Today is another beautiful morning with the temperature this afternoon headed for the mid 70's. We started off with a nice long morning walk with the kids and after a roundabout tour of the neighborhood we finally found the Tybee Island lighthouse and Coast Guard Station. There has been a lighthouse at this location since the 1730's. Last rebuilt in 1916 it has 178 stairs and a First Order Fresnel lens (nine feet tall). The Tybee Island Light Station is one of America's most intact having all of its historic support buildings on its five-acre site. While walking around the area we saw several other very old cement bunkers. We found out later in the day that these were part of a series of gun emplacements erected by Union Troops to capture Fort Pulaski, a Confederate Stronghold.After we got back from our walk we loaded the bikes on the car and drove to Ft Pulaski, just off Tybee Island about a mile away from the lighthouse and gun emplacements.
Tina had asked me to try and raise her handlebars so I made an adjustment and raised them about half an inch. We got to the park entrance, parked the car and unloaded the bikes. We wanted to ride around the area and explore the grounds by bike rather than walking. After crossing the causeway bridge and riding about half a mile towards the Fort, Tina complained that her steering was loose. Rather than continue and risk an accident we rode back to the car and returned to camp where I had left the two metric allen wrenches I needed to put the handlebar back to its original position. The round trip and fix only took about twenty minutes and we were back on the bikes headed for the Fort.
We got there at a good time. Small crowds and no problem walkin all around the Fort and viewing all the canons, living quarters, mess hall and other evidence of life in a Civil Ware era military garrison. About 1:00 PM we were given a brief lecture and demostration of musket firing by local volunteers dressed as civil war soldiers. These are black powder muskets very much improved from the flintlock guns of the late 1700's. Each soldier was able to load and fire every twenty seconds. The soldiers marched out onto the field and joined the corporal in a line. Calling out the drill by steps they pulled a prebuilt paper cartridge out of their pouch, bit off the tab, poured the 60 grains of black powder into the muzzle, dropped in the fifty caliber lead bullet, withdrew the tamping rod from under the barrel, tamped the load, replaced the tamper, took up their firing stance and fired one at a time. This was followed by a demonstration of individual "at will" firing, then a five shot fullisade where all guns were fired at one time. Very noisy and smokey!!
After the demonstration we walked around some more then were treated to a demonstration firing two replica canon - a 12 pounder and a 16 pounder. The corporal gathered all the tourists around and described the process of positioning, aiming, charging and firing each canon. Then his platoon marched onto the field to a drumbeat and proceeded to perform the drill for us. If the muskets were loud, the smaller canon was really loud and the bigger one was extremely loud. The largest canon on the site wa a 64 pound behemoth up on the walls. I can't believe what the soldiers and sailers of the period went through with multiple firings going on all around them. 
After the demonstration we learned that the fort, one of the most modern fixed fortifications ever built with brick walls seven and a half feet thick was considered to be totally unassailable. Even though the unionists were building gun batterys on the north shore of Tybee Island it was felt that at nearly a mile away, the smooth bore canons wouldn't be able to penetrate the walls. However, along with the two dozen smooth bore canon, the Union Army secretly placed eight newly designed canon with rifled barrels, throwing an elongated thirty pound shell rather than round shot. After a thirty hour bombardment with several breaches through the walls the commander, Colonel Olmstead decided to surrender. He was concerned for the lives of his men in a situation he couldn't win. And there was a very real possibility of a hot shell hitting the armory and blowing up the sixteen tons of powder stored there with the high loss of life and injuries that would follow. After stopping in the visitor center for a few minutes we grabbed our bikes and rode back to the car, loaded up and decided to go home and relax before dinner.
We were scheduled to go to dinner at "Uncle Bubba's Oyster House" on Whitemarsh Island. Bubba's is owned by Paula Deens brother and it was close to Tybee Island so we decided to give it a try. We got there about 6:25 PM and pulled into the last parking spot. There were probably twenty people standing around the front door, looking at the koi ponds or inside waiting to get seated. Even though we had reservations it wasn't looking too good but as soon as we gave the hostess our name we were escorted to a table by the windows overlooking the Savannah River. Well, actually we were looking at the marsh along the edge of the river which was probably about 100 yards away, but hey, we were by the windows. Tina ordered the Shrimp Dinner and I ordered the Pulled Pork sandwich. Both meals were excelent and we had a small dish of chocolate creme brulet for desert. We finished dinner around 8:00 PM and walked out on the deck to take a few pictures then headed home.To see all of todays photos click on the following link:
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