Mid-Winter '06 Newsletter

We're back from vacation and I just wanted to let you all know we had a wonderful time! Savannah was beautiful, the weather was perfect, 60's, 70's and 80's the whole time.  Of course, we went to the beach!  Went on a trolley ride around the city to get oriented and then we walked and walked and walked.  I guess we put about 30 miles on our shoes!

Now for the fun part...here are the pictures...

You know Rock has a big Civil War bug so Savannah was perfect!  This photo of him is taken at Fort Pulaski.  He just can't stay out of trouble!

This is the actual set of cells where the Confederate POW's were held.  Surrounding the Fort itself is a moat with signs to beware of the alligators.  The soldiers here complained quite a bit about the 'musquitos' and I don't doubt it!

Of course, after treating him so poorly as to take that picture of him behind bars, we had to find a great place to eat dinner.  Not sure how many of you watch the Food Network but I occasionally find myself wondering what Alton Brown will do next!  He doesn't have a restaurant in Savannah but, Paula Deen does so that's where we went.  You have to stand in line to make a reservation and that line went around the block!  I'll skip us waiting in line (because we didn't, we had an insider on our side) and get right to us having dinner...Rock had shrimp and grits and I had she crab soup and crab-stuffed portobello. 'Yum-o' as Rachel Ray says!

And we certainly can't go south without going to Charleston!  We spent Sunday in Rock's favorite city viewing the 'Hunley', the Civil War submarine that was found in Charleston Harbor and raised a few years back.  It is quite an amazing story.  If you ever get a chance to go, it is definitely worth it.  When the recovery and cataloguing is done, the 'Hunley' will be moved to its own museum where the story can better be told.  The actual sub is not round but more of an ovoid shape.  The dimensions are 42" wide by 46" high.  The tallest man aboard was 6'2"! 

After seeing the sub we moved on to walk around town and find the house Rock wants to have when we retire.  This is a good example of what we aspire to...I think something like this, in this location, goes for about 3 million...I'll go buy another Megabucks ticket tonight...

Once we got to Tybee Island, we had to climb the lighthouse!  Only 178 steps to the top!  Oh yes, and another 178 steps back to the bottom.  The museum there is very interesting as well.  You can see details of Fort Screven which was built as a defense during the Spanish-American War.  A walk through the lighthouse keeper's cottage is very interesting.  The layout of it was very similar to our old house in Vermont.  Later that day, we spent a few hours walking on the beach, swinging on the swings that are along the beach and wandering out to the end of the pier to watch the locals fish for dinner.  (Yes, we spent the whole time eating or talking about what to eat next!)  A bit of trivia...each lighthouse is painted a different color combination, known as a 'day-mark', which allows sailors to pinpoint where they are when they pass a lighthouse.  The particular light signal a lighthouse puts out is known as a 'light signature', allowing identification at night.  (Pop quiz next time we see you!)

Rock liked the grits so much in Savannah that he brought home a bag of quick-cook grits and last week he practiced on 4 ladies from, collectively, GA, SC and VA.  Here is the grade he got...'Pretty good, but...'  After the 'but' came a lot of suggestions on how to make the grits better.  So, don't be surprised if you get 'Grits au Gratin...that's Cheesy Grits Y'all' when you stay with us.  (Have no fear, it is not required that you eat them if they are not to your taste!)  If you have a recipe you'd like us to give a try, please let us know!

Bre had a great time at 'camp' while we were gone.  No bad habits picked up and she seemed pretty happy when she got home.  No sulking or moping, which usually means she's very unhappy!

Don't forget there is still time to book your room for the  Hospitality for Habitat Event in May.  Please click here for details.

No more news right now on the LL Bean expansion but we'll keep an ear out for more information.  Hope all is well with everyone. Take care until we see you again!

Update on the LL Bean expansion...The new storefront has been formally purchased and the Spring Fishing Expo will be held in the new space. No info yet on what will eventually end up in the space on Main St. The parking garage will go forward once LL Bean has other merchants lined up to share the space (and the expense)!

We also now have Casco Bay Wool Works in town. They are located just behind the UPS Store on Main St, same parking lot as Harry & David and Coach.

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