Thanksgiving Day in Savannah

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving!  We have no family close by so we decided to spend a few days in Savannah, Georgia.  I knew by researching online that they had Christmas activities planned for the weekend including a night boat parade on the Savannah River.

We arrived on Wednesday evening & then Thanksgiving morning we went to the Visitor's Center to book a trolley tour.  The Visitor's Center was closed for Thanksgiving but the trolleys were running one tour that day at 10am. 

Our guide was very personal & it was really nice seeing Savannah when the streets were empty (almost everything was closed).  There are several trolley tour companies but the one we chose was Ogelthorpe Tours.  They were about $10.00 cheaper than the others there ($15.00 per person versus $25.00), plus you get to ride the bus transportation around Savannah for free the rest of the day.  Since they were closing early that day they gave us a bus pass for the next day.  I strongly suggest getting a bus pass to get around Savannah...even with that you will be doing some walking so wear comfortable shoes.   You can also get just the bus pass without the tour for $5.00.  They give you a map showing the bus stop locations around the city & you can call them to pick you up or wait for the next available bus...around 20 minutes.  Ogelthorpe also runs later than the other tour companies so you get extra time to explore. 

Family Reunion: Florida & the Everglades

Last month my sister-in-law put together a family reunion, on my husbands side, & we all met down in Florida.  Her boyfriend owns some cottages on Lake Placid in Lake Placid, Florida so we all stayed there so we could be together in one place. 

Since it was October the weather was wonderful!  Not hot at all & we had a cool breeze most of the time.  The cottages are rustic but the view of the lake is priceless!  Our cottage had 2 bedrooms & 1 bath with full kitchen & the other cottages had 3 bedrooms & 2 baths with full kitchen. We had a back deck on our cottage & all of them were lake front where there is a beach area, dock, grill, etc.  Very nice for hanging out & enjoying the outside.  

We arrived a day early & being so close to the Everglades we took advantage of the opportunity.  We traveled south from Lake Placid about an hour to Billie's Swamp Safari...somewhere in the Everglades (not sure if there is a name to the town).

Vacation Planning for a "Staycation"

If the word "vacation" makes you think of the kids saying, "Are we there yet?", maybe its time to do a staycation. This can be a less stressful & economical friendly way to spend your vacation time.

You really don't have to leave home to have a great vacation. You will be more rested plus have more money in your pocket. Finding great activities & places to visit that aren't overrun with tourists is the key to a relaxing time.

You should still prepare for a staycation. Pick a beginning time & an end date. When "vacation" starts go into vacation mode & forget home chores that can be put off till later. Also plan on how much you can spend & stay within that budget.

Find the off-the-beaten track things to do: One day antique sales or look in your yellow pages for antique auctions in your area (believe me they are addicting), check for local high school or college plays, and garden shows. Check out the State Parks, they have activities for kids throughout the summer. Go mining...find the gold or gem mines in your area & go panning for treasure.

To make it really feel like a vacation invite out of town family or friends for a visit. Having them there will get you out of your normal routine & you may do things that you normally wouldn't do. If it is in your budget stay at a local hotel for a couple of nights to totally get away from the daily grind.

Charge up your digital camera but try & leave the cell phone & computer off limits during your vacation. I know this can be hard...I am addicted to my computer. Also many attractions are cheaper in the middle of the week plus there are less crowds than on the weekends.

If you know you will be home all summer consider buying a season pass or memberships to places like zoos, aquariums, & museums. If you are in the Atlanta area check out The Georgia Aquarium, it is the largest one in the world. Remember to bring your vacation to an end otherwise you may go over your budget.

Plan a last night event with fireworks or organize your photos & start planning your next vacation. With less stress & less expense you may fall in love with the idea of staycations & never leave home again!

Gettysburg Battlefield & Reenactment

N... with 2 of his favorite heroes, Ewell & Longstreet.
The other photo of him below is with his all time favorite...Robert E. Lee.

The battlefield shot below is from Little Round Top looking down on Devils Den...2 of the most famous battle sites.

There is so much to see & do in Gettysburg. Historical sites, shops, restaurants, tours, etc. We did go on a ghost tour where guides took us around all the local haunts at night. It was fun, but no ghosts.

However, the highlight is the battlefield itself...the history that made Gettysburg....well, Gettysburg. There are several ways you can tour this HUGH site. You can take the bus tour, which I mentioned in my earlier post, you can pay for a guide to take you in a car, or you can do the driving tour yourself.

We did the bus tour just to take it all in when we first got there, then later we did the self-driving tour so that we could go at our own pace. You can pick up maps at the different visitor centers or just find the starting point & it will point you the way through the whole battlefield. The bus tour was 2 & 1/2 hours with a few stops. Our self tour was more like 4 hours because we took the time to spend at different locations.


One thing that you cannot miss is the monuments...they are everywhere! Wherever you go on the battlefield there is information to read about. So I am going to end my post on Gettysburg by saying you must go & see for yourself because the photos do not do it justice.

Here are some more photos out of the 200 we took...wish we could share them all!

Cashtown Inn

This is one of many posts on our trip to Gettysburg last 4th of July. While we were there we drove to Cash Town to eat lunch at the historical Cash Town Inn. This is where Robert E Lee had his troops before they went into Gettysburg. He actually wanted to fight the battle there because the mountains were at his back. He had a headquarters at the Cash Town Inn which was a hotel at the time.

Over the years it was left empty & was scheduled to be torn down but a couple bought it, thank goodness, restored it & it is now a thriving B&B. They also have a restaurant there that is open to the public (not just the guests staying there), but you need to make reservations ahead of time.

We knew about the Cashtown Inn from an episode of the SciFi show Ghost Hunters. So we called before we left on our trip to reserve a table. The food was fresh & awesome! I had Cauliflower Bisque that was prepared from locally grown cauliflower & my husband had the Seafood Bisque...that was my favorite. I had a Crab Cake Sandwich with salad & to top it off, chocolate cake for dessert. Cashtown is only 8 miles from Gettysburg so worth the drive!

They also have rooms available for families, so if you are not afraid of ghosts (they have been seen there), it is a great location to stay. They actually say every building in Gettysburg has ghosts due to the war. For more posts on Gettysburg click on our "Family Vacations" label.

Gettysburg Cemetery

This is a continuation of my Gettysburg post. Like I said we went last year for the 4th of July & had a great time! We actually stayed in Waynesboro at the Best Western & drove back & forth. The drive wasn't bad but the hotel was not very good. I don't even know if it was a BestWestern anymore because their was no sign outside stating that. Waynesboro was not a small town but it was the only hotel there.

There are several hotels in Gettysburg & one that is right in the middle of a lot of the activity is the Travelodge. You can walk to all kinds of shops, restaurants & tours from the hotel. Of course there are nicer ones but for the money & location it looks like a great deal. It also looks to be in good shape. They do say it is haunted however, so if that bothers you look elsewhere. Although it is not right on the official battle field, skirmishes were still fought here & soldiers died. The only civilian that was killed at Gettysburg, the famous Jenny Wade, was killed at a home across the street from here.

Our first day there we went to the Visitors Center & booked a battlefield tour on one of the charter buses. We viewed the whole battlefield with a few stops along the way at some of the more famous locations like Little Round Top (one of the kids favorite spots). The tour takes about 2 & 1/2 hours. We found out later that you can book your own tour guide & they take you on the battlefield in a car & you pay only for the car load. So if you have 3 or more it is cheaper to do it that way instead of paying for individual tickets on the bus.

We also visited the cemetery's there. There is one for the Union soldiers that died at Gettysburg, no Confederates are buried here. I believe they just buried the Confederates on the battlefield in unmarked graves. Remains are still being found there to this day. You can see the spot where Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address as well... a lot of history!

A view of one of the cemeteries. This one had old & modern graves mixed together. Great place to get out & walk...oh by the way, wear comfortable shoes. It is easier to park at the Visitors Center & walk everywhere.

For more information on our Gettysburg trip click on our "Family Vacations" label.

Gettysburg

If you are looking for a fun, educational trip for the 4th of July you should look into going to Gettysburg for the Civil War reenactment. We went last summer & had a great time! Our son loves Civil War history so we knew he would really enjoy it.

We sat in the bleacher seating right behind the Confederate line. They also have grandstand seating which is like stadium seating so you are not right down on the ground level. It has a better overall view of the fighting but the kids really liked being closer to the action.

These shots were taken from our seat in the bleachers...pack cotton balls to plug your ears!



N... made new friends with some other boys sitting close to us. As you can see he is all decked out in his Civil War attire. The hat is one of my husbands old golf hats but it looks great with the Confederate jacket. He purchased that in one of their numerous gift shops in town.

My sister-in-law had a friend who was a reenactor so we talked ourselves onto the wagon that transported them back & forth to the battle area.

What I found interesting is that they are always in character. They really do this for history's sake & not for the spectators. If no one showed up they would still have the battle...you just get the privilege of being there to see it.

The clothes they wear are as authentic to the era that they can get, so the men are wearing wool on a hot day just like the Civil War soldiers did.

I am going to do more than one post on Gettysburg so I don't have too many photos on one...so check the other posts on Gettysburg under Family Vacations.

Stockyard Station

I already told you about our trip to Stockyard Station (read my earlier blog), but wanted to add information about it. It used to be the biggest & busiest livestock marketing center in the Southwest. They sold cattle, horses, mules, hogs and sheep. It is now a 125-acre Historic District, although the livestock auction is still operating there & they have an office in the historic livestock building. There are now restaurants, hotels on site, saloons, galleries, shopping & family entertainment.

I told you about our GPS self-guided tour, but you can also book a guided tour through the Visitors Center. It is a walking tour & includes a video about the history of Fort Worth. They have daily cattle drives, as well as several musuems. You can also take a ride on a restored 1896 steam-driven train. There are several gift shops & restaurants to choose from (see my blog to get info on the ones we chose). That's it...just a little more info to give you. Thanks for visiting my blog.

The Stockyard Station in Ft. Worth, Texas

Wanted to add these extra photos for Stockyard Station. Read my blog about The Stockyards for more information.