Savannah 2015

June was a pretty busy month for us, and we were afraid the summer was going to slip away without any type of vacation. So, we decided on a long weekend in Savannah with my parents in conjunction with my birthday. Dad really wanted to take Luke to Fort Pulaski.

It reminded me a lot of Fort Warren in Boston, which I guess shouldn't be a surprise, even if this was a Confederate fort and Fort Warren (obviously) was not. Mr. Minecraft couldn't resist the anvil on display (we didn't let him actually strike it, just pose with the hammer).

Great shot of the arches by my father. That's Luke all the way down there by the cannon.

See! (This is cropped from the above picture. Yes, he does have an awesome camera!)

I think one of Luke's favorite things about forts like this is that you are allowed to climb on and touch just about anything! This was taken at the top of one of the far walls.

It was shaping up to be a hot and humid day, and we knew we would be racing the rain. We decided to do all of the outside stuff first and save the indoor museum for last. But first, it's time to eat! Although we did go to the Mighty 8th Museum back in 2009, we never ventured closer to the coast than I-95, so this was really Luke's first ever visit to Savannah. Obviously, there was only one place we could eat for lunch:

Fried shrimp for the men-folk, and broiled shrimp for the ladies. YUM! Then it was time to do something new for everyone, the "new since the last time I was there as a teenager" Georgia State Railroad Museum.

They have several locomotives and cars on display, and they have a short piece of track on which they run either a real steam or diesel engine. We were lucky enough to get steam on our day!

They also have a hand car that guests can pump (with a museum employee running the brake and the reverse lever). Luke absolutely had to try it!

Yes, there's video!



They finished just in time for the rain to start, so we packed up and headed inland to the Mighty 8th Museum. Luke was 5 the last time we went, and he doesn't remember anything at all about it. I did a terrible job taking pictures, but I did get the most important one.

I understand your confusion. It doesn't seem very important, does it? Oh, but it is! For this:

I think he's grown a little bit, what do you think? It's not a perfect match on the camera angles, but given that I had forgotten to look at the original photo before we went, I don't think I did too badly.

We ended the day with dinner at one of our favorite Savannah pizza joints, Lovezzola's in Pooler. We were all hot and tired and hungry, but it was a good day. Thank goodness, because things were about to take a dramatic downturn.

As we left Savannah, the heavens opened and started dumping oceans of water on us as we got on the interstate. I haven't been in rain like that in probably a decade or more. You literally could not see any further ahead than the car in front of you, which in this case was my parents with my son in their vehicle. We just took it slow, but it took nearly 90 minutes to make what should have been only a 60 minute trip, at most.

And in the midst of all of this, the day before my birthday, we got the call we have been expecting for over a year: the care home where my grandfather stays called to say he had taken a turn for the worse and they did not expect him to make it through the night. It was not unexpected, but the timing was still pretty crummy He did make it though the night, and through my birthday as well, but he died late on the morning of July 25. How appropriate that the last thing we did before he passed was visit the museum honoring the airmen of WWII, who he supported during the war, at the last place we all visited with him as a family.

Rest in peace, Pa-Paw. You will be dearly missed.

Currently feeling: up in the air