A Summer Road Trip, part 4 - Tybee Island Lighthouse & MYSTERY STOP

We made a stop in Savannah, Georgia, but I was not in any of the photos (ahem), so we'll skip to some photos with me in them.

Here I am at the Tybee Island Lighthouse! In 1733, General James Ogelthorpe founded the colony of Georgia and directed that a lighthouse be built on Tybee Island. Building of the lighthouse was slow, so Ogelthorpe jailed the head carpenter and threatened to hang him. The carpenter's crew begged for his life, promising they could finish the tower in 5 weeks. They ended up finishing it in 16 days.

See what good managers can accomplish? :)

The lighthouse that you see today, however, is not the original structure. Several towers before this one collapsed due to storms, or were set ablaze during the American Civil War. The design pattern on the lighthouse also changed many times.

The lighthouse can be seen up to 18 miles away thanks to its Fresnel lens, which magnifies a lamp bulb.

Look at me - I've got a GREAT idea!

Around the lighthouse is also a lighthouse keeper's house, because they did live here 24/7 after all. There is never a day off in the work of lighthouse keeping!

Here, we see a stove and kitchen area.

There is also an old hand crank telephone. It looks like a face, doesn't it?

Well, that's all for our trip today... hope you enjoyed it...

WAIT! I have been told that we are making an unplanned MYSTERY STOP somewhere!

This is the Old Sheldon Church Ruins in South Carolina. It was definitely an off the beaten path kind of stop, but so beautiful!

Originally known as Prince Williams Parish Church, it was burned by the British in 1779 during the Revolutionary War, rebuild in 1826, then burned again in 1865 during the Civil War by the Federal Army under General William T. Sherman.

After the war, the materials of the church, like wood on the roof, were taken down and used to build homes. This church has certainly been through a lot!

The archways are still intact and so beautiful!

And it is surrounded by oak trees! This sign says no climbing, but I am simply sitting, so it's ok. :)

Okay, stay tuned for our next and last stop on this road trip...

A Summer Road Trip, part 3 - Driftwood Beach

Next on our road trip, we stopped at Jekyll Island, Georgia. Back in its heyday, Jekyll Island enjoyed its fame during the Club Era, where the rich and famous came to play and relax. The Vanderbilts, the Rockfellers, the Goodyears, etc. all were well known residents here.

There is a wonderful beach on Jekyll Island called Driftwood Beach, known for the numerous amounts of driftwood washed ashore! Sandy should definitely come here and check it out.

The soil on the island here slowly began eroding away, making it unable to support the roots of the trees. The trees gradually decayed and fell over time. The waves here are on the gentler side and not strong enough to wash the trees out to sea.

Each tree is unique unto itself!

I'll leave you with my favorite photo from this beach...

I wonder where we are going to next...?