Friday
It was another glorious day today with not a cloud in sight and a pleasant breeze on the river. I slept well and woke in time to grab some breakfast to take back to my room. 
I caught the 11 am shuttle into town and wandered along to Starbucks for a coffee. Soon it was time to go down to River Street, collect my tickets and board the River Boat.
As we headed up river we had a great view of the Gold Dome!
There is an expansion project going on with the river, it is going to be dredged to a further five feet of depth, dredging is a 24/7 job for the army corps of engineers.
This is being done so Savannah can accommodate the larger vessels that are now being used. The Panama Canal is the measure for ships and consequently the ports they can enter. 
The canal has recently been widened and made deeper which has lead to a new size of vessel, referred to as neo Panamac. These ships are very large and ports now need to be able to accommodate them. 
The bridge over the river, is about 180 feet high it was built in 1991, it replaced the 135 foot bridge that was hit by a ship in the 1980s. 
This bridge, especially at low tide, may not be high enough for the new ships hence the dredging to give more depth to the river.
I also need to correct a statement from yesterday, Savannah is the fourth busiest port in he US, It is the second busiest port on the east coast. The old coal powered power plant, towards one end of River Street is being pulled down to make way for a Marriott hotel and a park. 
There is a huge wood chip storage area and this is sent to Turkey only to return as particle board that is use in a lot of furniture production! 
We passed by Old Fort Jackson and there was a bit of a reenactment going on, as we passed the canon was fired and it was loud enough to make me jump, lol! 
We also saw a tugboat stopping to pick up a docking pilot. This would then move to assist the huge container ship that was just coming up the river. 
We were then told about the various flag that are used, a white flag indicates the presence of a river pilot as opposed to a docking pilot, a red flag indicates the ship is carrying dangerous material while a yellow flag means the ship is under quarantine, either with an infectious disease or it has not yet cleared customs.
We had a superb view of the City Hall Dome which was covered with a thin sheet of 24 caret gold in 1980, when the money was donated. A city hall can only have a gold dome if it is a current or past state capital.
We returned to the dock and just as we left the boat the container ship came up the river, it was a massive sight and seemed to completely fill the river from side to side. I watched it as it moved towards the bridge and there was not a huge amount of clearance room as it travelled underneath.
I then waited for the Old Town Trolley to take the tour of Savannah. It climbed up from River Street and into the traffic. Soon though we were heading towards the historic area of Savannah. Savannah was settled in 1733 as a British Colony and over the years cotton and peaches became the two most successful crops.
There were three large fires in Savannah, the worst was in late 1700s when only 171 houses were left standing, the other two fires were in the 1800s. The Pink house, well known today as a restaurant, is one of those that survived. There is a History museum at the visitor center that outlines much of Savannah's rich past. Cotton was certainly the reason for Savannah's growth, cotton came here from all over the US to be sent round the world.
Many films have been made in Savannah and some of the places that appeared in these were pointed out to us. These included "Something to talk about" with Julia Roberts and "Forrest Gump" with Tom Hanks. The bench in the bus stop scene was placed on the north edge of Chippewa Square park for the scene, it can now be seen outside the Savannah History Museum.
This area of Savannah is particularly beautiful consisting of many park squares surrounded by houses from the past. Most of these are kept in original condition and there is a committee that keeps an eye on the historic area to see what needs to be done. The Savannah School of Art and Design have purchased many old buildings, renovated then and now use them for teaching spaces, residential houses for students and administration offices.
One of the parks contains a monument to all the confederate soldiers who died, the soldier on top is facing north towards the enemy. Forsyth park is one of these beautiful areas containing a fountain inspired by one in the Place de Concorde in Paris, France. There are so many monuments, commemorating many people and events, in these parks
We from the historic into the Victorian district and noticed a difference in the houses. We also passed a Jewish synagogue, Congregation Mickve Israel, which was built in 1733 and is the third oldest in the US. Forty two Jewish settlers arrived from London on one of the ships that brought people over to establish the new colony. We also passed the Wesley Monumental Church built in 1868 in tribute to John and Charles Welsley..
Cotton paid for most of the houses in the historic quarter such was its impact on the development of Savannah. Most of the cute shops, cafes and restaurants on River Street were originally cotton warehouses. The cobblestone that has been laid on River Street is actually ballast stone from the ships that came over from England, these ballast stones were left here by the ships.
The 90 minute tour took much longer and I knew I would not have time for a meal so I got off the trolley at the stop nearest the Starbucks opposite the Hyatt Regency. I managed to grab a Bacon and Chicken panini with my usual coffee, it was very tasty. The shuttle was bang on time although the Hyatt was still somewhat disorganised with its parking of cars, lol! Back at the hotel, I rang to organise my taxi for early Saturday morning and then finish my packing. I went to bed early as my wake up call was set for 5.30 am.
What a nigh it turned out to bet! It could be called mayhem at the Iris Garden Inn, lol, but college students have hit the place. There was lots of noise, shouting and then, about 10.30 when I was half asleep, the fire alarm went off! I was all packed up so by th I time I found something to put on the alarm was over. Then about 2.30 I was woken from a deep sleep by loud voices in e corridor! That was that for my sleep so did not need the wake up call, lol!
Saturday
It was a beautiful morning and so mild for 6 am! So, on to Orlando, the train was eventually one hour late leaving Savan!nah. It had been made to wait in line while some freight trains went through, typical!! While we were waiting I got into conversation with an Aussie, from Sydney, and it helped to pass the time, a very pleasant guy.
I was lucky enough to have a seat to myself for the complete trip. Once were underway I went and purchased a cup of tea to eat with my breakfast, some egg sandwiches I had made at the hotel. The train seemed to make good time and we actually made up 35 minutes on the way to Orlando.
The station at Orlando was one of the most crowded and seemingly disorganised stations I think I have ever seen. There were people everywhere and it was difficult to see where we were supposed to pick up our checked baggage! I finally found it and then grabbed a taxi to take me to the hotel. I was able to check in early again and then I came down to get a coffee, but the cafe was closed, it was only 2,30 pm so I was rather surprised! I decided to take the free shuttle to do some shopping and the driver told me there was a Starbucks close to the store!. After buying the few supplies I needed I spent some time at the nearby Starbucks until I could ring for the shuttle. I did not have to wait long and finally it was back to my room to unpack and sort a few things out.
I nodded off a few times while watching the TV so decided I need to bring the blog up to date!!
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