Being married means I get to do something I like and then he gets to do something he likes!  I don’t know how or who but somehow Paul found out they have a Railroad Museum in Savannah so we had to find it!  After walking about 5 miles seeing the beautiful homes and learning the colorful history of Savannah we had to walk another 1/2 mile to find the Railroad museum.   The museum was at the actual site of the Savannah Railroad and much of the roundhouse still exists.

Steam Train that you could ride

Roundhouse

They did have a couple of executive cars they were restoring and we got to tour.  They were pretty nice inside and bigger than my RV!

The other thing Paul found fascinating was the process of making taffy!  He won’t eat it but he stood there for 30 minutes watching the guys make it and then the process of getting it into the bin across the room!

Pulling the candy into the machine

Before it gets to this spot it has to be stretched on the arms, color added, flavor added and then it is ready to lay on these rollers and stretch until it reaches the point the candy maker can feed it in where it is cut, wrapped and put onto the conveyor belt for its ride to its final destination in the store before we can buy it!

Look closely, it is riding along in a tray above the sign!

After traveling about 40 feet along overhead conveyors the candy drops into the funnel that feeds it into the bin where you pick it up

And now you buy $15 worth because you can’t live without it in the cute container they provide for you!  Candy in a souvenir tin!  Genius!

Walking the Streets of Old Savannah is as beautiful as all the brochures.  The town is quaint and grand all at the same time.   Our tour begins with dinner at Lady and Sons Restaurant on Congress Street in the Historic District of Savannah.  Paula Deen wasn’t there of course but her butter was!  We were seated right away and served a buttery pancake and a biscuit each before water was even served.  They had a buffet and a great menu.  We chose the buffet (I am not sure why other than we thought the fried chicken looked really good)  The buffet was the cheapest item on the menu at $15 per person including dessert!  My favorites were the green beans and sweet potatoes.  The collard greens tasted like greens – I am not sure even Paula Deen could put enough bacon grease or butter to make them taste good!  The restaurant was pretty ordinary and a bit disappointing as I was hoping for some of her personality to be present but the wait staff was good, just not great!  I did have a southern bellettini (I think that is what it was called!)  It was great; sparkling wine, peach schnapps and pomegranate juice.

After dinner we walked for about an hour down on the river front and to the city market area before taking a tour in a horse drawn carriage!

The next morning we returned to the area to take a  90 minute riding tour and learn some history of the area.  After  we walked around town to really get a look at all the architecture and the squares we saw.   I love looking at the homes and wondering about the people who lived there when they were built.   Paul loves to learn about the civil war which they really do not love to talk about here in the south!  We must have walked 5 miles, so much for the on/off priveledges of our tour bus!  It is definitely a town where you want to walk and see as much as you can.  There are lots of tours you can take but I enjoy just walking the streets, looking up at the buildings, ducking into a boutique, and then there is the drinks!  In Savannah you can order a drink to go and no one cares!

City Hall at night from the harbor

If these walls could talk! I wonder what history would be revealed?

Jones Street, where a house here goes for in the Millions!!

The Waving Girl

The Waving Girl Statue stands at the beginning of the riverwalk in Savannah.  I thought the story was facinating;  she would greet every incoming and outgoing ship into the harbor from her home on an island on the Savannah River before Savannah.  The sculpture was erected in 1971 and was created by  Felix De Weldon the famous sculptor who did the WWII Marine Corps War Memorial of five U.S. Marines and one sailor raising the flag of the United States on Iwo Jima!

Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church

Inside, this church commands you to stop and reflect for a bit!  The bigness of this place is overwhelming.  We visited for a moment and then returned to the streets to explore some more.

Gravestones attached to the wall

We were told two stories on our tours about these stones so we had to get a closer look for ourselves.  First, our carriage driver said the union soldiers destroyed the headstones and changed information on them and moved them around so they had room to set up camp (or something like that!).  Then our bus driver said Union horses trampled them and when the soldiers left families returned to the cemetery and didn’t know where there loved ones were so they picked up the stones and attached them to the wall.  There were hundreds of them.  The cemetery was not very crowded as they quit using it in fear they would dig up a grave.

Savannah is a beautiful city and the southern hospitality is something everyone should experience.  Yes ma’am!

After spending 3 days in New Orleans and the amazing storm we decided to spend a couple of days in northeastern Georgia at a state park before arriving in Asheville North Carolina.  From New Orleans to Asheville is about 600 miles with 4 days to get there.  We are meeting our friends, George & Rita whom we had met last year in Branson Missiouri .    We chose to stay at Tallulah Falls State Park in Georgia. 

The town of Tallulah Falls is centered around this amazing Gorge of granite walls and water that plunge through a 1,000 foot chasm offering some spectacular views from above.  The falls are controlled by the dam that was built by Georgia Power.  Getting to the water is down over 600 steps!  I wasn’t sure I was up to the task as my knee was still swollen from the tumble in New Orleans, so we opted for the trails along the brim of the gorge. 

Tallulah Falls

Tallulah Falls

Duke takes a plunge upstream from the dam

We also took a nice paved trail above the dam where we found a spot to put our feet in the water and Duke decided just his feet was not enough.  It was a good thing he was on a leash cause there was a bit of current.  Being the internet guy he is, Paul found out that the power company has aesthetic releases periodically during April & May and there will be one on Saturday!   Postponing our plans we decide we will stay 2 more days so we can see this.  And, Paul decides we will be walking to the bottom of the gorge to get the best view! 

Saturday morning we are up early and ready to climb to the floor of the gorge.  This view of the Dam shows how much water they were letting out; on Friday water was only coming from the small hole in the third gate from the right of the picture – a big difference.  Our hike down the gorge only took about 15 minutes.   We spent 15 minutes at the bottom enjoying the water and taking photos and then it is time to make the the trek up the 600+ stairs!  It was not near as tough as I thought it would be and it only took about 30 minutes.  I figure that’s pretty good for me, faulty heart, bad knee, and WAY out of shape! 

Crossing the suspension bridge at about 350 steps

The view down river from the landing at the bottom of 600+ steps

 The town of Talluluh Falls was a booming city in the 20’s and then the dam was built and everything changed.  There are a few businesses that are still thriving and there is Talluluh Falls School which is a boarding school for 7-12 grade.  I didn’t even know there were still boarding schools.  It is a beautiful campus and it certainly is in a beautiful place.  That is something I am noticing when we talk to local people from this area – they love this place they call home.  I have had several people tell me “I live in paradise”  They are certainly right.

 Other things the area is known for is the movie Deliverance was filmed here and Carl Wallenda, of the The Flying Wallenda’s walked across the Gorge in 1970!  Oh, another little tidbit – Paul actually met Carl Wallenda when he worked in the amusement park after high school in Old Forge, NY.  Apparently he was a cousin to the owner!

We really ate here

Another find, Long Creek, South Carolina where the only thing it appears here is a diner, “2 Redneck Chiks”.  Paul makes the quick decision that this is where we will eat dinner!  This was definitely a must stop, the owners were so proud of their place and there little spot of paradise that it was infectious!  Dinner was like eating with your family, they never stopped talking and bragging about their place!  Very cool.  We arrived about 6:30 pm and the special was Turkey dinner with fixins’.  Sounds good, the bad news was the husband had just eaten the last of the gravy and the cranberry salad!  Turkey dinner without gravy?  Well they never offered a menu so part of a Turkey Dinner is what we had for dinner!  The stuffing was great (would have been better with gravy!).  She did make a sweet potato casserole that tasted more like dessert but dessert was peach cobbler.  The best part of dinner was she said I could have her recipes since we are not local. Guess she was concerned about competition!   When she returned from the kitchen with her recipe it was hand written and stuffed into a small 3 ring cookbook just like anyone else would have in their kitchen.  Who knows if I will ever make it but I will definitely add it to my book.  This is the stuff that makes me laugh when we are traveling, ordinary people doing ordinary things 3,000 miles away from each other and all thinking they are doing something special!  They are!