Savoring Savannah

Hi Everyone
Tom and I have been in Dubuque, Iowa and Barrington ,Illinois for the past two weeks. Our dear friend, Bruce Lauritsen, finally lost his two and a half year battle with pancreatic cancer, and Tom and I rented a car, loaded up Kodi, and drove home immediately when Jeanne called us with the sad, but expected, news.
We are currently at Thunderbolt Marina in Savannah Georgia,, and have spent the last two days seeing the many sights in this gorgeous city. We've taken two tours, (one a "ghost tour in a horse drawn carriage), visited historic Fort Pulaski, sampled some of the great food, and enjoyed walks through the famous squares of the city while gushing over the beautiful homes and architecture. We wanted to eat at Paula Deans restaurant called "The Lady and sons (she of Food Network fame) but the lines are about two hous long and the food, while good, would "eat" up my weight watcher point allotment for the month...so we took a pass.
We've both lamented the fact that we didn't brush up more on our Civil War history before starting the Loop because we've spent so much time in the south on the trip. Many of our routes went right by Civil war battlefields.
While at Fort Pulaski, the ranger (who gave a stirring talk in character as a Union soldier) informed us that over 600,000 men and boys died during the Civil War. You begin to understand the impact that war had on the country, and the south in particular as most of the battles were fought in their back yard....Atlanta was burned to the ground, and Savannah after witnessing that devestation, surrendered before Sherman reached the city limits..
The park ranger we talked with was about 40 and he and his wife are both rangers...they've lived all over the United States working for the park service...not a bad gig. He also talked to us about the fact that the war is still "present" for some southerners...once, while portraying a union soldier someone actually spat on him!!!
Tomorrow we'll head north toward Beaufort South Carolina, and then to Charleston for a few days. What a beautiful part of the country this area is...if you haven't benn to Savannah and Charleston...don't miss it...it represents a way of life we usually only read about.