BEAUFORT AND HILTON HEAD

Just outside Savannah we visited a beautiful and historical town....Beaufort.  We took a horse carriage tour around the city and took lots of pics.  During the Civil War time....Clara Barton even opened a hospital and a nurses' training school there.  

Houses with beautiful double open arms entry way stairs were found here.

The small building behind the big house was called the cook house.  The food was prepared in these by the slaves.  There was a big fear of fire so people wanted food to be cooked away from the big house.

This long branch from a live oak tree was used during the 1800's as a hanging branch.....for people.   

Gorgeous and ancient live oaks with branches bending in such exotic shapes.

gorgeous wisteria

It is believed that the name Rhett Butler from Gone with the Wind was taken from this beautiful inn. 

A beautiful day spent biking on Hilton Head beaches and in the town.  The sand is hard packed and perfect for bike riding.

common gallinule

Cute sanderling

All over the south...from South Carolina on down.....we saw these cone shaped burrows.  Come to find out they are from the exotic South American species...FIRE ANTS.  Very scary to see just how widespread they are......everywhere you look there are these cone shaped ant "hills".  More like small mountains.  They are taking over.  
They were accidentally introduced in Alabama about 60 years ago.  

SAVANNAH

Our time spent in Savannah was so lovely.  We took a horse carriage tour, walked everywhere, and rode bikes around and around the city.  The weather was perfect and the spring blooms were at their most beautiful.  We couldn't stop taking pics trying to capture the beauty.

the lovely fountain at Forsythe Park

We took gorgeous strolls through the parks and the famous squares throughout the city.  The lovely dogwoods dripping with Spanish moss took our breath away.

the Wedding Gazebo

couldn't stop taking pics of the beautiful flowers

a huge live oak in the city

stunning redbuds all over the place

beautiful elegant homes

Our visit to Bonaventure Cemetery was so stunningly beautiful that we went twice.  The first time it was a little overcast....giving it an eerie beauty.  The second time was bright sunshine and everything popped.

 This is the famous "Bird Girl" from the book and movie Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil.  They had to remove the actual statue from the cemetery because she was getting sooo much attention and they put her high up in a building window in the city.  You could barely see her from the street below.  This is from a gift shop.

Heaven's Gates

Gracie

Our next stop is Beaufort.  More pics to follow.  TTFN