Touring Savannah - Bonaventure Cemetery and WrapUp #SavannahGA #family

On our way back from Tybee Island, we made one last stop to explore.  My husband misunderstood something he read about tours and the cemetery and he thought you had to pay to visit.  It's actually open to the public for viewing (it would have to be, it's an active cemetery), though you do pay for the tours to take you through.  If you stop at the entrance, you can get a map that will show you some of the highlights of the cemetery that you can look for on your own.

It's a beautiful place filled with history.  After a while, even my daughter started looking for the "special" areas that the map and information guide talked about.

All told, we had a good time.  It was very hot and we did a lot of walking.  It costs a lot more to visit Savannah than it did 20 years ago,  so it took some finagling to figure out what we thought was most important and what we were actually willing to spend money on.  Most of the nicer houses charge to visit.  There are carriage rides to show you some of the highlights (for a fee) and there are ghost story tours you can take to get the "darker" side of Savannah.  Most tours, though, cost between $40-50 per person, so it can add up fast.  The same for parking ($2/hr in Tybee, $1/hr or so in Savannah).  Plan your tour well and you can make the trip cost affordable.  We did it on the fly and I think for the money we spent we came out pretty well.  Our big expenses were food & lodging more than what we took in.  I think if we come down again, we'll stay closer to Tybee and enjoy the beach longer.

Touring Tybee Island - Lighthouse and Museum

After Fort Pulaski, we headed to Tybee Island's Light House.  Admission was $9 for my husband and I.  Both of my kids were still considered "children", which meant their admission was less.  A small museum that hosts 3 houses (2 open to the public) and a summer kitchen as well as the lighthouse itself. 

Of course, the big thing is to climb the lighthouse.  178 steps with a landing approximately every 25.  I don't like heights, so I didn't stay up there long, but I did do a circle around to get some wonderful photos.

There is a museum across the street that is included in the price of admission to the lighthouse.  The museum is housed in the Battery Garland of Fort Screven.  A couple of floors inside with exhibits, which also show how the battery was laid out.  You can also wander to the top and check out the view.

From here we headed to the North Beach Bar & Grill for lunch (good burgers and wings).  Then we headed to the beach itself to walk.  I, of course, had to find shells to bring home.

Touring Tybee Island - Fort Pulaski

After spending a full day touring parts of the city of Savannah, for our second day we drove out to Tybee Island.  First stop of the day was Fort Pulaski.  Originally a southern fort it was taken over by the federal army.  You can still see where the shots were fired that brought the fort to surrender.  There was a cannon firing the day we were there, though we didn't stay to watch that part.  A pass here is to a National Park, so it lasts for the week.  There were several trails marked on our map as well that we didn't do. It was a bit too hot for a lot of hiking.

Touring Savannah - Pirate's House, Riverstreet, and Maritime Museum #SavannahGA #family

Lunch was at the Pirate's House restaurant.  LOVED IT!  After we'd been there a while, I remembered I'd visited a long time ago.  We had the buffet which was reasonably priced and included desert.  Loved the key lime pie.

From there we headed over to River Street.  A must see in Savannah.  We walked along the river, I wandered in and out of stores.  I had to stop in to River Street Sweets and pick up some pralines.  While there I watched them pull taffy.  We also heard a gentleman playing sax and I visited with another gentleman who made grass baskets.  Lack of money kept me from purchasing, though.

On our way back to the hotel (it had been a long hot day), we decided to make one more stop.  This time at the Maritime Museum.  A family ticket is $20, so not too bad in cost to visit.  Parking is free to visit the museum.  Mostly models of ships, the museum talks about the history of maritime in Savannah as well as in general.  My daughter loved the Titanic sinking in a bottle.  I found the various figures for the ships neat.  It only took us about 45 minutes to tour.  It would have been longer if we'd had the patience to watch the various info movie clips.

Touring Savannah - Colonial Park Cemetary and Cathedral of St. John the Baptist #Savannah #walkingtour

After visiting the train museum, we wandered through the visitor center and then headed out.  Parking on the streets is metered in most areas, so keep that in mind if you visit.  We wandered over to Colonial Park to find those names the kids would instantly recognize.  The cemetary is relatively small, but it's neat to see.  No charge to view.

On our way back to the car, the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist was open for viewing, so we wandered inside there.  They ask for a $2 donation per person that comes in.  A gorgeous building.  Most of my pictures were a bit dark, though.

From here we were hot and tired, so we went to lunch.