Text Box:   Spring is here??  

Text Box: Smith Family Newsletter March 2009 - 1

Text Box: As of March 13th, Bob & I said Good-bye to Key West and started to move our house North and out of Florida! We both really enjoyed our stay in Florida, and in particular, Key West.  Our first stop going North was South Bay, FL which is located at the South end of Lake Okeechobee.  This location enabled us to visit with my long time friend, Maxine.  We got to go to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes, which she introduced us to on our last visit a few years ago.  Maxine looked great in spite of some medical issues she has had to deal with.  Lake Okeechobee is an awesome body of water, which we took some time to explore.  It is the second largest body of fresh water in the US after Lake Michigan.  When driving around the entire 100 plus miles, we could only get a good view of it from a couple of spots.  A dike had been built around it to prevent surrounding communities and farms from being flooded.  Most of the land around the lake is for farming and the lake provides irrigation.  We took some pictures at Port Mayaca Dam and Lock site which boats use to access the Lake from the Intracoastal cannel.  This was one of the few places we could get a good view of the vastness of the Lake. To the right are some pictures of a boat coming from across the lake, going through the lock, and heading North.  Maybe they will end up in Myrtle Beach, never can tell.    Our next stop was Mayport Naval Base and the Pelican Roost Campground.  We have been here before and enjoy watching the many ships move in and out of the bay.  I took a picture through our windshield, of a Navy ship coming into port.  See below.  While taking a walk on the beach we spotted a similar ship leaving the port and going out to sea.  When ever a ship comes in from a tour of duty, people step out of their coaches and come from around the base to welcome the crew home.  Before we left here, the campground had a delicious free dinner of barbeque chicken, with all the fixings with a buffet style set up.  That was a nice surprise.      

Text Box: Smith Family Newsletter March 2009 - 2

Text Box: Georgia on my Mind!

Text Box: Our next adventure was the Naval Submarine Base in Kings Bay, GA.  We were familiar with Eagle Hammock  Campground also, but the weather was beginning to turn on us.  We had a nice spot facing the lake, which is one of the new sites built.  A significant line of thunderstorms came through, with flood watches and tornado warnings.  We seemed to be on the lower edge of the front and fortunately did not get the full force, but did get significant rain.  We did get a couple of good days and used one to revisit Amelia Island.  After being in Key West, we both felt Amelia Is was a mini version of Key West.    The next day we had to travel from there to Savannah, with absolutely beautiful weather.  This was our first visit to this city and everything I heard about it’s beauty is true!  Unfortunately, my pictures will not do it justice.  We took the open air Trolley Tour around twice.  The city is dominated by huge live oaks with the Spanish Moss hanging from branches, as well as Magnolia trees, occasional Palm trees and so much else. The tree on the right is the oldest tree at 250 years old! The grand old structures and Southern mansions, some dating back as far as the colonial days, as this was one of the original British Colonies.   The layout of the City includes 22 Squares, all named after important people in City history.  All are designed as parks, with historical landmarks. They are designed with gorgeous  landscaping in the center including those beautiful towering Oaks shading the surrounding streets. Beautiful mansions, and other structures frame the outside of the squares. The last picture on the bottom is an example of the squares. Then there is the water front, the cotton exchange which, in it’s day determined the price of cotton through out the world.  Today, it is a tourist attraction, with shops and café’s and the site of many festivals. We actually were there for the 1st Saturday of the month celebration. I am not big on visiting cities, but this is one I would like to return to.  There is so much history here.  I would like to just walk through sections, enjoying the beauty of the architecture, reading the historical markers, and enjoying it’s natural beauty.  The picture above, taken from Water St. is of the bridge connecting GA with SC.  A container ship is about to go under the bridge. The restaurant in the next picture is called Dockside, and is where we ate lunch. It is supposed to be the oldest building on Water St. During our tour, we were told that St. Patrick’s Day is a huge event here, with a parade second only to New York City.   We went back the following day and visited the museum at the Visitor’s Center, which was part of our original tour.  It too, was very enjoyable, with a film and many pictures, artifacts and memorabilia.  It is located in the original train station.    We left Savannah on April 6th to head for the North Charleston, SC area to celebrate Easter and for our Spring Rally. See you at the end of April !  

Text Box: Pictures of Savannah