We were excited to stay in Savannah, Georgia for the next 15 days allowing plenty of time to explore a very interesting City. I was glad we were there in December to see all the Christmas decorations and pop up stores, and hoped to be able to watch a Christmas Parade the following weekend.
I had seen a terrible review on the Creekfire Resort where we had booked, on Instagram a few day’s prior and was really concerned as to what we were letting ourselves in for, but it was amazing. The Resort was very clean and spacious with a number of nice amenities including a lovely big pool and hot tub. Derek was rather disappointed as their lazy river was closed for the season. The Resort also had a couple of restaurants – the Lake House and then a smaller pool side bar. There were signs up everywhere about Alligators and Snakes so I was a little wary about walking Jax too near the water in case he ended being a nice tasty breakfast. The resort did have 2 dog parks. Jax really liked the rectangular one which was long enough for us to throw the ball for him and for him to have a good run.
The next day we made our way to downtown Savannah to walk along the cobblestone River Street and the Waterfront. River Street was full of full of shops and restaurants with the funniest of names – Wet Willies, Bobs your Uncle and Fannie’s your Aunt, Spanky’s, to mention a few. It was bustling with people. There was a Marriott hotel on both ends of the Riverwalk. The one on the far end had the most incredible hexagonal ceiling in the lobby and the other one was like a museum with an enormous collection of extremely large gem stones, and a giant steel dragon suspended from the ceiling. Everywhere was festively decorated with pretty Christmas decorations and trees. Outside of the Marriott were a number of pop up stores and also a Starbucks.
One of the most amazing sights in Savannah is the Spanish Moss which hangs like a beard from the branches of trees everywhere and there was tons of it in the rv resort. It looks like someone has literally flung strands at the trees. I was intrigued by the moss and found some interesting facts about it. Firstly Spanish moss is not actually moss – it actually comes from the same family as pineapples. Spanish moss is not a parasite and does not harm the trees it grows on. Its nourishment comes from dust and water in the air. Its preferred habitat is a healthy tree in tropical swampland. The surface of the moss is covered with tiny gray scales. Its seeds float through the air (bit like a dandelion) until they land on a good tree to grow on.
Spanish moss has several uses – some include – being mixed with mud to make mortar for houses (done in the past). Dried moss is good tinder for fires, and you can make it into blankets, rope, and mattress filling. Because it soaks up and retains water, it is also used for garden mulch. Spanish Moss is often draped on chain link fences to create privacy and many bird and animal species build their homes in it. You have to be careful when picking it as it is full of chiggers – a type of mite. I did try and put some on Jax’s head so I could take a photo but he went a little crazy when I did that.
One of the days in Savannah we visited the Wormsloe Historic Site in Savannah, Georgia, originally known as Wormsloe Plantation. It has a most enchanting long driveway of old oak trees draped with spanish moss – like a painting. Because of this, Wormsloe is a very popular place for shooting movies and holding weddings.
In 1736, 500 acres of this property was purchased by Noble Jones who built a fortified house on it. The house was built from wood and tabby, a crude type of concrete made from oyster shells and lime.The fortified house was part of a network of defensive structures established to protect Savannah from a potential Spanish invasion. Jones subsequently developed Wormsloe into a small plantation where they grew corn, rice, various fruits and vegetables, and indigo. His descendants built a large mansion on the site which they used for summer vacations. Wormsloe is now owned by the State of Georgia and operated as a state historic site.
We started a nightly routine of hot tub and swim and were really starting to relax when Derek discovered that his calculation for the number of days we have been in the States this year was incorrect. He had not counted the day we had transited the border to Canada and as a result we would be 3 days over our allotted days for not paying personal tax to the IRS by the end of December. We realized that we needed to get back to Canada now before travelling further to Florida. At first, we looked at a number of options like going to the Bahamas or flying to Ontario but realized none of those worked with Jax, so that night we packed our bags and left for Canada again. We drove for about 6 hours and checked into a hotel in Knoxville at about 2 am in the morning and then the following morning left for Ontario.
I managed to find an apartment on Airbnb in Windsor that allowed dogs. The building was old but the apartment had just been renovated and was fine for a few days. The beds were rather hard but at least it had a full kitchen, a good sized living room and dining room. Best of all the River front was at less than a block from where we were so we were able to go on lots of walks. The time in Ontario went quickly and before we knew it, it was time to head back to Savannah again. This time we stopped over in Charlotte, North Carolina and then left again early the next day arriving in the late afternoon in Savannah again. An expensive and long 3000 km round trip – and just when we were enjoying a relaxing time in Savannah. At least we had a few days left in Savannah to still explore.
It was a busy time work wise for me but at least I was able to cover a fair amount in the car during the trip to and from Ontario. The following day I continued to work not wanting to even see the inside of the car again, and then the next day we drove to Skidaway Island State Park for a hike. The park is so named as it borders Skidaway narrows, a part of Georgia’s intracoastal waterway. There were several trails leading through the sandy floored forest full of lush green palm trees and towering oak trees draped with long strands of swaying spanish moss. Quite surreal. There was a large salt marsh, apparently full of alligators – glad I didnt see any. The trail led to a boardwalk and observation tower providing a great view across the marsh.
With our time in Savannah drawing to a close I wanted to spend the last day exploring the downtown parks. Savannah has a number of parks laid out in squares which are supposed to be very nice. Forsythe park for instance was the place were there was a famous scene from the movie “Forest Gump” – where he eats his box of chocolates. The bench were he sat is no longer there, but the fountain in the background is. As it turned out, it absolutely poured the entire day so we stayed at the RV and I worked on a photo book for my sister instead. That evening we went to the Lake House restaurant on the property for supper. They had some live music which was great.
The rain continued through the night to the point where it was flooding around the RV. We were supposed to leave the next day for Florida but after hearing of a fatal accident on the freeway, decided to stay another night in Savannah and leave the following day which was supposed to be dry.
