South Carolina and Alabama in December

We left Wilmington, NC, on December 7, bound for Myrtle Beach, SC.  This was a short drive south and soon we were settled in a small RV park on the Intracostal Waterway.  We didn’t see many boats cruising the waterway, but I did catch this sailboat headed south.  At one point in time, we thought we might do this too!

We explored Myrtle Beach, but for some reason just couldn’t “get into it”.  Perhaps it was the touristy feel or perhaps it was the cool temperatures and the non-beachy ambience.  Most of the shops were closed along the boardwalk and the few that were open were blaring music at us.  

We did have a lovely walk along the beach and found this message in the sand. !

After 2 nights in the Myrtle Beach area we moved on to a campground near Charleston, SC.  We had heard so much about this old southern city and we were eager to explore.  We spent one day walking all over the old part of town and then hopped on a ferry to explore Fort Sumter.  

Fort Sumter, a sea fort in the Charleston harbor, was a survivor of two battles of the Civil War. It was one of a number of special forts planned after the War of 1812, combining high walls and heavy masonry. Work started in 1829, but was incomplete by 1860, when South Carolina seceded from the Union.  It was from here that the first shots of the Civil War were fired.  During the Civil War it had been reduced to rubble, but had been restored by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930’s.  Now it is a national monument and well worth the visit.

After 6 miles of walking around Charleston, it was time for dinner and we were starving!  With our trusty Yelp app on our phones we found “Craftsman Kitchen and Tap House” in old Charleston.  Here we found an amazing list of local brews and wonderful sandwiches.  My favorite was the Kentucky Ryed Chiquen.  Kinda funny ordering a beer called Chicken! 

As Jerry usually does, he wore a “U of I” sweatshirt.  A young man came up to our table to say hello and tell us he, too, was a U of I alumnus.  He had graduated with a Masters in Psychology in the early 2000’s and had worked in Chicago for several years.  Now he lived in Charleston and worked in IT for the Navy.  Wow!  Those U of I grads are everywhere! 

                 

On Sunday, December 11, we were looking forward to worshipping at St. John’s Lutheran in downtown Charleston, the oldest Lutheran church in South Carolina.  We confirmed on the church’s website that the service began at 11 and even arrived about 15 minutes early, to find he sermon had just finished!  Once a year in December this congregation had one service at 1000, to allow for their annual meeting, and, of course, that single service was the Sunday we chose!  We still were seated in a pew box….I don’t know what else to call them….and took communion and sang the final hymn. 

The St. John’s congregation dated its origins to the 1742 arrival of Dr. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the father of the Lutheran Church in America.  The church was devastated during the Civil War but had been lovingly rebuilt.  On two sides of the church was a centuries old graveyard.  We were amazed at the ages of the early headstones…1806 on the one on the right in the photo.  The church recently received a grant to restore the cemetery and recondition the headstones, many of which were in sad shape.  Lots of history here!  Little did we know that we were just getting started on the history of South Carolina

Permanently parked in Charleston harbor was the USS Yorktown, a World War II vintage aircraft carrier.  USS Yorktown was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy, Yorktown was commissioned in April 1943, and participated in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning

11 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation.  The Yorktown was decommissioned in 1970 and in 1975 became a museum ship at Patriot's Point, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. 

This ship was well worth the tour.  The self-guided tour took all over the ship from the helm station to the engine room.  The sheer size of the ship was very impressive and the static display of Navy aircraft on the deck kept us looking.

Monday, December 12, had us on the move again, but just a short trip down the road to Camp Lake Jasper and closer to Savannah, SC.  We had had cool weather in Charleston, but this afternoon we had temperatures in the low 70’s!  Yay!  We actually sat outside and visited with the neighbors.

We spent three days in and around Savannah and really enjoyed this old city.  The elegant old buildings along the waterfront took us back to the slavery days of the south.  Today Savannah is the fourth busiest seaport in the US!  We often saw huge tankers coming into port, under this very tall bridge in the background.  

Savannah had two historic Civil War era forts…Jackson and Pulaski.  We toured Pulaski first and saw a well-restored fort with lots of displays and knowledgeable docents.  The fort was built after the War of 1812, as part of President James Madison’s plan for coastal fortifications.  Wooden pilings were sunk up to 70 feet into the mud to support an estimated 25,000,000 bricks for the walls!  The walls were eleven feet thick, thought to be impenetrable except by only the largest land artillery-, which at the time were smooth bore cannon. These cannons had a range of only around a half-mile, and the nearest land (Tybee island) was much further away than that.  It was assumed that the Fort would be invincible to enemy attack.   However, using 36 guns, including the new James Rifled Cannon and Parrott rifles, Union troops began the long sustained bombardment of Fort Pulaski in April, 1862.  The rifled projectiles could be accurately fired farther (4–5 miles) than the larger and heavier smoothbore cannonballs. Within 30 hours, the new rifled cannon had breached one of the fort's corner walls. Shells now passed through the fort dangerously close to the main powder magazine and the fort was surrendered to the Union troops.  The advancement in projectile technology changed the whole notion of how a fort should be constructed.  Brick walls were no longer invincible.  Technology won!

Fort Jackson was quite a contrast…smaller, less well-restored, and privately owned.  We got a clearer picture of what these coastal forts looked like.  In fact, a young man, delivering a re-enactment of firing a civil war cannon, brought it all home…the hard work and the danger of firing these behemoths.  The “boom” was deafening!  We saw a lot of activity around this old fort and learned it was being “converted” to a prison, for the movie, Lisa.  Interesting!  One little piece of trivia about both these forts that surprised…they both had moats and drawbridges as part of their defenses.

        

Savannah was on of this country’s first planned communities.  It was laid out in 1733 around four open squares, each surrounded by four residential blocks and four civic blocks.  The original plan (now known as the Oglethorpe Plan) was part of a larger regional plan that included gardens, farms, and "out-lying villages."  We toured through many of these beautiful squares and the surrounding historic neighbor-hoods.   Most of the squares had statues (John Wesley, Kasimir Pulaski, James Oglethorpe) and beautiful old trees.  Beautiful spots for relaxing and people watching.  The statue above commemorates the Revolutionary soldiers from Haiti,  largest contingent of those of African descent who fought in the war.

At the foot of the statue were bricks purchased by many who supported this statue, including this unfortunate one!

Perhaps it was the season, but we were drawn to many of the beautiful old churches in Savannah.  The most impressive was the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. The colonial charter of Savannah prohibited Roman Catholics from settling in the city. The English trustees feared that Catholics would be more loyal to the Spanish authorities in Florida than to the English government in Georgia, however this prohibition faded shortly after the American Revolution.  The church's congregation was reorganized about 1796. French Catholic émigrés established the first church in 1799 when they arrived from Haiti after slave rebellions began on that Caribbean island in 1791.  The church building has undergone fires, restoration, and additions, and had the most amazing interior.  It easily rivaled the cathedrals of Europe!

Sunday, December 18, we drove about 20 miles NE to Beaufort, SC, to attend services at Sea Island Presbyterian Church.  Dale and Sharon Norton, friends from Visalia, have a lovely retirement home on Fripp Island, near here, and attend this church.  The organist at this church was amazing!!  I spoke with him afterward and learned he was from Seattle and one of his organ students used to play at the Presbyterian Church in Anacortes.  Small world indeed!

Dale and I worked together at College of the Sequoias for 20 + years and it was great to see him and Sharon again.  We got the royal tour of Fripp Island on Sunday afternoon, including this visit to the resident alligator…obviously a statue!  Fripp Island was considered to be a barrier island, and was the most seaward of the Sea Islands. Located halfway between Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia, Fripp had approximately three miles of beachfront along the Atlantic, and our afternoon stroll was peaceful.  No one else around!

Monday, December 19, Dale and Sharon gave us a driving tour of the Beaufort area.  This elegant old southern city, while not as big as Charleston or Savannah, had many fine antebellum homes and a feel of the Old South.   The huge old live oaks that we saw on Fripp Island, as well as in Savannah were quite impressive. 

In the middle of Beuafort is this national cemetery prettily decorated for the holidays.

A short drive outside of Beaufort, SC, took us to the Sheldon Church, originally known as Prince William's Parish Church. The church was built between 1745 and 1753 and was burned by the British in 1779 during the Revolutionary War.  In 1865 the inside of the church was apparently gutted to reuse materials to rebuild homes burnt by Sherman's army.  It was overcast and gloomy the morning we were there.  The live oaks that populated the church grounds and graveyard added to the dreariness.  It was all delightfully creepy!

We had with Dale and Sharon lunch in downtown Beaufort at a bar close to the waterfront.  I had yummy shrimp and grits!  I had not tried this before and I’d definitely have it again.  Grits covered with gravy and BBQed shrimp on top.  What's not to like?  We had a wonderful visit with the Norton’s and were sad to leave them and lovely Fripp Island, but it was time to move on down the road!

December 20 and December 21 we were travelled west to Gulf Shores, AL, where we would spend 2 weeks.  Our overnight stops weren’t remarkable but we did finally have warm weather and sunshine again.  Nothing like a 70-degree afternoon to improve our spirits.  The forecast for Christmas weekend looked very promising!

Bella Terra of Gulf Shores was the name of the RV park where we settled.  It was quite a place.  The address was in Foley, AL, about 5 miles north of the beach at Gulf Shores, AL.  Originally, this RV park was to be a housing developmnet but for some reason that did not happen.  However, the infrastructure was in place so the new developers created this lovely park, complete with pool, hot tub, clubhouse and 2 lakes.  The sites are quite large by RV standards…50 X 120 or so and can be purchased and customized to the owners’ desires.  Many have screened rooms, casitas, firepits, outdoor kitchens, and a little garage for a golf cart.

We found the only ELCA Lutheran Church on the gulf coast about 15 minutes away in Gulf Shores.  Grace Lutheran Church was quite connected to the snowbird community.  We learned that in the summer, 15 to 20 are in worship on Sunday, but during the winter, their worship attendance swells to 400+!  During the busy winter season, they may hold 4 or 5 worship services on Saturday and Sunday!  Over coffee, after Christmas Day service, we learned that the altar furniture was built by a snowbirder over several years.  He would build a piece or two in his woodworking shop in Wisconsin.  When he came to Gulf Shores in the winter, he would load up the pieces he had room to transport. 

We were not far from Gulf Shores State Park and the Hugh Branyon Backcountry Trail.  This trail was great for biking and we took many rides along the black-topped trails, through the woods and along the swamp.  We even saw one of the resident alligators!  Yes, this one was real...but napping!  We didn't jump the fence to test that theory, though.

We spent an afternoon touring the National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola.  Quite a place!  The collection included over 150 beautifully restored aircraft, including rare and one-of-a-kind flying machines such as the NC-4 (first to cross the Atlantic by air), SBD Dauntless Bureau Number 2106 (a veteran of the Battle of Midway), the Que Sera Sera (first aircraft to land at the South Pole), the last combat F-14D Tomcat, and many, many more.  We took the docent-led tour and listened to 3 hours of naval aviation history.  We even sat through a carrier flight deck landing simulation!  Whew!  What a job!  The Blue Angels home was near here at Forrest Sherman Field.

Christmas Day, after church we joined with 50 or so RVers at the park’s clubhouse for a Christmas potluck.  Although it wasn’t like being with family, we had a delightful afternoon with some new-found friends and plenty to eat! 

Where did the days go?  We explored the nearby towns, visited with the neighbors, and rode our bikes.  This photo was the biker crowd on our last ride through the park.  14 miles! 

New Year’s weekend was overcast and rainy.  We didn’t do much “wahoo” celebrating, but watched football and stayed dry.  January 2 it was still raining!  And then it was thundering and lightning!  And then it was absolutely pouring!  Of course, that was about the time we decided to run a couple of errands.  It poured on us.  I’ve never seen such rain!  It finally subsided about 9 PM.  The entire storm dumped about 4 inches of rain and produced a small tornado in Gulf Shores, just south of here.  We barely had any wind!

We had one more fort to visit.  This time we drove to Fort Morgan located on Mobile Point on a narrow spit of land west of Gulf Shores. This was another of the third system masonry forts built between 1819 and 1833 by James Madison.  Indentured persons were contracted to the federal government and made 30 million bricks to construct the fort, built in a pentagon like others we had seen.  Standing guard where the bay met the Gulf of Mexico, the fort played a significant role in the Battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864.  It was here that Admiral David Farragut said, “Damn the torpedoes (mines were called torpedoes), full speed ahead!”  After the Battle of Mobile Bay, Farragut was promoted to Vice Admiral by President Lincoln.

Used intermittently through the Spanish American War, World War I and World War II, the fort was eventually turned over to the state of Alabama.  We were glad we had toured other similar forts in the Carolinas, since this one was flooded and we couldn’t go inside the walls.  Although the fort didn’t have a moat and drawbridge like others, it did have this ditch that had flooded after the recent deluge.

This is the last blog of 2016 and I will change things up a little bit in 2017.  Since we no longer have Smokey, (Smokey and Bus Bandits won’t work anymore!) I will change the blog name to Abe’s Adventures.  Surely you remember that “Abe” is our bus’s name!  The first blog 2017 will be coming soon.  Stay tuned!