Playing Catch-Up

With my spending so much time in finishing my posts about our Holy Land experience, I haven't posted some of the the important events that have happened since we returned home a little over a month ago.  One of the mile-stones was our 46th wedding anniversary!

 June 5, 1968

 June 5, 2014 - Yes, the years are starting to show, mostly for me.  George continues to have a full head of black hair--never has been a drop of black dye on it!

 

Thought it would be fun to reminisce through the years a little--don't you think George looks a little like Prince George?

 Yes, and some things never change.  I have always had chubby cheeks!

And, thank goodness for braces and a headgear, George's teeth look better today!  They'll look even better with the help of Kent, one of our dentist sons who's making new crowns!

And when Cassie told me her mama calls Kennedy "Little Laura," I think I would have to agree after looking at this picture.

The next two pictures were taken at the time of our engagement.  He was then and still is my "Prince Charming" and Best Friend.  Not that we don't have some occasional disagreements--Hah!  But after 46 years, there's not too much that you haven't already discussed and decided upon, right?!

Everyone's hair looked exactly the same in the 60s.  Actually, I wish I could wear it this long now--minus the bouffant!

But through the years, with seven wonderful children and seven wonderful spouses and 25 wonderful grandchildren, we have been very blessed.  So, happy anniversary, George!  I can't believe it will only be 4 more years until we hit 50.  I always thought people were so old when they had their 50th Wedding Anniversary, but I'm starting to change my mind.  Hah!

 Kevin and Angie, Taylor and Ellie, Connor, Kade, Lauren, and Hannah

 John and Alison, Bracken, Parker, Tyson, and Preston

Kyle and Kim, Carter, Jenna, and Brady

Jeff and Amy, Garrett, Isaac, and Lola

Cameron and Anne, Sydney, Jaxon, Mason, and Gavin

 Kent and Natalie, Ethan, Ella, and Cannon
Craig and Cassie, Riley and Kennedy

Handing out Diplomas at Oakleaf High School

 

 Every year, we think this will be the last graduation George will be participating in, but he ends up doing another.  This year, he was assigned Oakleaf High School, the newest high school in the district, and he handed out 450 diplomas, along with one of the board members, Janice Kerekes.

After the graduation caps were thrown, the sky lit up with fireworks.  So cool!

Day Trip to Savannah

So, George and I just decided Saturday morning that we wanted to go someplace together for the day.  We got ready and headed for one of our favorite places which is about three hours away--Savannah, Georgia!  We boarded the open-air hop-on, hop-off bus--we actually didn't do a lot of hopping.  Hah!  But, we were reminded again why we love this little city so much!

 The city has twenty-two open squares that have the most beautiful old oak trees and green areas you've ever seen.  These squares are left from the days when military camps were throughout the city, plus they gave the people ample parks so their houses wouldn't be so close together in case there was a fire.

 Most of the squares have statues of famous historical people of the area, have famous people buried there, or have beautiful fountains in the center.  This is a statue of James Ogelthorpe in Chippewa Square.  He was the city founder and planner of Savannah. 

 No one wants to miss Chippewa Square mainly due to . . .

This is where "Forrest Gump" was filmed.  This is not the original park bench he sat on because that is in the Savannah Historical Museum, but they have put another in its place for visitors to enjoy.

 

 As we stopped on the corner--who should get on our trolley, but Forrest Gump himself!  He was darling and sounded just like him.

 George and I had sat on opposite sides of the trolley so we could have a better view of everything, so Forrest asked if my seat was available, and he sat down by me.  He then offered me a chocolate from his famous, "Life is like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you're going to get."  Then he told the bus driver he needed to go to Chippewa Square.  The driver told him we were right across from it, so he said, "Oh, I have to go," and hurried off!  This was so fun!

 Another very popular place is Mercer House where "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" was filmed.  This was the actual place where Jim Williams who was a wealthy Savannah antiques dealer shot his 21-year-old, part-time employee, Danny Hansford to death.  Jim Williams sat through four trials before finally being acquitted.  He ended up dying in the same room where he had shot Hansford.  They said his death was the result of pneumonia.  The house is now a museum of many of the items Jim Williams collected while he was living.

This is the nearly 100 year-old Armstrong House.  Actually some of the "Midnight" interior  taping was done in here.  The fence and gates are miniature versions of what is around Buckingham Palace in London.

 

 We passed by Paula Deen's restaurant called, "The Lady & Sons."  We heard the food is really good there, but didn't get a chance to eat there--maybe another time.

 We made a stop at the City Market and ate there.  There were lots of open air places to eat at, plus they have live music. 

Carriage tours are for the hire everywhere.

 The architecture is fantastic because even if something has been built later than the late 1800s or early 1900s, it has to fit in with the period on the outside.

This is the oldest building in Savannah being 250 years old.  Robert Louis Stevenson is said to have been inspired by this house, and wrote a segment of his novel, Treasure Island in 1881 basing some of the characters on the characters he met there.   Captain Flint was a fictional character in the book, but was probably based on a typical lowlife charmer who ran his business there in between the voyages.

Looking down at River Street.  They made those stairs pretty steep in those days!

 We drove down the little cobble-stone pathway.

 Near the river is the Cotton Exchange which was established in 1876 and made its permanent home on Bay Street here in Savannah in 1883.  It was established to provide cotton brokers a place to congregate and set the market value of cotton exported to larger markets such as New York or London.  This was the real hub of this industry until the end of the nineteenth century.

On River Street are all kinds of little shops and places for people to eat, listen to music, or watch candy being made.  It is always so fun down here.

 As we stopped by the water's edge, Florence Martus came aboard.  Who is she?  She was the daughter of a sergeant stationed at Fort Pulaski.  She later moved into a cottage long the river near the harbor with her brother who was the keeper of the lighthouse.  She told us she had fallen in love with a sailor who left Savannah but promised he would return and marry her as soon as possible.  As a token of his love, he gave her his white Navy neckerchief, which she tearfully waved as his ship passed on its way to ports unknown.

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And for 44 years, Florence Martus was the "unofficial" greeter of all ships on the river in Savannah, Georgia, along with her beloved collie from 1887 to 1931.  No ship came or went without Florence waving a handkerchief or sometimes a towel or table cloth, or a lantern at night.  Her sailor never did return, but a ship was christened in her honor in 1943, and she is also remembered with this statue created by Felix De Weldon who also sculpted the Iwo Jima Memorial.  It's really a great tribute to her--someone who never gave up hope.  I think it's really quite a tragic story though.  I hate people's hearts to be broken!   

Our tour ended by the 23-karat gold leaf dome of the Savannah City Hall.  So many more places, but these were just a few that I snapped along the way.  Such a fun day--so glad we decided to go to Savannah!