Showing posts with label Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

PhotoBomb Wednesday.... Again? The Robby AC is Out TOur 2013

 



                Yeah, I know, I know. It’s supposed to be Photo bomb Tuesday not Photo bomb Wednesday hence the title. Well, Monday was a bit packed as you’re about to see and yesterday was spent in the pool. It is summer after all not to mention by my brief summer vacation.

            Monday was one of those days that while loads of fun with the kids and something I hope they’ll remember, it was a bit tiring out for me. Our AC until was being replaced so we had about eight hours to kill and not much in the ol’ bank account to fund anything too expensive. WWTBGD (What Would the Big Guy Do?) became my mantra for that day so we hit the Coastal Empire for a little exploration and adventure.

            The kids had never been out to Wormsloe on Isle of Hope so this was our first stop. Unfortunately, I had forgotten Wormsloe was shut down on Mondays but we still got a few great pix. My nervousness about keeping Roni and Jude form getting bored began to go away when they were very obviously impresses by the entrance and how the live oaks, according to Jude , “created a tunnel.”


I just wished they'd come out of their shell....
            I explained to Roni and Jude about how Noble Jones had come over on the Queen Anne with Oglethorpe in 1733 and became the colony’s first doctor when the original doctor died on the voyage over. As a thank you, Oglethorpe gave 500 acres to Jones which became Wormsloe. Jones had the foresight to know his land would go to his sons so he began planting live oaks along the entrance as a future wedding gift to his son.  That wedding gift would lead to be one of the most photographed pictures in the Coastal Empire and has one of my favorite views of Savannah since I learned how to ride my bike and explore.
 
 


            Over Sunday dinner, the kids had asked about Bonaventure Cemetery and how it fits into Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil so this seemed like a reasonable next stop and apparently a good choice, Roni and Jude were enthralled. I was also surprised about how many tourists were out there.
           
We stopped at the Gracie Watson plot and I told them all about how Gracie had died of pneumonia leaving her parents so upset they hired a sculptor to create a life size statue of their beloved daughter. The kids were impressed at the details. Unfortunately, vandals back in the 80s broke her nose off (which has long since been repaired) so a fence is up now.
            I told the kids about walking up to the plot about when I was their age and spent forever looking at the detail on this sculpture. I get the reasons why there is fence now but I hated that the kids couldn’t see all the tiny details that still stick with me. I told them about how Gracie’s shoes have buttons and if you look real close, you can see how the sculptor carved stitching into the buttonholes.
            I also explained how this was the site of Kim and I’s first official date. I took her to a picnic at Bonaventure. We had to go every little detail from the stories I told to what the menu was on the picnic. (It was sliced mangoes with raspberry lemonade served with a basil chicken over bow tie pasta. Thanks Fresh Market!)
          I had seen people leaving toys out here for other graves but never for Gracie. It seems fitting and we had wished we had brought some too.





No idea what this means but thought it was interesting looking
 

 
"Can you smell what the Ty is cooking?"
            We made a quick stop over at HISRadio which my cousin runs quite well to drop off a cooler they left at the Geeky Hut during our Fourth of July festivities. This is our Cousin Ty and future world renowned athlete. Here he is showing off his latest sports acquisition.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

            If you have drove into Savannah via DeRenne Ave then the giant globe should be a familiar sight. On our numerous drives up from Milledgeville as a child, the Globe was always a welcome sight. Combined with the smell of Union Bag and watching Mom spray her White Rain hairspray, I knew I was minutes from Grandma’s macaroni & cheese.
            The Globe was originally used back in the late 50s as a natural gas storage container then painted to resemble one of those globes you’d see in a classroom. Around 1998,  SCAD repainted it to look like it was in space. Hurricane Floyd is also on there if you look carefully. If you’ve ever seen Forces of Nature which Sandra Bullock and Ben Affleck, the globe is featured as a sandwich stand.
            Most people don’t know there is a mailbox behind it which resembles the Moon. My dream is to run a tour company out of this place one day.
 
 
 
             
With the tour winding down, we had movie plans to meet up Roni and Jude’s cousins to go see Despicable Me 2 over in Pooler. After a careful selection of Gummy Coke Bottles for Jude and Roni selecting Circus Peanuts, we were off to pick up Kim at her workplace.

        
    The new Savannah Morning News is pretty fancy but I do miss it being located downtown. I get why they moved and the new digs are impressive and up with the times. I just love seeing that older building and picturing hard boiled news men wearing ties and fedoras working on their stories. It’s kind of hard to picture that here.
            The Robby AC Tour 2013 wrapped up with the ladies heading back to the newly air conditioned Geeky Hut while the men struck out to ATA Karate. Here you can see the day taking its toll on Jude. Frankly, at this point, I knew exactly how the Little Man felt and fell asleep during his karate myself.
 
            Well, this wraps up the tour. Please gather your belongings and head to your nearest exit. We here at Broken Compass Tours recognize you have many tour choices to take here in Savannah and we appreciate you for choosing us. May the beer always be cold and your compass always point south.
Later.
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Photo Bomb Tuesday




            I have a little time today so I thought I’d catch y’all up on the Tide through the magic of cell

phone photos. The following should bring us up to speed on some of the more major moments over

the past few months. Enjoy Photo Bomb Tuesday



 
     The Daddy-Daughter Dance or in this case, Step-Daddy Daughter Dance…..

I was flabbergasted when Roni asked me and we had a blast. Trying to be smart, I figured we’d show up and Roni would take off with her friends. Nope. The Duchess insisted on dancing with me as seen here. Pretty powerful stuff that night.


The best part of the night was towards the end when they played Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World when the speakers blew. All of the Daddys in the house picked up immediately and we sang to our daughters. Not many dry eyes in the house…..


 
 
 

 

                                    Mary and Christine’s Big Gay Wedding

            My little sister got married to her long time girlfriend and it was not only beautiful but one of the funner weddings I’ve ever been to. SIlly hats were required for the reception

            My smart alec wife requested on the invitation that our wedding meals be served on “special” plates so this is what the lovely Mrs. Christine came up with. They actually microwave quite well.





     Mary and Christine are both librarians at Yale so it was an obvious choice they’d get married in

the Noah Webster House. Here Mary, Kaz (the minister), and myself are wearing some bonnets they

make the school kids wear when touring to get the early Americana feel.



Rehearsal in Mary /Christine's loft
 


Wearing her Pop's Lucky Cuff Links he wore to every IBEW St Pats Brunch
 

Mary's Angels
 


Jude and his Black Belt Buds at his Elementary Talent Show
 
 
Kim got the chance to interview the Grand Empress herself, The Lady Chablis for Savannah magazine. The two of them hit it off and we had a remarkable evening at Club One courtesy of The Lady. She was kind enough to sign my copy that The Big Guy and Mom gave me years ago.
 

 

 

Jude made Kim his first perfect omelette for Mother's Day
 



Roni's End of the Year Art Show for Garrison.
 
 The Lucas is one of the older theaters in Savannah and has a great film series throughout the year. This was their viewing of Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan. Jude and I went in costume and took second. I’d like to point out Jude is wearing my old Star Trek Kirk Shirt from elementary school.  

Roni also grabbed my glasses while eating ice cream at Leopold’s. I’m startng to see a lot of Kim in Roni’s personality as she grows up. I’m in a lot of trouble. lol


Roni has left the building
 



 
 
We were even the Savannah Morning Press in their Spotted Section
 
 
 
Kim and fam as she graduates with her MFA in writing from SCAD. Proud Day!





Well, that was the last few months courtesy of my cell phone. Hopefully, I can a better blogger and write more regularly. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a pool calling out to me and sun worshiping to attend to.