Well, I’m officially in the Deep South, and it’s a place of great contradiction to me. In the northeast, people seemed very uninterested in each other; everyone was occupied with themselves for the most part. I found myself regularly missing the friendliness of Nova Scotia! In DC, it was particularly striking because people were often downright rude. It became noticeable if a person smiled or greeted us with any warmth because it was so rare. I began to wonder if political fatigue was affecting everyone in the whole city…
As soon as we crossed into the south, however, the situation flipped! People began making eye contact and engaging in conversation. Strangers held open doors, waved us across streets in front of their cars, and apologized if they stepped to close on the sidewalk. It is one of the things that I had forgotten about southern culture.
Then, there is the contrast of the numerous, blatantly racist, historical monuments which unapologetically praise southern “heroes” who decimated the lands and lives of native populations and fought for the ability to continue treating human beings as property. Maintaining these monuments, which are insulting to so many Americans, is truly disturbing to me and seems to contradict the kindness of the people I meet. Kindness and empathy are really two very different things, I suppose…
Less significant aspects of being in the south that I’d forgotten are the amazing food, the way it can go from rain to sun back to rain in a matter of moments, the disgusting smell of paper mills, the beauty of Spanish moss, and alligators. We haven’t seen one yet, but we’ve seen the signs!
We spent the past three nights in a lovely campsite at Skidaway Island State Park, a few miles from Savannah. Our days have been very relaxing! After enjoying an amazing dinner out at the elegant Victor’s, and spending the night at a La Quinta in Florence, South Carolina we drove most of the day Saturday and got into camp a couple hours before dark. We had gone grocery shopping along the way, so we had the ingredients for an easy dinner of sandwiches and fruit. It was nice to have an early evening just relaxing in camp.
On Sunday, we spent the morning exploring near camp and doing school work. In the afternoon, we decided to ride our bikes on the three-mile Big Ferry Trail, which is in the state park. It was a beautiful, bumpy ride with lots of oak trees, palms, marsh views, and Spanish moss.
We ate snacks along the path and climbed to the top of the observation tower. By the time we got back, it was already pretty close to dark, so we bought some firewood from the camp store and then spent the evening relaxing by the fire, where Jon cooked chili and warmed cheesy rolls over the flames.
On Monday morning, we planned to go into Savannah for the day. On our Sunday bike ride, we had met some fellow travelers who had strongly recommended the Maple Street Biscuit Company for breakfast, so we decided to give it a try.
We were all impressed by the beauty of the historic downtown area as we drove in. Parking was easy to find and only $1 an hour for the parking structure. (Do you hear that, Philadelphia?!)
Brunch was fabulous- biscuits and gravy plus grits for Jon, waffles with fruit for the girls, and a fried chicken, goat cheese, and pepper jelly sandwich on a biscuit for me. All of this was enjoyed with sweet tea and juice and several irresistible sides!
We decided that Savannah was a good place to take care of some business so, after breakfast, we spent some time in The Walking Co. searching for the perfect travel boots for me and Mic. As we start to think about stage two of our yearlong, world schooling journey, we have been searching for “the most versatile shoe in the world.” We aim to only take two pairs of shoes each once we leave the country so, in addition to sandals, we want a sturdy walking and hiking shoe that is incredibly comfortable but also stylish enough to wear out to dinner or to a museum. That’s not asking too much, is it? Luckily, Mic and I were both successful in our mission, though the shoes cost a small fortune!
Our next order of business was to mail some resource books, bought at Plimouth Plantation, to Ojai in time for Thanksgiving. We found a FedEx Print and Ship store where we were able to mail the books. We were also able to print Mic’s speech and a few flyers for her book presentation in Alabama next week. Finally, we were able to print a few teaching resources for the girls.
Once our errands were complete, we dropped our stuff off at the truck and then wandered around Savannah. We stopped at many of the park squares to admire their beauty and appreciate the historic homes around us. Later, we walked to the historic riverfront, braving the steep, uneven, stone “stairs of death” to get down there. I was so excited because I absolutely LOVE the holiday season, and Savannah was just putting up their lights and decorations. By the end of the evening, after drinks and seafood appetizers on the balcony of Tubby’s Tank House, we were able to walk back to the truck surrounded by the glow of holiday lights and the sounds of Christmas music. My heart was happy!
We enjoyed another night by the campfire and took time this morning, before checking out, to empty and clean out the entire truck. We have a lot of stuff with us. The whole job, plus breaking down camp, took us about five hours, but the truck is clean and organized and we can now say, with confidence, that Daisy lost her wallet somewhere on the road. She had about $75 in cash, her lucky $2 bill, and a $5 Starbucks gift card in there, so it is a pretty devastating loss for her! We were hoping to find it buried in the truck, but no luck. We can now add her wallet to the long list of things we’ve lost on the road. The list also includes her original bike seat, one of my favorite Clark’s sandals, a roasting skewer, 2 pairs of Jon’s sunglasses, 2 padlocks, a locking pin for our bike rack, and one of Daisy’s arm cushions on her booster seat. I did find the spare truck key and about 68 cents in change while cleaning the truck cab, so that was exciting!
We’re now heading south and just rolled across the state line into Florida! It’s sunny and mild and everything is so green. We’ll be camping near St. Augustine for the next three nights before we head to Alabama to stay with Jon’s family through Thanksgiving.
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