Wednesday 1 August 2012

Day Five

Went to bed last night quite annoyed as the hotel's internet wasn't working so couldn't post the blog that I'd written. Woke up slightly less annoyed but protested by not getting up early and having a swim.

Had breakfast in the hotel. Read the paper USA Today whilst eating. It said that Britons were getting annoyed as we hadn't won any gold medals. Got back to the room to find out that we had won our first.

Made our way to the ticket booth for Old Town Trolley tours. Bought tickets and waited for the trolley. It is basically a small bus with open sides so you can see things. One turned up. Got on. The driver told us he was called Hollywood. Said it was good for getting girls at high school as he used to say to them 'If you want to be a star you gotta go to Hollywood'.

Trolley went around the town. Hollywood told us about various things. He kept calling Ann 'England'. He said I looked like a lawyer. Was enjoying the journey. Then suddenly we all had to get off and change trolleys. Got on another. The driver was a woman called something. She wasn't as entertaining as Hollywood. Tour was ok, but didn't really go into any depth. It did enable us to see most of the old town without walking. Tour finished.

We had a bit of time to spare so we went for lunch. Went to a place by the river called Bernie's Oyster House.

http://berniesoysterhouse.com/riverstreet.htm

Food was good. Watched the Jubilympics whilst eating. Got asked about our accents. Noticed a story on the news that a severed head has been found by the Hollywood sign.

Made our way to get our cruise ship boarding pass. Got on ship which was in the style of a old paddle steamer. It was going to take us up the Savannah river.


It turned out to be not quite what we had expected. Savannah is the third busiest port in the USA. The tour turned out to be about the port and stuff. We thought it would go up the river away from the port. It didn't. Did go under a big bridge.

A bridge too far
They talked about the famous Florence Martus known as The Waving Girl of Savannah. She apparently waved at every ship that entered the port for forty four years. Get a life, love.

Having watched some of the Jubilympics earlier we were also treated to this little beauty.

Eternal Flame
Savannah held the some of the sailing events during the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, and this was the cauldron that held the Olympic flame here.

Having got off the ship we wandered back to the hotel. Decided that as it was quite hot, about 92 degrees we felt like a swim. Went up to the hotel pool which is on the roof. Had swim. Was delightful. Went back to room to relax.

In the evening we went out for dinner. Wandered around looking for a place to eat. Settled on Anna's.

Tapas by Anna
Sat inside as it was still very warm. Ann commented that it looked like we were eating in someone's garage. Food was good though.

Having eaten we decided for dessert to head over to Leopolds again as we had enjoyed it so much last night. Did order slightly less this time. After I had asked for a chocolate shake, the girl who I asked turned to one of her co-workers and said 'Can I have a chocolate shake' in a Dick Van Dyke style Mawy Poppins accent. We then had a long chat with another girl who was serving us mostly about accents and how you pronounce 'charades' - charaids or charards.

Managed to eat all of the ice cream again. Is the best place in the world.

Waddled back to the hotel to find that the Internet had been fixed and that I can now get on with this.

Tomorrow we move on.

States visited - 2



Day Four

Got up and had breakfast in the hotel then packed ready to head north.

Got straight onto I-95. Had text conversation with Kevin Green, Ermington CC’s vice captain. He and his family are staying near Orlando and they were heading to Daytona Beach today. We were passing Daytona on our way north. By the time we passed by, they were already at the beach. Did see the Daytona Race Track.

Had sudden thought that driving in Florida was like the 80s computer game Outrun.

Stopped for fuel and lunch at a place called Yulee, which is at the very top of Florida. Had Subway sandwiches.

Cracked on and soon crossed the border into Georgia. Motored on up and soon we were arriving in Savannah. Checked into hotel and then sat down for a bit.

We then headed out for an early evening stroll. Headed to Bull Street and then wandered down to a small square. We are now going to have a film quiz. Look at the picture. Do you recognise it? If you don’t, then I will tell you later.

Any Idea?
More on that later. We carried on wandering about looking at some interesting buildings such as this one.

Theatre
We then decided to stop by Leopold’s Ice Cream.

Seemed like a good idea. I ordered some Mocha Chocolate chip and double chocolate chip ice cream and a chocolate milkshake. Ann had a Hot Fudge Sundae with Butter Pecan and Vanilla ice cream plus a strawberry milkshake. Both the milkshakes had about 3 scoops of ice cream in as well.

Sundae Bloody Sundae
By the time we had finished we felt very fat. Ann gave up on her milkshake so I had to make sure none went to waste. Decided that instead of starting the Pancake Bungalow back home we would create a 1950s diner/ice cream parlour with a proper jukebox and stuff.

Now to help you out with the film quiz, I shot a quick video that may help you get the answer.


We then had to walk off the bloatedness so went for a stroll down by the Savannah River on the aptly named River Street. Saw a massive ship go by.


It was sort of like the Barbican in Plymouth except it was lovely and warm and there were no English people getting tanked up on booze. A very pleasant end to the day.

Now if you still are struggling on the quiz, this is the answer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7voy1vit6Y

When we got back to the hotel it was on TV. Magic. Ann is now sleeping off the ice cream and I am trying to burn calories by typing fast.

Tomorrow we will explore more of this picturesque city.

States visited - 2