Fort McAllister

Dear Blog.  We got up this morning and took our coffee cups for a walk around the campground.  We said hello to our neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Bald Eagle.  The Eagles are renting the penthouse loft on a peninsula that juts out into the middle of the campground lake.  From their loft perch, they have the perfect vantage point.

This morning dawned clear but icy cold - 32 degrees.  It did warm up some when the sun rose, but not enough to ride our bikes.  We ended up driving over to Fort McAllister - a Confederate earthwork fort built to protect the mouth of the Ogeechee River, which leads to Savannah. On the way, we stopped at Fish Tales a local seafood restaurant on the river. Dave and I felt like we were in Key West!

Here is Dave with his big gun. Oh, and that black thing is one of the cannons that protected the fort.

The whole fort reminded us of Hobbiton in Lord of the Rings.  All of the buildings were dug into large mounds of sand.  Because the sand absorbed most of the shell shock, the Union Navy was never able to bombard the fort into submission. It wasn't until the Union Army arrived after sacking Atlanta did the  fort surrender.

Here is what it looked like inside one of the mounds.

After the Civil War, the area was pretty much abandoned.  Henry Ford had a hugh winter home nearby and bought the property after visiting the area and started work restoring the fort.  The area is now a state park and houses a small Civil War museum.

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve and we are looking forward to our New Year's Eve Party at the Rec Center.  I am sure there will be something to blog about.  :)