Savannah and Home

4 May 2016

Senior moments.  I left the camera at the Carolina Bed and Breakfast in Asheville and left a pair of pants and shirt hanging in the closet at the Foley House Inn in Savannah.  The sad part is that I looked through the rooms each time and still missed the items.  Oh well.

The complimentary breakfast at Foley House was nice.  Your choice was eggs any style, ham, grits, and biscuit and jelly or a frittata with ham and toast. I ate quickly and then headed out of Savannah.

The trip home was pretty uneventful except for the deluge that hit me around Palm Beach, Florida and continued until I was almost to Fort Lauderdale.  The road was almost invisible and for some reason, a lot of people were driving without their lights on.  Floridians cannot drive in the rain.  I’m not sure why – it’s not like we don’t get enough of it here (56 inches average per year).

I head back north on Monday for a few days in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park where I hope to hike the Deep Creek, Martin’s Gap, Indian Creek trails.

 

Hilton Head Island and Savannah

3 May 2016

Mary Ann made a great breakfast. Terry paid me $5 to ask for eggs and bacon and he knew Mary Ann couldn’t turn me down.

Terry knew I was interested in history (he often gives historical lectures of the area) and he showed me some early American documents and realia of some of his ancestors.

Back yard of Terry and Mary Ann.
Back yard of Terry and Mary Ann.

After breakfast, we headed to Honeyhorn, a former plantation that is now an historical museum and grounds.  Terry is a docent and has been involved with Honeyhorn for years.  It’s a great place and is really kid friendly to teach local history and nature.  They have a stable and pasture on the grounds where they have a marsh tackie, a specific breed of horse for the lowlands and swamps of South Carolina and used by the Gullah community as work horses, but also by Francis Marion (the Swamp Fox) of revolutionary war fame.

They have a butterfly house and what I really like about it is they have local butterflies of the area so people can see there what may be found in their yard. They also have a native plant area as well as an area of crops typical of the Gullah community, particularly, the variety of cotton they grew.  This is a real educational gem.

We then headed to the Westin on Hilton Head Island and had a very good lunch by the pool (and beach).

I really enjoyed seeing Mary Ann and Terry again after so long from the French Waterways tour of Bourgogne.  They are perfect hosts and it seemed like we picked up right after we said goodbye in Paris in 2012.

It was about a 38 minute drive to Savannah.  The guest house where I am staying is on Hull Street and is called the Foley House.  It’s pretty much city center and it very nicely done.  Chuck, the host, originally owned was is now know as the Key West Inn and we reminisced about Key West.  I was upgraded to a really nice room with a king bed and sitting area and a walk in shower.

Foley House, Savannah.
Foley House, Savannah.
My room at the Foley House. They gave me an upgrade.
My room at the Foley House. They gave me an upgrade.

They have desert from 3-5, wine and hors d’oeuvres from 6-7:30 and a full, sit down, order from the menu breakfast.

I walked around downtown Savannah, had wine and hors d’oeuvres and then headed to the Public Kitchen and Bar recommended by Chuck.  The martinis were great and so was the Caesar salad and bison burger.

I intend to get and early start tomorrow for home.  I’ll have a few days there and then will start a Smokies hike on Monday.