Troop 13405 Trip to Savannah – Part One

When people ask why our troop went to Savannah, Georgia out of all the places they could have gone, I liken the historical southern city to Girl Scout Mecca. Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts of America, was born and raised in Savannah. We explored an incredible amount of this city I could probably create a post for each day. Instead, I’ll split it up into three entries. I will try to be more descriptive with pictures than words.

We drove two days from Houston to Savannah, arriving on Sunday. We hit the grocery store to get lunch and dinner supplies, then off to a ghost tour in the middle of the night!

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Our guide showed us ghosts captured on film and told us to send her any we catch.

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The girls were enthralled by her haunting descriptions.

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The Pink House where a younger son died in the basement and now wanders the lower level scaring people who need to use the restroom.

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I tried to capture a ghost in the cemetery by blocking my flash…no luck. Maybe next time.

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The girls in front of the Nathanael Greene monument where his ghost keeps the square free of the ubiquitous Spanish moss.

After sleeping in a bit, we ventured on to Girl Scout Day. The girls visited the First Headquarters where Daisy met with the original Girl Scout troops (called Girl Guides then) along with her volunteers. They earned the Black History badge by learning about signals on quilts, the Underground Railroad, and Savannah’s role in the movement.

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The tour was only a tiny little room with creaky floors. The memorabilia on the walls were priceless for an old Girl Scout like me: old uniforms, hand sewn badges, pictures, badge books, dolls, camp memories, pins, etc. It was truly overwhelming seeing the uniform I used to wear pinned to the wall. Unfortunately, pictures are not allowed.

The adults took a vote and decided we would eat lunch in the Colonial Park Cemetery where the first grave was dug in 1750. In Houston, we see tons of Civil War sites and memorials and much history about the war of independence with Mexico. To explore the gravestones from the American Revolution was a completely different experience.

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We ate with Button Gwinnett, one of Georgia’s representatives who signed the Declaration of Independence.

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Pat leading the girls through the gravestone carving.

The afternoon was spent at the Birthplace, Daisy’s childhood home. We learned about her family and proper southern upbringing. She came from a top 1% kind of family and still dedicated her life to the arts and helping others. I love it. We WERE allowed to take pictures in the historic building, but without a flash. So, none of my pictures turned out well.

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Each girl took a picture in front of the old gate to the garden.

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All smiles with a statue of Daisy who is petting her dog.

Tuesday was Fort Jackson Day. The original building was established during the Revolutionary War, but all that’s left comes from the Civil War. The girls learned to march, some history of the fort as well as some fun facts about Daisy (no spoilers), and participated in a mock firing of a period cannon before the tour guide fired it for real. Loud is not a descriptive enough word. Cacophonous maybe. Anyone else?

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Posing on one of the big guns with the Sergeant.

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Priming and ready to fire!

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Trying quinine in the form of tonic to fight malaria. I think the girls prefer bug spray.

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Semaphores from the first Girl Guide handbook.

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Marching in formation. Not quite military style, but they tried.

Pirate House for lunch. The oldest house left standing in Savannah attached to the oldest tavern still in business. We were lucky enough to have a lady pirate give us a tour and tell us about the history of the establishment. (Again, I’d LOVE to share, but that would be cheating. YOU need to go!)

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Lucky house was far enough from the two major fires to survive.

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Last adventure for Tuesday was a ride in a trolley to earn another badge. We answered questions while getting a whirlwind tour of the gorgeous city. We disembarked at The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist . Wow!

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What a first few days! More to come in the next post!

 

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