funky seating

My appoligies to my readers.  I had all of last weeks posts ready to go, the only thing I didn't do was schedule them and push the button.  Too much to do is the best excuse I can think of.
While at the Indianapolis airport waiting for our hotel van to come and take us to our car(long story) I came across  this seating area made from abandoned and thrifted suitcases.  This is right up my alley and I could resist sitting in them and taking a few pictures.  What a creative way to bring comfort and smiles to weary travelers.

Tybee Island

One afternoon while in Savannah we decided to go to Tybee island about 20 miles away.  Although the town is full of vacation rental property it isn't as commercialized as Savannah.  There aren't streets full of shops and souvenirs.  We checked out the ocean, walked along the public beach, drove down a one way street and were told by the police to turn and leave because it was a closed movie set and visited the working light house.  It was a nice way to spend an afternoon and I'd rent a house on here for a vacation anytime.

beach dune

Atlantic

These birds were so use to people they would come right up to you looking for food

Lighthouse

more Savannah

On the last full day we were in Savannah we were ready for less crowds, hustle and bustle.  We didn't make a plan, just headed south towards the Atlantic ocean.  We decided we would just stop at things that looked interesting. Our first stop was at the coastal botanical gardens. It was started to do studies on what would grow best in the hot Georgia weather.  Along the way they started planting bamboo groves to study the uses for this amazing grass.
After we left the gardens we just kept going south and came across a great old fashioned southern food restaurant.  When you go by a place that is packed with a waiting line at 11 am, you know the food is probably good, and it was.  We also hit a couple of resale shops. unfortunately everything I loved was just too big to carry back on the plane or too expensive to ship home,sigh.
One of the things I had really wanted to do while in Savannah was visit a plantation home.  Unfortunately one close to the city wasn't open and the other had terrible reviews about nasty workers and uninteresting tours.  We just ran into the Hwoful-Broadfield plantation just off the coast.  This is a state historic site and absolutely beautiful..After watching the short film about the history we toured the home and out buildings.  We spent hours there in this fascinating historical site.  The property was a land grant to the family in the 1700's by the king of England.  It was originally a rice plantation, then cotton and finally a dairy.  The place stayed in the same family until the death of the last member in 1973 when it was given to the state of Georgia.  At it's height the plantation owned 240 slaves and farmed 2700 acres.  About 70 miles south of Savannah and definitely off the beaten path this place is well worth the time to go and check it out.

The path visitors would take to the house

smoke house

goat house

the house like anything state owned needs work, lacks funds

house with screened back porch

slave quarters built as duplex with a shred chimney in the center

living room tea table, they didn't use coffee tables

everything in this home was family owned and kept through the centuries

one of the sisters bedrooms

sick room kept apart from the main parts of the house this is about the size of my bathroom 5X8

Some times the unplanned travels can bring the best surprises, your vacation doesn't have to be filled with plans every second.