Fort #11

Paul, Ian, and Nadia have all driven through Georgia en route to Florida in the past. I spoke at a conference in Atlanta in March of 2008, and I think that is the only other time I've been in Georgia. Yesterday was the first time that any of us visited a site in the state. Our first stop was Fort Pulaski. Over the last 4.5 years we've visited the following forts: Fort Ligonier (PA), Fort McHenry (MD), Fort Frederick (MD), Old Fort Niagara (NY), Fort George (Canada), Fort Hunter (PA), Fort Sumter (SC), Fort Ticonderoga (NY), Fort Smith (AR), and Fort Boonesborough (KY). We are planning to visit two forts in Georgia and three forts in Florida on this vacation, all of which are National Parks. One interesting fact about Fort Pulaski was that it is very close to the location where John Wesley gave his first sermon on American soil in 1736. After we toured Fort Pulaski and the kids earned a Junior Ranger badge, we spent the next six hours at North Beach on Tybee Island. Although Nadia prefers forts over battlefields, she's not a fan of forts so she was thrilled that most of the day was spent at a beach. Earning Junior Ranger badges does help her to have a better attitude. The kids and Paul played in the ocean and also in the sand. I kept thinking about our trips to Long Island over the last five years. We had eaten breakfast at the Red Roof Inn that morning, and I went and got us a large pizza to share around 3pm. During our 1.5-hour drive south to our next hotel, we stopped at a Rita's for dessert. The kids swam in the outdoor pool of the hotel last night. Nadia had her own "apartment" again in Savannah as the sofa bed was in another room of the suite. The room we stayed in last night just had the sofa bed next to the two beds, but the beds in this hotel were FAR more comfortable than the ones the previous night. My back is rather particular, but thankfully of the first four nights of the trip I've only had one bad night in terms of my back. Also, I am very pleased to say that my ankle has continued to improve over the last four days. I don't recall having any ankle pain yesterday, and that's such a relief!

Oliver in the prison where the Confederate prisoners of war were held