Parris Island, South Carolina Pt. 1

Today we headed over to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island where they proudly proclaim, "We Make Marines".
At least one million Marine Corps recruits have been trained on Parris Island since training began here in 1915, when recruits arrived by boat.

The Parris Island Museum is an excellent source of historical information on the island and the Marines.

The oldest marine to be trained on Parris Island was 50 year old, future Illinois Senator Paul H. Douglas.

On display at the museum, you will find uniforms from all eras of the 233 year history of the Marines.

Parris Island is THE place female recruits from all over the US receive their initial training. Generally, only male recruits living east of the Mississippi train here with those living west of the Mississippi training in San Diego.

Prior to training recruits, Parris Island served as a training center for corps officers. Here's a picture of the first graduating class of officers in 1909.

Uniforms from the World War II through the Gulf War...

New recruits assemble on the ground floor of the Parris Island Museum for a museum orientation.

Brand new exhibits at the museum feature the Global War on Terrorism.

Did you know the Marines have, on occasion, been called upon by the President of the United States to protect the U.S. Mail?

New recruits perform drills many hours of the day.

One of the training obstacle courses...

Rifle formations...

"Iron Mike" is a memorial to Parris Island Marines who gave their lives in World War I.

"Molly Marine" is dedicated to the service of all Women Marines.

Check out the video below for some Parris Island footage...

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/may/parris-island-and-b/ pictures 1-45.

To be continued...

Fort Pulaski & Cindigenous-Local Short Films of Savannah

After the trolley tour, we headed over to Fort Pulaski National Monument. Fort Pulaski was constructed of about 25 million bricks all transported by golf carts like the one seen below!

Standing on top of the fort walls which survived the Battle of Fort Pulaski in 1862. The Fort even features spiral staircases!

The Tybee Island Lighthouse can be seen in the distance.

An enemy ship is spotted close by.

The POW quarters feature these bunk beds which accommodate a total of 8 POW's each...4 on top and 4 on bottom.

The purpose of this blindage was to create a bomb or splinter proof shield to enclose the rear of encasements.

This large area inside Fort Pulaski is widely believed to be the location of the invention of the game of baseball. The game was initially called rounders. Of course, the cannon would not be on the playing field...

Leaving Fort Pulaski, you cross the moat. The moat ranges from 30 to 48 feet wide and is generally 8 feet deep.

One of Fort Pulaski's hiking trails leads you to the water's edge.

Fort Pulaski is featured in our Savannah highlight video below.
After leaving the Fort, we headed to Telfair Square's Jepson Center for the Arts for a screening of short films, an event called Cindigenous.

Before the screening, Doug tried on some native dress.

The films screened were either filmed locally, produced locally, or somehow have ties to Savannah.

The films included "The Street Cleaner", which told the story of disappearing women of Savannah; the stop-motion animated short "The Madness of Being"; and a film entitled "And Then She Was Gone" featuring Savannah resident Diana Scarwid.

After the short films, it was time for Marlon to take a short rest on a long bench.

The squares of Savannah provide many opportunities for breathtaking nighttime pictures.

A view up the steps down to River Street.

For more pictures of these parts of our Savannah tour, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/may/savannah-ga-day-2/ pictures 100-174.

To be continued...

Oglethorpe Trolley Tour of Savannah Pt. 2

Next, our trolley tour came upon this photo shoot.

Memorize this house...you may recognize it if you ever see the photoshoot or whatever it is they were doing there today.

Memorize this statue...you may come across it someday while visiting Savannah.

Built in 1873 by Samuel Pugh Hamilton, later the President of the Brush Electric Light & Power Company, The Hamilton Mansion was the first residence in Savannah to have electricity. Dr. Francis Turner then purchased the house in 1915, alternately living in it and offering the house for boarding.

Sold to a local church in 1965, the house was saved by the Historic Savannah Association in the late 1960's, as it was to be destroyed in favor of a playground. The Hamilton-Turner House was converted to a bed and breakfast in 1997.

This is the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist located in Lafayette Square. The congregation's original church was located in Liberty Square...of which now only a small portion remains. As the congregation grew, there were no additional lots available in Liberty Square, so the church built elsewhere.

Classic police cars sit outside the Savannah Chatham Police Deparment. The building is still in use...the cars are not.

Another historic mansion you might see while wandering the streets of Savannah.

Fountains are abundant in the squares of Savannah. We believe this one was located in Oglethorpe Square.

It was now time to conquer the steep cobble-stoned hill which led down to River Street.

On the River Front in Morrell Park, you will find the Waving Girl Statue. The statue depicts Florence Margaret Martus, famous for waving at all vessels entering and leaving Savannah harbor for forty-four years.

A view of Savannah's City Market area...City Market is famous for its art, dining, history, shopping and entertainment.

For more pictures of our trolley tour, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/may/savannah-ga-day-2/ pictures 68-99.

For our video highlighting Savannah, click below.
To be continued...

Oglethorpe Trolley Tour of Savannah Pt. 1

After filling up at Paula Deen's The Lady & Sons Restaurant, we headed out on a trolley run by Oglethorpe Tours.

Savannah City Hall was built in 1906. Its dome was originally copper clad, but was painted a controversial green color in the 1960's due to environmental wear and tear.

In 1987, a major renovation of the dome was completed when the dome was gold leafed at a cost of $235,000.

A restaurant in Savannah reminds us of Starkist Tuna's spokesman, Charlie the Tuna. He would never be caught by the Starkist Company because they didn't want tuna with good taste (Charlie was hip and cultured), but tuna that tasted good. Apparently, Charlie didn't taste good!

As America's first pre-planned city, Savannah contains over 20 "squares". Squares are carpeted in lush, green grass and often feature fountains, monuments and flower beds.

This square, Franklin Square, was established in 1790. Featuring this monument to General Nathaniel Greene, Franklin Square was nearly lost and redeveloped in the 1970's. But was saved and restored to its original state in the 1980's.

The steeple of the Independent Presbyterian Church in Chippewa Square will look familiar to those who remember the opening scene of "Forrest Gump". Think...feather...

Forrest's bench sat right here in Chippewa Square.

One example of the residential buildings of Savannah.

This restaurant was the setting for a scene in Julia Roberts' "Something to Talk About".

One of Savannah's brick-lined streets.

Another random residence.

The Mercer-Williams House, now a museum, was the setting for the book and movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil", as well as being the former home of singer/songwriter Johnny Mercer.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/may/savannah-ga-day-2/ pictures 37-67.

For our video highlighting Savannah, click below.
Coming up...Part 2.

To be continued...

The Lady & Sons Restaurant, Savannah

Today we decided to go stuff ourselves. So we went and located Paula Deen's The Lady & Sons Restaurant in downtown Savannah, Georgia.

We figured we might be able to stuff ourselves there.

We would be doing it along with all these other patrons waiting on the opposite side of the street for their names to be called for dinner (or lunch...whatever it is you eat at 11:00 am).

The Old Savannah Tours trolley passes right by The Lady & Sons and recommends arriving at about 9:00 am to get peak time seating.

We are among the first patrons seated today. As you can see, diners are already loading up.

The Lady & Sons opened in its current location in 2003. This 200 year-old renovated building features three floors of seating, with a signature buffet on each floor.

Good luck getting out alive after eating this meal! Remember, Paula's your cook, not your doctor!
Doug figures...you come this far, you might as well have seconds.

Two survivors of the all-you-can-eat buffet take a deep breath for a picture.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/may/savannah-ga-day-2/ pictures 1-35.

To be continued...