Lunch at Luthers in Beaufort

It was a beautiful day today, so we headed to the waterfront park in Beaufort. There’s always something interesting to see in the park, and a few ships float by in the river.

It was almost noon, so we headed to Luther’s for lunch, and sat out on the patio, with a view of the river.

Mr. D had a hamburger – his favorite meal at Luther’s – and I had the chicken fingers. As always, the food was great, and the staff was polite and speedy.

After lunch, we wandered further along the park, to see the new memorial plaques that had been added to the park. There are 10 plaques in a circle of trees, and each plaque has a chapter in the story of Beaufort’s history.


There is also one smaller plaque, that commemorates the celebration of Beaufort’s 300th anniversary, on January 17th, 2011.

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Lunch at Wren Restaurant in Beaufort

Last weekend, we made a day trip to Beaufort, to visit the lovely waterfront park, and have lunch. It was a beautiful day, with a few clouds in the sky.

One of the highlights of the waterfront park is the view of the bridge, and we saw this sailboat going through the bridge opening. It’s fun to watch the center section of the bridge turning, to let the boats pass through.


We walked to the end of the park, and found that the ground had been dug out, in shallow rectangles, between all the trees in this circle.

We guessed that some plaques were going to be installed, but there sure were lots of holes to fill!

Next, we wandered up to the Wren Restaurant, that someone had recommended to us. It’s in a low white building, with menu by the door, and its name under the front window.

However, that sign was so discrete that we didn’t even see it when we walked past, looking for the restaurant. It was only when were were standing on the opposite corner, looking back, that I realized we had passed it.

There are pretty planters by the door, which almost look like little Zen gardens.

The restaurant is fairly small, with a rustic brick interior, and a string of lights just inside the front door.

There were two rows of tables, close together, and the restaurant was quite busy. Our server was efficient, but not overly welcoming. She barely looked at us, even when taking our orders, and spoke very little.
The food was okay – I had a chicken salad plate, and Mr. D had a fish sandwich. My plate had a large ball of chicken salad, a few greens, and fruit slices. Everything was fresh, but the salad didn’t have much flavor. There wasn’t anything to really complain about, but nothing to inspire us to go back again either.
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Beautiful Trees in Bluffton

It's only a short drive from Hilton Head Island to the town of Bluffton, so we made several visits there. As you drive into town, the first thing that you'll notice is the beautiful trees lining the streets.

Large trees fill most of the properties too, leaving little room for the houses.

The shade that the trees provide would be a real benefit in the summer though, protecting the homes from some of the sun's rays.

Most of the trees are tall and stately, but there are a few smaller ones too.

It's amazing to stand under one of the trees, and have a difficult time seeing the top!

You'll get a better idea of the size of these trees, when you see the man and his dog in the next picture. He was about 6 feet tall, so that tree must be at least 75 feet or taller.

The largest trees are live oaks, and some of the other trees had plaques with their names.

This tree has lost several limbs, but it's still going strong.

At the marina, the large trees added to the scenic view of the water.

The ground in some spots was covered with large nuts, that were about 1-1/2 inches tall.

I'm not sure which tree produced them, and will try to find out.
   
And here is one last tree, covered with Spanish moss, that we saw on our way out of town.
      
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Heyward House Museum in Bluffton

Not far from Hilton Head is the historic town of Bluffton, and we enjoyed a couple of visits there. The town is filled with beautiful trees, and friendly people.

One morning we stopped for a tour of the Heyward House Museum, which was originally a summer home for a plantation owner.

As you can see, the building is rustic, and the walls and furniture are simple, compared to the fancier city homes.

The dining room cabinet was simply built, and it stored casual dinnerware and glasses. There was no fine china or crystal in this house!

The family brought their clothes in large wooden cabinets, and these were used as closets during the summer. A top piece and legs were added at the site, to make them look a bit fancier.

The bed in this sunny room doesn't look too comfortable, but there would have been a cross breeze in the summer, to help keep the occupants cool.

There was a small portable sewing machine in the room too, so clothing could be made or repaired.

I loved this pin cushion, with its collection of fancy hat pins.

There were a few small luxuries in the home, like this dresser set. Knowing that you were well groomed could make a hot summer day a little more tolerable.
 
Behind the Heyward House there is a slave cabin, original to the property, which is being restored.

We weren't allowed inside the cabin, but were able to see the furnishings through the windows.
        
The restorations to the slave cabin and Heyward House are ongoing, so we look forward to visiting again, to see what changes have been made.
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Some More of Savannah

The Savannah History Museum is located in the old Georgia Railway passenger shed, a National Historic Landmark. I noticed it as we waited for our trolley tour to start and came back the next day. Just outside was this historical plaque commemorating the American Revolution.

One of the exhibits is this carriage of the Gordon family, who included William Washington Gordon, who founded the Central of Georgia Railroad. His son, William Washington Gordon II, served as a Confederate officer in the civil war and as Brigadier General in the Spanish American war. His granddaughter, Juliette Gordon Low, founded the Girl Scouts of America. That happened in Savannah, on March 12th, 1912 – almost exactly a hundred years ago.

Across the hall from the carriage was this early automobile – a 1902 Crestmobile, which was manufactured by Crest Manufacturing Company of Massachusetts. It was originally purchased by Dr. H. A. Jones, in August of 1902. That seems appropriate, as the vehicle was called The Doctor’s Runabout.. It had a single cylinder engine and, according to a poster on the internet, sold for around $750.

The Museum also had a display on Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin. Whitney is famous for two inventions – the cotton gin, and manufacturing firearms from interchangeable parts. He demonstrated the worth of the process by taking a number of guns to congress, where he disassembling them. mixed up the parts and quickly reassembling  the guns.
The cotton gin helped revitalize the economy of the South and its dependence on slavery. Later, the North adopted his manufacturing process, contributing to their victory in the civil war.

After leaving the museum, we found this beauty in the City Market, just down from Ellis Square, where she seems to be staring at Johnny Mercer’s statue.

Or maybe he is staring at her, while he pretends to read the morning newspaper.

During our second day of wanderings, we ended up on River Street. It is filled with restaurants and shops and, of course, boats, which offer another way to tour Savannah.
 
The tour companies offer combination boat and horse drawn tours but we just did the trolley tour. There are several tour companies, but we picked the Savannah Tours, and really enjoyed the tour. The driver was very entertaining and knowledgeable.

Many of the buildings on River Street date to late 17th and early 18th century.

Everywhere you go in Savannah there are magnificent trees and flowers, like this view up to Bay Street from River Street.

This is Kehoe House, a Historic Inn on the east side of Columbia Square. It was originally built by William Kehoe, an Irish immigrant. He worked his way up from labourer to owner of the Iron Works. The house was home to William, his wife and ten children.
It was designed by Dewitt Bruyen who, at Kehoe’s insistence, used iron in many places where wood would normally be used such as window frames, doors and the entry staircase. Yes, all of that intricate trim is made from iron!

On the north corner of Columbia Square is the Davenport House and Museum. This magnificent building, built by Isaiah Davenport, was very nearly demolished  in the 1950’s. A group of seven Savannah women raised the cash to buy the house and prevent the demolition.

Subsequently, the Historic Savannah Foundation restored the house to its original grandeur. It was the first of many homes they have restored.As you can see a grand home.

Here is Hodgson Hall, named for William B. Hodgson, a Prominent Savannah scholar and Diplomat. It was donated by his relatives to the Georgia Historical Society for their headquarters in his memory.

Every where you go there are the stately Live Oaks spreading their limbs and reaching for the sky.

Even in the middle of the City Market.

In the south end of Historic Savannah is Forsyth Park, a large multi-purpose park with a beautiful fountain, and memorials to Confederacy and Spanish American war. In the 1850’s the city planners abandoned the ward and square structure that typifies the historic district, and put this large park in the south end.

As well as a band shell, the park has large open spaces and bike paths.

Back in the early days, when there was a fire in Savannah this bell would ring two sequences. The first rings would indicate which ward the fire was in. The second rings indicated the fire’s severity. After hearing the bells, everyone would grab a bucket and head to the river, and a bucket line would try to put the fire out. Now it only rings once a year, on September 11th.

The Chandler tree, named for the hospital that is behind it, was estimated to be 270 years old when it was registered in 2001. The tree has a spread of 107 feet, a circumference of 16 feet and a height of 50 feet.

As you arrive in Savannah over the Talmadge Memorial Bridge, one building that stands out is this one with its gold dome roof. It is City Hall and is located at the northern end of Bull Street which seems appropriate.

City Hall is just a short distance from where General Oglethorpe and the colonists first came ashore.

Well it was long and enjoyable day filled with history, architecture, legends and great food. Here is final look out over the Historic District

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