brought on a smile...

Another view of the fort

On the steps

Hanging out down by the water

Dusty getting ready to wash is dirty feet off!

After we left the fort, we stopped at the Chapel of Ease.Read about the Chapel of Ease here http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/chapel-of-ease.html. I love the old ruins of this church. The mosquitoes and the sand gnats, not so much. They were eating us alive! But I did get a few pics.

The remains of the Chapel of Ease

Dusty

The kids and I

I love the Spanish Moss!

Bryson and Jordan

After we left the chapel of Ease, we headed to Savannah to have a cookout with a couple of my sis-in-laws, niece and nephews. A lot of the family has moved in the past year, so we didn't get to have as many of the cousins together as we have in the past. It was fun catching up. Those girls are always a hoot! We got one pic of the kids. Here it is!

My three are standing up. On the couch from left to right-Joseph, Ashton and Destanie. I know one thing, the Sullivan's sure make some pretty kids! :)

And that is it for now. That is only a few days worth of pics! Plenty more to come!