Savannah

Savannah was an interesting city to visit.  When Lee and I get tired of our day to day activites, we try to find inexpensive road trips.  We usually look for cities within an 8 hour radius.  Our most recent adventure was to the great city of Savannah, GA.  To keep costs down and only pay for one night in the hotel, we left our apartment at 11:30pm Friday night.  We got to the visitor's center in Savannah at 8:30am.  We had just enough time to change in the car (out of comfy clothes) in order for the center to open at 9am.  After the visitor center (it had a museum in it with Forest Gump's bench), we headed out to Hunting Island State Park, SC.  This park is about an hour and a half from Savannah. It costs $4/adult, and don't forget to bring cash. There are several trails and a really cool lighthouse.  We wanted to see crocodile in the swampy water everywhere, but it didn't happen.

We parked near the lighthouse and stopped to eat lunch before continuing on.  We packed a cooler for the trip so we could save money and not eat out.  Lee brought his wonderful fried bologna sandwiches, and I brought my favorite - turkey sandwiches.  The lighthouse costs $2 a person to get in.  The view from the lighthouse is amazing.  Getting to the top of the lighthouse is another story.  For someone as afraid of heights as I am, it was a little tricky.  The stairwell is just a bunch of iron steps going around all the way to the top.  Yes, there is a handrail, but who's that going to save?  After getting my breath back, I enjoyed the view from the top.  The ocean and trees all around were beautiful.  Down below, the beach wasn't very busy (it was March).  We just sat down and relaxed for a while. 

After a long day of both walking around and relaxing, we headed back to Savannah. To save money on the hotel, we used Hotwire.com. We actually saved about $50 on the room and only paid $58. The hotel was nice, so we were pleasantly surprised. (We had never used Hotwire before.)  After a quick nap to re-energize, we hit the town.  Savannah is the first planned community in America, so it has 21 remaining town squares.  At night, driving around is terrible.  The layout is difficult and street signs are hard to find.  We drove around and then had dinner before heading back to the hotel. 

The next morning we got up early for the free breakfast at the hotel and headed to Tybee Island to see the sunrise.  We missed it by about 3 minutes.  We still had fun though.  We got some cheetos out of the car and fed the birds.  The seagulls were crazy!  They would attack as soon as the cheeto left our hands.  They'd even catch it in the air if we threw it up there.  After we ran out of cheetos, we went down to the pier. It started lightly raining , so the pier was pretty empty.  Luckily we had umbrellas.

After we left the pier, we decided to chance the rain and go to Fort Pulaski.  The fort is $3 a person to get in.  Inside there are a few exhibit to explain the fort.  There is also a short video that plays every 30 minutes.  It's mildly entertaining.  Fort Pulaski is a fort that was used in the Civil War.  It's in great condition and it even has a moat!  There's a guy that's dressed up in period clothing and he's anxious to answer any questions you might possibly have. 

The outside is pretty neat because you can see all the places that got hit by cannons.  It's amazing to see how far cannons can fly.  The other side was across the river!  I didn't believe it until the old guy in the costume told me it was true.  After we were done exploring every nook and cranny of the fort, we went back to Savannah to eat. We headed out around 2 to get home by Sunday night.  It was a quick trip, but it was cram-packed with fun!

Cummins Falls

Cummins Falls is located in Cookeville, TN.  It's on private property, so you are on your own when you get there.  It's not kept up by the state, just by everyone who loves going there. 

 

Cummins is probably my favorite waterfall out of all the falls I've seen. When you hike down the trail to the top of the falls, you have to cross in order to get to the bottom. The water is only ankle deep in some spots. I look for those spots to cross. After following the trail, you'll come to some rocks you have to climb down. There's a rope you can hold onto, but it's not too scary. Once to the bottom of the steep rocks, there are a few muddy trails that you can hold a rope to get down easily.  After hiking a little ways back up to the falls, it's a beautiful view.

You can climb up the falls and play on different levels.  Also, many people jump from the lowest level, but I'm too scared.  I'd be afraid of hitting large rocks.  It's really fun to play all over the falls, just remember to be careful.  I've gotten bruises from falling.  There are large rocks all around the base that are perfect for laying out.  These falls are a favorite place for TTU students, so don't be surprised when you see them there.  And don't forget - don't get too tired because you have to hike back to the top!

Burgess Falls

Burgess Falls is located near Cookeville, TN, about an hour and a half east of Nashville.  It's a bit of a hike down to the falls, but it's nothing like the hike down to Fall Creek Falls.  There is a well worn path with steps and even metal stairs where needed.  The path stops near the top of the falls, where we're standing in the picture.  If you want to climb to the bottom of the falls to play in the water, it's kind of steep and the grass is usually tall.  You somewhat have to climb your way down.  I've done it several times, too.

Besides the falls, there are picnic areas. One picnic area even has a small playground for kids. If you want more information on the Burgess Falls State Natural Area, check out: http://www.tennessee.gov/environment/parks/BurgessFalls/

Rock Island

I haven't been to Rock Island in a while, but it was a pretty fun trip - besides me almost killing Lee.  We jumped for the same rock and I won (sorry Lee!).

Anyway, Rock Island is about an hour and 45 minutes from Nashville. Located at the confluence of the Collins and Caney Fork Rivers, this 883-acre park has a natural sand beach on Center Hill Resevoir. Historic features of the park include a 19th century textile mill and one of Tennessee's early hydroelectric plants. There really isn't any structure to this part of the park.  There are just several large rocks to climb around on.

If you plan on visiting this park, don't go if it has been raining a lot lately.  The water can get up pretty high and then you can't play in it.  If you feel like being outside, climbing around on giant rocks, and playing in cold water, this is the place for you!

If you would like more information on Rock Island State Park, go here: http://www.tennessee.gov/ environment/parks/RockIsland/

 

Fort Negley

Lee and I visited Fort Negley during a day spent wandering around Nashville. Fort Negley is located right by the Sounds Stadium and was used in the civil war.  It was the largest of a group of forts built by the Union, and the largest inland masonry fort built during the Civil War. It was 600 feet long, 300 feet wide, and covered four acres of land.  The site has a visitor center that gives all kinds of information on the history of the fort.  It displays pictures from during the occupation as well.  After looking around the visitor center, Lee and I toured what's left of the fort.  There is no tour guide, so you can just take your time as you look around.

There is a boardwalk that goes throughout the fort, but there are places to stray as well.  I was surprised at this fort. I grew up near Nashville and never even knew it was here. There isn't very much left of the fort, but it's a fun place to visit - especially if you like history. 

More information can be found at:
http://www.nashville.gov/Parks/historic/fortnegley/

Simple Trips

Today an idea popped into my head.  My husband, Lee, and I really like to get away, but we are also penny pinchers.  Anytime we get away, we make detailed spreadsheets of everything we want to see and how much everything will cost.  Sometimes we just research unique, local places that are good for day trips.  After telling friends and family of our ideas and trips, I decided to blog our recent trips.  Maybe you can use some of our ideas to get away and have some inexpensive fun!