Spring Break in Savannah, Georgia

Don and I celebrated a wedding anniversary this month. We started it in the best way possible, with two days of dance-lessons and West Coast Swing dancing with Robin Smith, a special-guest dance instructor at DanceSport VA on April 7th and 8th. Not only were the lessons useful, but we really enjoyed the music he picked for the social dances. The dance on Saturday night was a particularly fun party.

We spent most of Sunday on Amtrak, specifically on the Palmetto, from Rocky Mount to Savannah, Georgia. The station in Rocky Mount was historic and beautifully renovated. Parking was plentiful and easy, the station relaxing and basically a "blast from the past." We arrived in Savannah rather late in the evening, so we took a taxi to a Quality Inn in downtown Savannah. We did little more the first day besides grab a quick bit to eat at a local bar and check out the local dance scene and other attractions online.

Don is a train buff, so we spent most of Monday, April 10th, our first day in Savannah, at the Georgia State Railroad Museum. We walked there from our hotel and stopped at many historic sights and markers along the way, particularly the site and a memorial to the Battle of Savannah during the U.S. Revolutionary War. Don got very excited when we approached the museum, and he realized  we were standing outside of a roundhouse. A roundhouse is a yard or repair and maintenance center for old-fashioned steam-engine trains.

At the railroad museum, we watched a good documentary introduction to the historic site. We walked around the grounds, inspecting several types of steam and diesel-electric engines plus other types of passenger and other cars plus the machine-shops and other buildings that supported them. The museum is raising money to continue restoration and expansion of the site. They need millions of dollars, and Don and I hope they get it, because they're doing a fantastic job of preserving and explaining this vital part of the region's history. We toured two executive railcars, the roundhouse, the steam power demonstration and locomotion lab, and checked out the model train room. We learned a lot, got a ride on a hand-car, and plan to go back on Wednesday for an actual ride in a passenger car pulled by their "Number 30" Steam Engine, and 0-4-0T Switcher built in 1913 by the American Locomotive Works and fully restored. I'll post pictures below.

The turntable to turn the steam engines in the Roundhouse

The Georgia State Railroad Museum

The smokestack was once the tallest feature in Savannah

The smokestack w/ showers and latrines

Don w/ the hand car, which we later got to ride

This map shows the Central of Georgia rail lines c. 1950

More detail for the picture above

We receive a demonstration on the steam-engine tour

The number 8 engine, "The Mule"

The No. 30 Steam Engine used to give rides

First Landing State Park

Don and I spent three days at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach, VA, for an early anniversary trip. We stayed in a rustic cabin replete with hot showers, a fireplace, heat and air conditioning. This is my idea of roughing it!

Our rustic cabin in the woods at First Landing State Park. Don, his truck, and the dogs to the right.

The interior is roomy and comfortable with a small kitchen, bathroom, shower, heat and A/C. My kind of camping!

One benefit of staying in the park is that could bring our two dogs by paying an additional fee. Pets are allowed on a six-foot leash. Our Walker hound and beagle enjoyed hiking along the nearby beach and trails, although I confess I tuckered out way before Don or the dogs did. Other highlights were sitting around a campfire, reading, and writing a journal entry in the cabin log. We are already planning future trips!

I am more worn out than the dogs. They were hyper when they arrived!

Adventures with Filippo: Summer's End

I am a local school teacher. I have weekends off, but my husband, Don, works weekends, so these are the last whole days we have together until my next school vacation. We have been making the most of them, and of our time with Filippo, our new exchange student through AFS Intercultural Programs.

Wednesday we spent the morning at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, "One of the Seven Engineering Marvels of the Modern World," when it was constructed about fifty years ago. Its official name is the Lucius J. Kellam, Jr., Bridge-Tunnel, although nobody calls it that. It connects nearby Virginia Beach with the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland. It is scenic, beautiful, historic, and worth the rather hefty toll that most travelers pay.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel crosses two channels and an inlet between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic

The Chesapeake Bay is North America's environmentally estuary. It's important. Save the bay!

There is a rest station partway along the journey where we stopped, visited the fishing pier, and visited the Sea Gull Pier Restaurant and gift shop. We also walked around and looked at some of the vessels of various sizes heading to the harbor or the sea.

We pose on the pier with our new friend, Miguel, another visitor from abroad. Filippo is 2nd from the right.

Norfolk is a major harbor. It has the world's largest naval station and is important to commercial shipping as well. We had the opportunity to watch an aircraft carrier heading out to sea, probably the U.S.S. Harry S. Truman, named after the former president. Due to the sharp eyes and loud cries of a group of children, we even spotted some dolphins breaching the water not far away from us.

The U.S.S. Harry S. Truman was easier to spot than the dolphins!

The visit gave Filippo a chance to see U.S. patriotism in action.

Filippo and Don check out the aircraft carrier.

The sign near Filippo expresses support for U.S. troops. Many families in our region have ties to the military.

A ship heads through the channel. Under it is the deep tunnel where we drove Filippo in our car. Part of the bridge is in the background.

In the afternoon, Filippo and I worked out at the local YMCA, and Filippo made an appointment to return for some training on how to use the exercise equipment there.

Yesterday our whole family, Filippo included, headed for Virginia Beach. Filippo has been very eager to see the Atlantic Ocean. It was a beautiful day, with rather gentle surf, cool but not cold water, overcast at first, but with sunshine breaking out by early afternoon. Even the jellyfish were on vacation, and I, for one, was thrilled with their absence. It was a perfect end to our summer together as a family. Soon I will be back to my teaching job, Filippo will be starting high school, and the hazy, lazy days of summer will be a quickly-fading memory.

The trips to the Bay Bridge Tunnel and to the Beach are examples of how hosting an AFS student is a richly rewarding experience. We enjoyed showing the beauties and excitement of our region with Filippo. But by doing so, we realized that we had missed visiting these favorite places. We especially decided that from now on we need to make at least one visit to the local beaches every summer, despite the fact that we dislike the work of getting ready to go as much as the tourist traffic. Some experiences are worth a little effort.

After the beach we were hungry, so we visited the all-you-can-eat buffet at Golden Corral. Afterwards we visited with our new AFS Liaison. Then Don and Filippo headed to Buffalo Wild Wings for some more male bonding time over television and American football. It wasn't a Redskins game, so I heard the local fans were not as rabid. No surprise there.

All I can say is, we are tired, and we are all going to sleep well tonight!