Jan 6-12, 2011: Savannah, GA

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Visit to our old hometown

Hostess with the mostess

Our hostess for our visit to Savannah was Joy Reed, friend and former colleague from the Department of Computer Science.  She spent a week with us a few years ago in Dominica -- see here for details of that visit.  Joy made us feel very welcome and could not have been a better hostess.   She even offered to prepare a dinner for us and whomever we would like to invite; we chose always-interesting Steve Ellis and Beth Logan and had a wonderful evening of good food and conversation.

Here I am in Joy's favorite chair

Joy displaced to her couch

Scene on Joy's street -- note the Spanish Moss, one of the charming aspects of Savannah
Chilly weather

We couldn't really complain about the cold weather in North Dakota; December in North Dakota is supposed to be cold.   But we were a tad bit disappointed at the weather in Savannah.   Well above freezing, of course, but chilly none-the-less.   And it is a trite observation, but still true:  the high humidity makes the cool temperatures feel ever so much cooler.  As a consequence, Barb and I each developed coughs that lasted for precisely as long as our stay, disappearing immediately as soon as we got "home" to Curacao.

Fun with Danielle and grandkids

Our primary reason for returning to the Savannah area was so that we could see daughter Danielle and grandkids Kristen and Abigail.  Danielle is a busy girl -- working full-time, raising two wonderful girls, and getting a degree in accounting.  Thus, we elected not to stay with her during our visit.  We spent a few evenings and the week-end with them.  We spent a day at Oatland Island Wildlife Center, where we had a very leisurely stroll on the path that leads from outdoor pen to outdoor pen.  Barb spent an afternoon teaching Kristen and Abigail to make Abigail's favorite treat -- banana bread.  The visit was much too short.

Granddaughter Abigail

Barb and daughter Danielle

Barb and Kristen

Abby posing

Abigail, Danielle and Kristen at Oatland Island

Chuck and girls at Oatland Island

Have you ever seen a cross-eyed possum? He can be found at Oatland Island.

Sand Hill Crane

Ibis

Wolf

Fox sunning on a cool day
Visit to our former home in Richmond Hil

One afternoon we took our rental car out to our old stomping grounds along the Ogeechee River south of Savannah.   We have been gone long enough for there to be significant changes. The Fort McAllister Marina has new owners that have fixed up the place:  there are new docks that reach half way out into the river and there is a new restaurant on the premises.  All very nice!  Our former home is in horrible shape:  it has never been occupied by the buyers (they got divorced soon after purchasing it) and is now being rented.  The lawn was is in abysmal shape and the wood trim and doors on the house were green with algae.   The dock seemed in good shape, but the bulkhead is suffering from a lack of rip-rap and is already bulging out a bit.  It was quite depressing to see it since we had lived there for 18 years.  Barb says she will never go out there again. 

We stopped to chat briefly with our old biking buddy Dick Kent, and learned that the condo complex upstream on the river, the very same complex that we nearly bought into when we sold our house, that complex has gone bankrupt.  Further, many of the units within the complex have been foreclosed because they were bought as an investment.  Whew!  We were lucky to have gotten out of that and to have decided to be house-free and full-time cruisers back in 2005.

Reunion with Mostly Mathematicians

Friend and ex-colleague Dick Munson put together a reunion of former colleagues from the no-longer-existent department that combined mathematics and computer science.   We met at Applebee's, in a resurrection of our Friday afternoon get-togethers that were tongue-in-cheek called "Fluid Dynamics Seminars".   I had all my cameras out in the car, and Barb had her new camera in the restaurant, but we had so much fun getting caught up with everyone that we forgot to take any pictures!

Lunch with Computer Scientists

Joy is not yet retired -- silly woman -- and Spring Semester was just getting underway, so she was able to put out the word and organize a lunch with all of my former colleagues in the Department of Computer Science.   That was fun too, but I had a string around my finger and so didn't forget to take some pictures.

Joy, Hong and Kam

Hongjun, Ashran and Steve

Steve, Daniel, Chuck and Joy
Lunch with Southern Company Employees

Barb made  a lunch date of her own with some of her former colleagues and got caught with them and the happenings at Southern Company.  One of those colleagues is Mike, who hosts our website -- thanks Mike!  He is going to help us upgrade our web technology.  We have used Microsoft FrontPage all these years and are soon going to switch to WordPress.  We've got a bit of a learning curve ahead, so bear with us. 

Mike, Anna, Paul, Brian, and Steve
Departure from Savannah Airport

My new knee without fail triggers the metal detectors in airport security, so I now get the thrill of having full-body pat downs.  Yippy!  Barb asked for and received permission to take the picture, but then was scolded by another employee.  "Absolutely no pictures!"   But they forgot to insist that she erase the one she had taken.   :-)

Getting ready for some real fun!

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