Veterans Day Parade in Savannah

We kept hearing on TV about the Veterans Day Parade coming up, so at the last minute we decided to get up early Wednesday morning and drive into Savannah to watch the parade.  We were told that traffic would be bad, and parking nearly impossible, but we didn't have any trouble at all.

The drive into downtown was easy, and we found a metered spot in the historic district just a few blocks off the parade route.  The parade hadn't started yet, so we went to an area near the beginning and staked out a spot on the curb . . . we should have brought chairs!

The parade got started . . . and continued for about 2 hours!  We couldn't believe how long it was!

The Parade Grand Marshal was in front,

followed by the Knights of Columbus.

There were marching bands from just about every high school in the area,

followed by each of their Junior ROTC groups -- Army, Navy, and Air Force!

There were multiple veterans groups in a variety of vehicles,

Some more interesting than others!!

:)



















By the time the parade ended, we were getting pretty hungry (Bryce was starving!!), so we made our way back through the historic district to the car . . . with just a slight detour through several squares to try to find the bus stop from Forrest Gump.

We managed to find the right square . . . but there's no bench there anymore . . . Bryce was disappointed!

As we walked, I was enjoying the beautiful day, and practicing my photography skills . . . there are so many things to photograph in the historic area!

Historic architecture,

Interesting characteristics,

and beautiful old buildings.

It was a beautiful day for a parade and exploring the historic area of Savannah!

Back in Georgia already??!! I thought we had enough of this state!

We weren't really sure where we were going to go when we left Charleston, but we knew we didn't want to venture too far, because we wanted Nicolas to be able to spend Thanksgiving with us without having to drive too far, and we knew we'd be coming back to Charleston in mid-December for his Power School graduation.  Tom started to fill out a volunteer application for Georgia State Parks, but there weren't any coastal parks with openings for November and December, so he never finished it.

On our way to Kentucky, though, we got a call from Ft. Morris State Park, just about 20 miles south of Savannah, and they had a cancellation for November and December.  So, we quickly finished the application, submitted background checks, and made plans to arrive there after we left Charleston.

As we were leaving the base campground on Monday, I gave the Park Manager a call to let him know we were on our way.  He was a little distressed that some septic issues that were supposed to be resolved before we arrived had not been completed yet, and it sounded like it would be the end of the week before the work could be done.

Since we were already on our way, he called Fort McAllister State Park, which is about 30 miles away from Ft. Morris, and made arrangements for us to have a site in the campground there until our volunteer site is ready.

The regular campsites are only 30amp and water, no sewer, but we'll be fine for a few days.  All of the sites are pull-thrus, but they are the half-circle type of pull-thru, so we had to be careful  to find one that had enough of a straight area for us, and also not too sharp of a turn at the entry or exit.

We ended up taking site #5, across from the host sites.



The campground at Ft. McAllister is on an island, surrounded by salt marsh, and we have a site on the perimeter, overlooking the marsh.

Bryce and I have had work and school to keep us busy, and Tom has been knocking off a few little projects on the RV, as well as chatting with the volunteer hosts.  We're getting back into a daily walking routine, and we finally got the bikes out for a ride, too.

The weather has been unseasonably warm this week, and we've had some crazy storms roll through,

as well as a sea fog that rolled in unexpectedly one day at dinnertime!

It had been a sunny afternoon, and I was looking forward to a nice sunset, when suddenly everything was obscured by fog -- it was the strangest thing!!

A couple of cloudy days followed, but then today we finally had some nice sunshine and a promising sunset.

We found out this weekend that the septic work still has not been done over at Ft. Morris, so it looks like we'll be here several more days.  We've already had to pack up and drive to the dump station once, but we're hoping to be able to move to the empty host site on Monday, so we'll at least have 50amp and sewer.

In the meantime, we're just relaxing and enjoying the view!

We really don't mind being back in Georgia that much!

10 wonderful days in Charleston with Nicolas

Other than the trip to Fort Sumter, we didn't do too much touristy stuff while we were in Charleston with Nicolas.  Mostly, we just spent time together whenever we could.  He had the weekends mostly free, although he did go in for a few study hours early each morning, and again Sunday evening after dinner.

He and Tom washed the cars and the front of the motorhome,

we kept him well-fed with treats,

and generally made sure he got some much-needed rest. 











On the day before Halloween, I finally got to meet the Navy Mom who is such a huge help to all of us other Navy Moms.  She lives in the same town as the base, so we are able to send packages, letters, birthday gifts . . . whatever we need to get to our Sailors . . . directly to her house, and then she makes deliveries to them on base.  She's much more efficient than their mailroom, and we get the bonus of a photo of our Sailor posted on facebook.

On Friday, Nicolas was getting a package, so I met him over at the Uniform Store where she makes her deliveries, and spent an hour visiting with her and the many Sailors that arrived to pick up love from home.  I took some pictures of my own to share with the other Navy Moms on facebook!

This was her load of Halloween deliveries . . . I think she might need a bigger vehicle for Christmas!!

Not only does she help us out with mail delivery, but she also spends time talking to the Sailors and getting to know them.  She lets us Moms know how they are doing, keeping an eye out for hints of sickness, or sadness, or stress.  She's truly a "Navy Mom Angel", and we are so lucky to have her in Goose Creek!

On Halloween, we took a little drive with Nicolas and he showed us the other military campground out in Monk's Corners, where he went tent camping this summer, and then we stopped off in Summerville to walk around the town square and check out the Halloween displays by local businesses.

 

Summerville is a nice little town, and I even found a Quilt Shop to browse through (didn't buy anything!), and we got a recommendation for a pizza place for dinner.  We got back to the base early enough for Nicolas to go get in a hour of studying before coming back to the RV to watch a movie.

During the week we didn't get to see too much of Nicolas because of school and study hours, but he did mange to get over to the RV for dinner one night, and came over each night after studying for a little downtime before going back to his room.  

I love that our lifestyle gives us the flexibility to spend time with him like this where he is, and that we can put ourselves close enough to him that when he does get a couple days off (Thanksgiving weekend coming up!), he can come see us without too much trouble.

All too soon, our 10 days were over and we had to say our good-byes on Sunday night since he would be in school Monday when we headed out.  We hate leaving him, but Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away and then we'll get to see him again . . . and a few weeks after that, we'll be returning to Charleston for his Power School Graduation!