7/30/2017

Weekly Update 7/30/2017

This week began so sadly! I read that Snooty, the manatee at the Bradenton FL museum, had died. I would always like visiting the Bishop Center whenever I was in Florida, and since Snooty and I were almost exactly the same age, I felt a connection to him. RIP, my friend.

Snooty

my own Snooty, with a black armband

I was able to check off not one, not two, but THREE items from my bucket list this week! 

I drove to Jekyll Island to see the Driftwood Beach and The Georgia Sea Turtle Center. I didn't do any of the historic tours because I've done those before. I'd wanted to adopt-a-turtle, but (isn't this great?) they all have “parents”, and none were available! Like my travels to Statesboro last week, I drove down 95 to get there, but took a more leisurely, scenic route to get home again. 

Driftwood Beach

at the Turtle Hospital

I've also wanted to get to a tour at the Jepson Center. Jane went with me and we did two tours, the collections and the architecture tours. The collections was rather lame, as we only did one room, and it was not my favorite, but the architecture was really interesting. I had never noticed how the modern Jepson Center, built in 2006, reflects some details of the Owens-Thomas house, built 1819. 

Jepson Center

Owens-Thomas House

Friday, since Kay was going to be out of town for the weekend and she wouldn't be able to meet me at The 90, after DH, I went to Walls to get a to-go barbecue pork platter to take home. I've heard that this is good food, and decided today was the day to try it out. It is not easy to find, a hole-in-the-wall on York Lane, but worth the effort. I was not disappointed with this wonderful meal.

chopped pork, potato salad, candied yams - yum!

7/23/2017

Weekly Update 7/23/2017

 

We've had some bad thunderstorms in the past few weeks.  Monday, I was scheduled to give a tour at BC, and I was concerned about leading a group through as the lightning was aiming for all the huge live oak trees.  Luckily, the leader who booked the tour called to cancel, and I was not unhappy.

I'm trying to cross something off my summer bucket list once a week this year.  Tuesday, I drove up to Statesboro, about an hour and a half away, to go to the History Museum at Georgia Southern University.  Several weeks ago, I'd attended a lecture about the current exhibit there about The Great War, and I wanted to see more. It was not a large exhibit, but it took me a while to go through it as I always have to read every little explanation at every photo or display.  There was a very precocious boy, about 8 or 10 years old, who was having a great time playing in the "trench".  I'm always aware of the inability of any adult to just strike up a conversation with a youngster, lest they be seen as a predator, so I asked his grandparents if I might be allowed to take a photo of him. He seemed to think that was quite wonderful, and proceeded to show me the gas mask, the rats, the whistle, and other items in the trench.  I hope he never loses that curiosity.  My GPS took me on Rte 16 to get there, but since that's such a boring drive, I tried to find another route home.  I took more time, but I was rewarded with more interesting scenery.  

the museum on the campus of GSU

part of the exhibit

my new friend - may he never know real tench warfare!

I had to miss a Lunch Bunch experience on Wednesday, because the BHS held their annual volunteer appreciation lunch the same day.  Since I'm on the Board at the Cemetery, I felt I should attend that.  I'm quite surprised at the number of people who know me, and called me by name, when I can't remember names or faces of many of them.  

I didn't have anything on the calendar for Thursday, so I finally got back to the pool.  As I was there, a friend wandered by, and we decided to go to dinner that evening.  We only went to Tubby's in Thunderbolt, and had a couple glasses of wine with our dinner.  We sat outside on the deck, and although it was a hot day, we were in the shade and there was a little breeze.  It was nice. 

Friday, before my tours at DH, the staff was invited to a luncheon followed by a lecture.  The speaker was Dr Robin Williams, who I think is great!  He talked about the Oglethorpe Plan for the city of Savannah, and how it has evolved and changed over the past 250+ years.  I was sorry I had to duck out early to be available for my tours at 1 pm. 

When I'd seen Kay at The 90 on Friday, she had said that if I was going to see Dunkirk, she'd like to go with me.  I found that it was going to be playing at the theaters in Pooler on Saturday, so we met there for a late afternoon matinee.  The movie was brutal, and it's hard to imagine that anyone who lived through that would not be changed forever.  And why we go to war, and risk more of the same brutality over and over again is something I can't understand.  But, that's me.  

Since I was going to be in Pooler anyway, I went to the Tanger Outlets.  They have a Clark's outlet (no luck in finding the shoes I wanted) and a Columbia outlet (I did buy new flip flops there), and I got quite few things for this year's travels at the same store I had good luck at before last year's trip to Europe.  I'm hoping not to embarrass anyone this year with my frumpy clothes.  Although I plan to wear my jeans for most of the time, at least I feel like I've got some better tops now instead of the t-shirts I buy in the men's department at Walmart.  The colors are all dark and dull, but I won't stand out as I would in anything in a bright pink or tennis ball green color. 

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7/16/2017

Weekly Update 7/16/2017

Jane and I went to Beaufort on Wednesday this week. Except that I'm a horrible navigator and we had to backtrack more than once, the trip was a nice way to spend a day. Beaufort was founded in 1711 by the English. It was occupied by the British during the Revolutionary War, and the Union during the Civil War. There is a lot of history there. And lots of wonderful antebellum homes and architecture. It is now a tourist town, with walking tours, horse drawn carriage tours, and lots of shops and restaurants. We went to the visitor center and picked up a walking tour guide, and walked around the city on our own. The day was beautiful, and that added to the enjoyment.

a lovely home in Beaufort

and, of course, i had to go to the cemetery

There was a book signing at the Savannah History Museum on Thursday evening. The author spoke about the book, Hidden History of Civil War Savannah. While much of what is in the book is not a surprise to me, a few things that I didn't know about are written there. I bought the book. Go figure.

Michael L. Jordan and his book 

Nearly every Friday, I give tours at DH, and then go to The 90 to meet friends for a drink. But this week, I was included in a Friday get together at DH. A few of the staff were going to sit in the garden and have wine and cheese to celebrate Bastille Day. Since they knew I would already be there on Friday, they invited me to stay after the tours and join them. I invited Kay to come along too, since she is always at The 90 on Fridays, and she knows many of the people at DH, and it seemed like a different way for the two of us to enjoy a Friday. It was so great! Although it was hot, the temperatures were cooling down a bit by the time we were outdoors, and there was a slight breeze.  

in the DH garden with friends

I spent a lot of time this week in front of the tv watching Wimbledon. There have been more exciting tournaments, but watching tennis is what I do. It is one of my favorite ways to waste time.  

7/9/2017

Weekly Update 7/9/2017

I feel as if I've moved into BC! Last Saturday was my scheduled afternoon to sit in the visitor center to answer questions and pass out maps.  Because July had 5 weekends, and because we have few volunteers, no one was supposed to be there on Sunday.  I had nothing else to do, and felt that the BHS should provide some coverage, so I went back on Sunday.  The BHS only has staff on site on weekends, but I also felt that there may be tourists or visitors on the holiday, so I was back on Tuesday for a while.  It was busy, so I'm glad I went.  The Board met on Thursday evening, so I attended that.  And then I gave my Second Sunday Tour this afternoon, as well as being in the visitor center in the morning as the scheduled volunteer was sick.  BHS is lucky to have a loyal volunteer like me!  

Since this past week was a holiday, I actually did more than my usual sit-home-in-front-of-the-tv routine (although I did plenty of that watching the first week of Wimbledon).  On Monday, I went to the Savannah History Museum for the Loyalists and Liberty program, which is a walk-thru of the Battle of Savannah. I've seen it before, but it seemed like something interesting to do on Independence Day weekend.  Tuesday, I went to Colonial Park Cemetery for the annual DAR July Fourth celebration.  This year, the event included a very interesting talk about the flag, and the National Sojourners used a magnetic board to build a flag and tell about the meaning of all the parts.  I also was invited to a picnic at Sylvia and Charles house for the holiday.  I can't see the downtown fireworks from the condos, but that's not as interesting to me as the programs I attended. 

On Thursday, I could strike something off my Summer Bucket List - I went to a Savannah Banana game.  Baseball is boring and not my favorite thing to do, but I try to get a game once a year.  I missed last year, and they didn't need me this year because all home games are sold out in advance.  I had tickets for a week or more, so I was able to get in. It was more fun watching the people in the stands and some of the antics on the field (for a couple of innings, the first base coach was a hip hop dancer, and he was really fun, and the maintenance crew dressed in banana costumes). The Bananas won 10-5, but I didn't stay until the end.  

Once the 4th of July was over, I needed to get all the red, white and blue stuff out of my living room and back into boxes.  For the rest of the summer, I decorate with a beach themed decor - sea shells, star fish, that sort of thing.  So for my bathroom outhouse, I made a toilet paper roll mermaid.  I'm telling you - this outhouse thing is fun!

7/2/2017

Weekly Update 7/2/2017

I did not do much this week.  This could be short.

I knew our trivia team should have been content with our win, but no, we had to give it another go. This week, we didn't do nearly as well, although we had two other friends join us.  Not doing well is an understatement, as we came in dead last, even behind a group of pre-teens.  

I did get out to Tybee to go to Turtle Talk at the Tybee Marine Center.  I was the only one signed up for it, so I had an specialized tour just for me.  It was really good and I'm glad I went.  Because I had to pay to park, and the talk didn't take as long as I'd expected it to, I had a chance to walk around on the pier and the beach for a while.  It was a windy day, and the waves were big.  I haven't been to the ocean in a long time, so it was nice to be there.   

the Tybee Marine Center

Ike, the Typee aquarium loggerhead turtle

a nesting site on the beach not far from the lighthouse

a windy day at the beach