OUR STORY

SAVANNAH BEACH

Page 41

Our First Trip Together to Savannah And Tybee Island

Francine and I made our first trip together to Savannah in 1954 not too long before we were married. I think her two brothers, Bob and W.C., was also along. Francine and her family had lived on Tybee Island during WWII and she had fond memories of it. It was my first trip and I remember the trip quite well. As we drove along the causeway between downtown and the beach, the windows were down as this was years before automobile air conditioning, Francine remarked “Smell that ocean air”. It didn’t smell that good to me then but over the years I came to appreciate that smell.

I think our first stop was at Chu’s department store, a old time local land mark then and still there on our last trip. To say Chu’s had everything would be an exaggeration, but they always had what you needed. On this trip Francine’s father, Escol, needed a bathing suit so he bought one at Chu’s. When he went into the ocean the suit came apart. It had been in the store so long it had dry rotted. One thing they had then, but was to disappear on future trips, were real one armed bandit slot machines. Francine and I played them for a long time and I seem to remember we won a little.

There was quite a lot to see and do at that time. There was a big pavilion that went quite a ways into the ocean. We went out on it exploring and listening to music coming from speakers around the sides. It was my first trip to the Atlantic ocean although I had been to the Gulf of Mexico. We walked on the beach and hunted sea shells.

It was only the first of many trips over the years and we watched everything change over the years except for the Tybee Lighthouse and of course Chu’s.

Our Last Trip Together to Savannah And Tybee Island

Our last trip was in late spring of 2006. Francine’s cancer had come back strong and she was very weak but she wanted to try to make one last trip to her beloved Tybee Beach. Vickie and William was able to go with us.

For years she had wanted to stay at the Ocean Plaza Resort. We had stopped several times for rates and information but had never stayed. We would instead stay at places like the Mulberry Inn in Savannah. This time we stayed on the third floor overlooking the ocean. She was so happy with the view. We spent two or three days and rode