Maggie's Art of Worship Concert

Tonight was Maggie's spring music program titled "Art of Praise." The children sang songs and then showed off the art they have done throughout the year.  We were so hopeful that Maggie would sing her little heart out this time since she cried and the just stood there at the fall program.  (She had told me that she would sing, but she didn't want us looking at her.)  I told her that we would sit in the back and not wave or anything.  She was content with that and said again she planned on singing. She even sang for me at home to practice.  Well...tonight Maggie didn't cry, but she did just stand there for 99.5% of the time. Maggie did sing the last two words of the last song.  We decided that was progress!

Here is Maggie showing off her pig and candy corn.

Smiling with her caterpillar

A couple of pictures of the girls in their pretty outfits.  Mallory wanted to make sure she looked very nice for the performance.

Savannah - Days Four and Five

This morning it was rainy and icky - the only day of our trip that wasn't just about perfect weather. Our first stop was the Owens-Thomas House.  It was designed by young English architect William Jay, and had indoor plumbing before the White House.  The walls of this house are about a foot thick and made of concrete.  Not the concrete that we use today though.  The house is very symmetrical and has several false doors.  This house was my least favorite house - I just didn't like it.  It just felt cold.

Three years after it was built the owner went bankrupt.  For the next eight years it housed an elegant lodging house.  Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette was a guest of the city in 1825 and stayed at the home. On March 19, he is believed to have addressed a throng of enthusiastic Savannahians from the unusual cast-iron veranda on the south facade.

Back view of the home.  The third floor had a huge covered porch and the second owner closed it in to make additional bedrooms. It is very easy to see the difference in the structural design.

Andrew Low House: This house combines Grecian details with elements of an Italian Villa. It boasts one of Savannah's most stunning ironwork balconies.  This house was built for Andrew Low, a wealthy cotton factor, who traveled here from Scotland when he was 16 years old.  His first job was at his uncle's cotton firm and worked his way up to director of operations.  He is said to be the richest man in town when the house was built in 1849.  

His grandson married Juliette Gordon Low. This is said to be Juliette's favorite place to ever live. It was by far my most favorite house that we toured. It was just beautifully decorated and I enjoyed all the period antiques.

Christ Church Episcopal: The first church in the colony of Georgia in 1733.  John Wesley preached here from 1736-37 and established the first protestant Sunday school for children in the new world.  He also published the first English hymnal for the colonies.

Telfair Family Mansion/Museum - Built in 1819 for Alexander Telfair, son of Revolutionary War patriot and Georgia governor Edward Telfair, by William Jay.  In 1875, Alexander's sister, the last surviving heir, bequeathed the house and it's furnishings to the Georgia Historical Society to be opened as a museum.  The house was remodeled a bit and opened to the public in 1886.

Savannah - Day Three, Part Two

Forsyth Park: The most popular and largest park in Savannah. It was created in the 1840's from 10 acres of donated land.  It was expanded to over 30 acres, in 1851, and it is named after the Governor at that time.  The fountain below is modeled after a fountain found in Place de la Concorde in Cuzco, Peru.  It was added to the park in 1858.  

Mercer-Williams House: We didn't tour this house, but this is the home of Jim Williams who the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was written about.

Just some views of the nice houses in the historic district.

I just about had a heart-attack when I saw this house.  It is my dream home. We looked it up on Zillow and it is worth an estimated 5.65 million, 13,000 square feet, and has 6 beds/10 baths. Totally affordable.

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist:  One of the largest cathedrals in the south and houses a 2,081 pipe organ.  The structure was rebuilt in 1890 after a fire destroyed the original cathedral constructed in 1854. The “mother church” of the Catholic Diocese of Charleston boasts unique stained glass windows, pews carved of Flemish oak and a bishop’s chair situated to the left of the altar

View as you look towards the front of the sanctuary (I know Catholics don't call it that)

View of the pipe organ in the back of the church.

Isaiah Davenport House:  This Federal-style home was built in 1820 by Isaiah Davenport for his family and it also used the front left room for his business. He was a contractor and built houses for many wealthy families. This design/furnishing in this house are a great example of an upper-middle class family that is trying really hard to show that they are just plain upper class.  It is a very nice house, but Davenports choice of design in the majority of the rooms was ugly in my opinion.

Savannah - Day Three, Part One

Today we stayed in Savannah and did quite a lot of sight-seeing and did three home tours.  Our first tour was the birth place of Juliet Gordon Low.  The Gordon family made an indelible impact on United States history over the years. From William Washington I, founder of the Central of Georgia Railroad, to his world-famous granddaughter, Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA in 1912, they were influential leaders in industry, government, the military and humanitarian organizations.  This house was my favorite second house to tour.  The furniture reminded me a lot of the antiques that Grandmother and Granddaddy had. It was also had a welcoming homey feel.

Front view of the home

Back view from their enclosed garden

Carriage House which is now used for Girl Scout activities 

The square just north of the Low House is Wright Square.  There is a boulder that marks the grave of Tomochichi.  During a 1700's, he was the head chief of a Yamacraw town where present day Savannah sits.  Savannah sits where it does today because he gave his land to James Oglethorpe to build the town.  Tomochichi was friends with the people of Savannah and in return became a leader in the town. He worked with Charles and John Wesley to create an Indian school that opened in 1736.

Turn around and keep walking south and you will walk into Chippewa Square.  This square has a statue dedicated to General James Oglethorpe and is where the opening shot of Forrest Gump was filmed.  I did learn that the bench Tom Hanks sat on doesn't exist in the square.  It was put on the street just for that one particular scene.

Oglethorpe was a British general, member of Parliament, and the founder of the colony of Georgia.  His goal in founding Georgia was the resettle Britain's poor (mainly those in debtor's prison) and give them a new start.  I remember learning that there were several things that Oglethorpe did not allow in his colony - two of them were lawyers and alcohol.  When he went back to England those rules were thrown out immediately. We did notice that there were lawyers on just about every street corner in this town.

Green-Meldrim House: It's one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture in Savannah.  It was constructed in the 1850's and cost $93,000 to build.  That was a HUGE amount of money for that time. This home was used by General Sherman as his headquarters when the Federal army occupied Savannah during the Civil War.  During the tour we learned: Sherman didn't want to stay here, but Mr. Green keep pressuring him so he finally said yes, Sherman didn't burn down Savannah because the Confederate Army had already fled and some influential people talked him out of it, and due to the owners not being smart with their money St. John's Church was able to purchase in the 40's for $34,000. Talk about a good deal on a house that is is centuries old and at least 10,000 square feet.

Side view facing Madison Square

Front of house

Savannah Day Two

Our first stop this morning (minus the pit stop to Walmart where I thankfully found a tee-shirt because  I didn't bring any short sleeve shirts.) was to Fort Pulaski.  It is located on Cockspur Island between Savannah and Tybee Island.

Fort Pulaski: Construction began in 1829 and it cost $1 million to build. There were 25 million bricks used and it took 18 years of hard labor to complete as the slaves only worked during the winter.  The only time the fort was used during battle was during the Civil War.  The Union army used rifled cannon (from ships of the coast of Tybee Island) and the Confederate garrison inside Fort Pulaski surrendered. The siege was a landmark experiment in the history of military science and invention. 

This portion shows how the foundation was constructed.  It is comprised of upside down arches. This technology has allowed their to be ZERO cracks in the building due to the foundation moving.

A picture of a cannon from the second level of the fort.  The original plan had the fort being three stories. 

Inside Fort Pulaski

When the battle was being fought, the corner section where the brick is brighter was actually blown completely out and you could see into the Fort. The wholes around this area are where cannons hit the brick.  There is actually a cannon ball still stuck that you can see up close.

Our next adventure was to the University of Georgia Marine Center and Aquarium.  It was a very small place, but they had a great walking trail.  Below are some pictures that I took because I'm a big fan of the Spanish Moss.

These are pictures that I took from the boardwalk.  As soon as we sat down we became a feeding ground for mosquitoes.  Back in the "woods," there weren't really any bugs. Weird.  There is also a 300 year old tree on the trail that was really cool to see. It was HUGE!

After the nature center, we went to Bonaventure Cemetery.  The cemetery has received its name because it is located on land that used to be part of Bonaventure Plantation in the 1700s.  It is a 150 year old cemetery and some of Savannah's most famous and wealthy are buried here. It is known for its ornate monuments and was made popular due to the filming of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Savannah Day One

Today we arrived in Georgia and immediately got lost. Turned left when we should have turned right. Thankfully Google maps helped us find our way to Savannah.  We arrived to town around 1pm and decided to go straight to Tybee Island.  Our first stop was to get lunch and we went to a place I had found online - CoCo's Sunset Grill.  I had the shrimp cake sandwich and it was so delicious.  After lunch we headed to the Tybee Light Station and Museum to tour it. When we got there we learned it is closed for special tours only on Tuesday.  Whoops.  I am so good at writing everything down in my iteneary, but I didn't this time.  I actually didn't think we would go there today so that's why I didn't include it in my notes.  We got to see it and that was good enough for me.  

Tybee Light Station Info:  Ordered by General James Oglethorpe, Governor of the 13th colony, in 1732, the Tybee Island Light Station has been guiding mariners safe entrance into the Savannah River for over 270 years. The Light Station is one of America's most intact having all of its historic support buildings on its five-acre site. Rebuilt several times the current lightstation displays its 1916 day mark with 178 stairs and a First Order Fresnel lens (nine feet tall).

Right across from the Light Station is the beach.  Matt made so much fun of me for being in winter clothing on a beach in March.  I didn't expect it to be that warm because we all know the forecast usually isn't right and it changes daily.  I was fine until we got in the hot car and then I had to blast the air conditioner.

After the beach it was time to drive back to Savannah and check in to our hotel. The hotel was near the river and on the very east edge of town. It was in a old building that had been completely remodeled. It was very nice and modern - not something we usually stay in. Here is some info i just found on the hotel: The building was developed around the 1860s and has been home to a livery stable, cotton warehouse, foundry and machine shop, wholesale grocer and Coca-Cola bottling plant prior to becoming a hotel in 1982.

After settling in to our room, we went and walked down River Street to see what places there were to eat that looked good. On our way back to the hotel stopped at Morrell Park to see two sculptures.

1990 Olympic Yachting Cauldron - It was lit with the original Olympic frame from Olympia, Greece at the Savannah Opening Ceremony in July 1996. It burned throughout the yachting games that were held in Savannah.

The Waving Girl Statue:  A tribute to Florence Martus. From 1887-1931 she waved to every ship that came and left the Savannah River.

Savannah History

I decided to share some history I found on the city that I thought was interesting. I've just copied and pasted from the internet. Some may be too small to read - can't get the text to get bigger.

Savannah's recorded history begins in 1733. That's the year General James Othorpe and the 120 passengers of the good ship "Anne" landed on a bluff high along the Savannah River in February. Oglethorpe named the 13th and final American colony "Georgia" after England's King George II. Savannah became its first city.

The plan was to offer a new start for England's working poor and to strengthen the colonies by increasing trade. The colony of Georgia was also chartered as a buffer zone for South Carolina, protecting it from the advance of the Spanish in Florida.  Under the original charter, individuals were free to worship as they pleased and rum, lawyers and slavery were forbidden - for a time.

Colonial Period: Upon settling, Oglethorpe became friends with the local Yamacraw Indian chief, Tomochichi. Oglethorpe and Tomochichi pledged mutual goodwill and the Yamacraw chief granted the new arrivals permission to settle Savannah on the bluff. As a result, the town flourished without warfare and accompanying hardship that burdened many of America's early colonies.  Savannah is known as America's first planned city. Oglethorpe laid the city out in a series of grids that allowed for wide open streets intertwined with shady public squares and parks that served as town meeting places and centers of business. Savannah had 24 original squares; 22 squares are still in existence today.

Revolutionary War and Antebellum Period: During the Revolution, the British took Savannah in 1778 and held it into 1782. A land-sea force of French and Americans tried to retake the city in 1779, first by siege and then by direct assault, but failed.  After independence was secured, Savannah flourished. Soon, farmers discovered that the soil was rich and the climate favorable for cultivation of cotton and rice. Plantations and slavery became highly profitable systems for whites in the neighboring "Low country" of South Carolina. So Georgia, the free colony, legalized slavery. The trans-Atlantic slave trade brought many African-Americans through the port of Savannah. Many who stayed in the area formed the unique Gullah culture of the coastal communities in Georgia and South Carolina.

With the wealth brought by cotton, residents built lavish homes and churches throughout the city. After the invention of the cotton gin on a plantation outside of Savannah, the city rivaled Charleston as a commercial port. Many of the world's cotton prices were set on the steps of the Savannah Cotton Exchange. The building is still in existence.  But Savannah was not spared from misfortune. Two devastating fires in 1796 and 1820 each left half of Savannah in ashes but residents re-built. The year 1820 saw an outbreak of yellow fever that killed a tenth of its population. Savannah also survived fires, epidemics and hurricanes but always bounced back.

Civil War:  Pre-Civil War Savannah was praised as the most picturesque and serene city in America. It was known for its grand oaks festooned with Spanish moss and its genteel citizenry. The Georgia Historical Society was founded in that era. Magnificent Forsyth Park acquired its ornate fountain, a sight worth seeing.

During the Civil War, the city suffered from sea blockades so strict that the economy crumbled. "Impregnable" Fort Pulaski at the mouth of the Savannah River was captured by Union soldiers in 1862. The city itself did not fall until Union General William Tecumseh Sherman entered in mid-December after burning the city of Atlanta and everything else in his path on his "March to the Sea." Upon entering Savannah, Sherman was said to be so impressed by its beauty that he could not destroy it. On December 22, 1864, he sent a famous telegram to President Abraham Lincoln, offering the city as a Christmas present.

Reconstruction and the Turn of the Century:  After the end of the War, the Reconstruction period began in Savannah. Food was scarce in and the economy was in ruins. Despite these hardships and the added burdens of prejudice, the freed slaves who remained in Savannah built a thriving community, with its own churches, schools and economic strength. Savannah became one of the most historically significant African-American cities in the nation.  At the turn of the 20th century, cotton was king again. Savannah thrived, as did her new industries, including the export of resin and lumber. Then the boll weevils came, destroying most of the cotton and the state's economy—about the same time that the Great Depression began.

Savannah's Renaissance:  It wasn't until the post-war years that Savannah bounced back again, not just economically but also culturally and aesthetically. A group of women banded together in the 1950s to preserve historic structures threatened by the wrecking ball. Their brave endeavors began the Historic Savannah Foundation, which is credited with saving the beautiful architecture that was the foundation of Savannah's charm.