Our blog has been a bit short on the sightseeing aspects of doing the Great Loop. So here we go…. some memories of a few of our favorite places so far.
St. Augustine, Florida is supposed to be the nation’s oldest city. I’m not sure by what measure, but it was definitely old. And charming. And scenic. And a real tourist trap.
And apparently, a movie location. They were filming a movie on Magnolia Ave “one of the most beautiful streets in the US”. Weirdly, the street is lined with live oaks. Not a magnolia in sight….
We took the 2 hour trolley tour of the city to get an overview. And then we got out on our own on foot. Way too many people, but the architecture was fantastic! Henry Flagler built hotels, churches, and a university that still stand and collectively make one of the most beautiful cities we’ve seen.
Oh, and that chain that I’m holding onto was used as an underwater civil defense mechanism. The military would string it across the harbor, just underneath the waterline. Then when enemy ships tried to invade, the ships would run into the chain, and those spiky balls would create big holes in the ships’ hulls. Yikes.
Savannah, Georgia was much bigger and pretty in a different way. The buildings were very southern and the city is laid out in an organized grid with a garden-like “square” every 4 or 5 blocks. We didn’t get many pictures, but trust me, it was nice.
And then there was Beaufort, South Carolina. “Byoo-tiful Byoo-furd” is how the locals would pronounce it. We ate breakfast at a local restaurant, that has a tradition every morning at 8am in which the owner leads customers and waitstaff in a stirring rendition of the Pledge of Allegiance. Surprisingly, I still remember all the words!
Then we took a horse drawn carriage ride to see the most famous historic houses and hear the stories behind them. We learned about the “War of Northern Aggression” (aka the Civil War), and “the great skedaddle”. Meaning that the people of Beaufort got word that the Union forces were on the brink of invading, and most of the wealthy citizens of Beaufort picked up and left their massive mansions and most of their belongings behind. Because of this exodus, most of the buildings in Beaufort were not burned down by the Union army, and instead were occupied and used as hospitals and administrative offices. Those buildings survived to be viewed by people like us today!
And to make our visit even better, we rode along the Spanish Moss Trail. A “rails to trails” project that makes biking easy through some of the most lovely areas in the country, including Beaufort.
St. Augustine and Savannah have been some of our favorites on the trip so far!
Lovely