Sharp's Travels

Today we went to Cockspur Island to tour Fort Pulaski. Construction began in 1827 and required $1,000,000 and 25 million bricks to build it. It took 18 yrs to complete. The fort was designed for 140 cannons but only 60 were installed.
There is a Moat, 7 ft. deep, completely surrounding the fort. The water was brought by canal from the Savannah River and controlled by tide gates. There is a drawbridge at the entry point.
We arrived in time to watch the Park Ranger demonstrate the soldiers clothing and gear worn back in the Civil War era. She also demonstrated the loading and shooting of her musket.
They were doing some building at the fort and we found out it will be another site for scenes in the Robert Redford movie being shot in the Savannah area.
We continued on to Tybee Island and used Gay’s new GPS to locate a cache hidden in a big old tree. Someone had hollowed out a limb and stuck the cache inside it. Clever!
We drove down to the beach and the fishing pier. We didn’t stop because you had to feed the meters while you were there. No free parking.
We headed back to the Tybee Island Light Station. It’s one of America’s intact Light Stations, having all of its historic support buildings still on its 5 acre site.
It had the Head Keeper’s House, Summer Kitchen, First Assistant Keeper’s House, Second Assistant Keeper’s House, Garage, Fuel Storage Building and the Lighthouse.
They did a beautiful job restoring it all. We toured the buildings, as well as climbed to the top of the 154ft tall lighthouse. There were 178 steps to reach the top. The light from atop the lighthouse can be seen 18 miles out to sea. The lens is one of thirteen First Order Lens in the United States, which still functions in a Lighthouse as an aid to navigation. The Tybee Lighthouse is Georgia’s oldest and tallest. The view from the top is marvelous.
We walked across the street to check out the museum housed at Old Fort Screven. They displayed artifacts found, weapons used in numerous wars and Tybee’s role in defending the American Coastline.
It was another nice day. We stopped at Applebee’s for supper and then headed for the 5th wheel.
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day. See album: Tybee Island