Today I want to talk to you about a place that mom and dad have visited on Tybee Island. It’s called Fort Pulaski, a national monument, located at US Highway 80 E, Savannah, Georgia. Maybe it’s not full of ghosts, but if you close your eyes and listen hard enough perhaps you will still hear the sounds of battle.
The park is open daily from 9AM until 5PM. You can go on a guided tour or roam the grounds by yourself. Mom and dad decided to go by themselves and see what kind of trouble they could get into – go mom/dad.
After you pay to enter the park, you drive over the Cockspur Island Bridge into the grounds. It’s kind of a dark picture to the right but the trees are gorgeous! Look at all of that rolling lovely green grass! So many places for this little porker to play – pets are welcomed 🙂
Then you start to see the fort itself – so massive! I don’t know why but mom was just astonished to the ‘moat’ that was around this huge fortress. Mom and dad said they were the only ones there for a bit and the silence from everything was kind of overwhelming.
It was like you could almost hear the gunshots in the background, the moans of soldiers and people talking. The wind was blowing and you could hear it singing in between the brick walls with the soft sounds of the water echoing. It was kind of eerie.
Fort Pulaski is huge. It was overcast this day so some of the pictures are not the best but hopefully you will enjoy them. Mom took this picture to the right as they were walking down to enter into the fort. It looks calm but mom/dad both said that the air was heavy. They walked all the way down until the other side of the building.
That’s where there was a bridge that they walked over to enter into the fort itself. For the building to be as old as it is (built in 1861), it is remarkably still intact. You do see some stonework falling inside of the casemates but as a whole, it is grand.
Fireplaces and windows are still standing as well as the cannons in the windows. You’ll even notice on the bottom of the cannon picture where the cannons could slide left/right for positioning of the firing.
And how would you like to be a prisoner of the fort? Look to this picture to the left of the ‘beds’ they used. Wood slats. Comfy huh? Daddy tried one when mom ‘locked him up’ in prison. It was kind of hard – snorts.
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And I saved the best picture until last.
The stairs to the top of the fort.
I’m not mentioning names but someone thought they would wobble up these torturous stairs to the top of the fort to take a peek. Notice that the stairs do not have handrails. It was a great view at the top and I would have a picture to share if only mom remembered to bring the camera – silly mom. And she wasn’t crawling back down to get the camera she said. And also let’s say that mom took the adventure of the stairs and that night it hurt in every place possible. That’ll teach mom not to climb and old fort like she was a teenager – snorts.
Oh, and another missed photo opportunity mom/dad made. They saw and met a beautiful white German Shepherd while visiting the Fort. She was so friendly and mom got to love on her for a while with her parents.
So the question remains. Is Fort Pulaski haunted? Mom asked one of the workers and she was told no. Is it spooky – yes. Do you pick up “feelings” of days gone – yes. Mom and dad both said they could close their eyes and hear and picture in their minds the activity that happened once upon a time.
Since mom/dad have been back home, I’ve done a lot of research on Fort Pulaski. To my amazement, there have been many encounters with the unknown at the Fort over the years. There was a story about a mother and son visiting the fort that were crossing over the draw bridge to enter into the fort. They met a Confederate sentry dressed in uniform with his sword. They spoke to him about his outfit and the fort. The mother then inquired about a restroom and he advised that he could not leave his position to show her. She thanked the man and with her son she continued into the fort to ask about the restrooms. There she was advised that the restrooms were at the entrance. She became upset and told the man about the soldier she spoke to at the drawbridge. The man advised her that they had no soldiers dressed in Confederate uniforms at the fort.
Then there was a time that a group of Confederate re-enactors placed a wreath at the graves in 1994. They then settled down for the night and camped out. During the night, a young 12 year old boy couldn’t sleep and was walking around the fort. Nearing the graves, he saw a figure of a Confederate soldier in uniform on his knees near the grave they had put the wreath. The soldier had his hat in his hand, then stood and faded away into the air.
Then during further research, I learned that an actor that you might have heard of did a movie at Fort Pulaski back in 2009. The movie was called The Conspirator and the actor was Robert Redford.
It’s up to you to decide if it’s haunted or not. Maybe someone needs to let the worker at the shop know that there has been some cases of mysterious sightings. It was definitely an adventure that mom/dad would be willing to do again… of course minus the stairs – snorts.
Some of you may remember that Houdini goes regularly to the spa. Several months ago when mom picked him up, he was nose to nose with a cute little poodle. Mom got a phone call early last week from the spa stating that one of their customers needed to talk to Houdini’s mom. The spa wouldn’t give them mom’s number – thank goodness – but offered to relay that message. Mom was curious as to what was going on but called the lady. Come to find out, it was the poodle’s mom. She wanted to meet mom for coffee this morning to talk about a play date with Pippy (the poodle) and Houdini. So mom/dad made arrangements to meet this morning at a local park.
Mom, dad and Houdini got to the park this morning. Then Pippy and her mom pulled up. As they were getting out of their car, Pippy’s mom had a box in her hands. When they got close enough to mom/dad, they could see the box was moving. Pippy’s mom put the box on the picnic table and mom/dad could see what was in it. OMP!! There was puppies in that box. Not just any puppies. They look liked small poodle mixed Yorkie puppies. What the cream cheese?! Pippy’s mom said they belonged to Houdini. No way! Mom said Houdini had been fixed and there was no way. Pippy’s mom said it had to be Houdini. Apparently Houdini and Pippy got a little romantic at the spa several months ago. No way in pig heavens!
Well we were all shocked. I mean who would have ever dreamed of this? There was four cute little puppies. Pippy’s mom wanted my mom/dad to split the litter and even offered to pay for the puppy DNA to prove that Houdini was the father. Of course dad was laughing and said that this needed to go on the Maury Povich show for sure – LOL. Mom gave him a look like this is *not* the time. So there you go. We have puppies here at the Hotel Thompson. Pictures will follow in a couple of hours once mom gets everyone settled.
Welcome my friends to SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY. This is the time that I will introduce you to one of my fellow anipals so you can get to know them better. Some of them, you may already know. We hope that you enjoy this series!
Name: TinkerToy (but everybody who wants to live calls me TINK)
Age: 2 last October (that makes me a teenager, according to Mom, and that’s when she promised I could get my learner’s permit and start blogging, so I did – and I do)
Location: A great big apartment with a teeny tiny porch facing a little tiny yard next to a really noisy road in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mom works there, too – so we spend most of our time together. In her office.
Web/Blog Page: Mom hogs our only computer (no offense meant, Bacon!) – so I only get to be a Guest Blogger on ADDandSoMuchMORE.com every once in a while. Here’s a link to my very first blog post, Blogging Tips from a Shih Tzu
You can find others from there, using the Guest Posts drop-down on the bottom center of Mom’s menu bar – at the top of every page – scroll down to my name, and then click for a blog roll of what I’ve blogged (so far).
Except for just a few other 2-legses guest posts, she wrote the rest herself – 2-legs stuff, mostly (and kinda’ boring if you ask me), but she did write a GREAT one on the day she went to pick me up for the very first time. ALL I want for Christmas is . . . A Shih Tzu Puppy
What were your first thoughts when you met your new parents? At first I was sort of confused. Aunt Peggy took the trip with Mom to come get me in upstate Ohio. I’ve since figured out that Mom could get lost in a bathtub, so Aunt Peggy came to keep it a day trip instead of a weekend with a hotel stay in Kansas, she says.
I thought they were both really nice, but Aunt Peggy was holding me and making little cooing-clucking noises while Mom did some other stuff with my birth-Mom’s Mom. I couldn’t figure out what was going on until after the l-o-n-g ride in that big noisy wheelie thing that I now know is a wanna’-ride-in-the-car.
Mom held me on her lap wrapped in a really soft blanket inside a big purse with windows for the whole long trip — while Aunt Peggy pretty much ignored me, kinda’ dizzy from the whizzing in the big front window she kept staring at, I guess.
I wasn’t really sure we weren’t on the way to a new vet or something until Mom and I got out and Aunt Peggy kept on going. I was even more confused when we went inside. There was a big tree IN the house, with lights on it and a bunch of other stuff – and she kept putting me in scarves and things to take my picture.
NOW I know that’s how she celebrates Christmas, but I don’t mind sayin’ it was really weird that first day. But I figured Mom was a pretty understanding two-legs, since she didn’t leave my side for several days and nights. So I knew I’d be okay until somebody came to take me back home where all the trees stayed outside.
What was the defining moment when you knew you were in your forever home? That one’s easy – the treats. Mom already had my food, a couple of special beds, blankets, toys and stuff for me, and she knew that I was used to going potty on peepee pads. But I was afraid I’d have to go without my treats in this new place.
The first time she came near me with a piece of banana, I suspected that maybe I wasn’t going back home – that this WAS gonna’ be home now. When she finally noticed I was getting a bit tired of bananas and handed over the carrots and the broccoli, I knew my suspicions were right — and I pretty much figured that I had it made!
Not having to share helped me get over missing my brothers and sisters too. FAST. I didn’t even cry once. I actually love to be with mostly two-legses now. None of the four-legses ever have any treats.
What has been your biggest “Oh no, now I’ve done it” moment so far in your home? That would have to be a tie between shredding the toilet paper,, tearing up the peepee pads, and pulling the stuffing out of one of the couch pillows and burying it in special places all over our apartment. (I think the two-legses aren’t as fond of a change of texture now and then, and they get crazy when we four-legses LOVE it).
I could tell Mom was really mad because she used her bad-dog voice when she turned her eyes from that little box thing with the sounds and earmuffs she talks to all the time and caught me at it — and she growled every time she found another little bit of something I’d hidden somewhere new.
She still hasn’t put the stuffing back in that couch pillow, by the way. It’s on some list, she says – even though anybody could see it plain as day on the table.
Who do you have wrapped around your paws more – mom or dad – and why? I don’t have a Dad . My friend Xander doesn’t have a Mom, so I guess some dogs only get one or the other — and boy am I’m glad I got the one I did. Uncle Jason is great and all, but Mom’s a push-over.
She plays frisbee with me, fetch toys down our long hallway, and is pretty much always good for a quick game of find the ball under the furniture. She also keeps the tangles out of my coat (mostly), cooks special treats like sweet potato chewies, and fixes special food so I’m not stuck with those dry health-food chunks all the time.
When its nice outside and I’ve been really good she takes me to play with these little two-legses in the park. But the best thing is when we walk to a lake near where we live – and I get to play with the big 2-legses who are trying to rescue the fish on these sticks with strings. Before we head home I get up on one of the benches and she gives me a big drink of water – and treats, just for being such a great dog!
Oh yeah, and her bed is MY bed now. The ones I started out with are now reserved just for naps. I even have one on my own chair next to our computer – with a little step stool so I can get down if I get bored watching her work. Since we’re in the same bed anymore, I can sometimes even wake her up (when she’s still sleeping and the sun is really bright and some dogs want to go outside!) But not always.
I wrote all about the pain of having to deal with her sleep disorderin my extra-special article for N-24 Awareness Day. Sleeping with the Enemy: Mom’s N-24
What’s the biggest misconception that humans think about you? That I am a GIRL! There’s this great Cheers bar on my route (where everybody knows my name). My fan club hangs there, and we check in during our night walks. But they keep saying “she.” Haven’t they ever seen a topknot before? It’s not just girls who want to be able to see, for pete sakes – and my bangs grow really fast. Sheesh!
Hope you enjoyed meeting my friend – check back next week for another Spotlight edition!
Welcome my friends to SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY. This is the time that I will introduce you to one of my fellow anipals so you can get to know them better. Some of them, you may already know. We hope that you enjoy this series!
What were your first thoughts when you met your new parents? I had been pulled out of a high-kill shelter in San Diego by Second Chance Dog Rescue and was living with my foster parents. My adopting mom walked in the door to meet me, and I walked up to her, stood on my hind legs, and put my paws on her chest. When she sat down, I walked over to her and put my head in her lap. The foster mom told my mom that I had never approached anyone like that before, and that this dog had made his choice. I knew this was going to be my mommy, and I let her know it!
What was the defining moment when you knew you were in your forever home? A few days after I came to my new home, mom and I were at the dog park. I was playing with a group of dogs, running around and having fun, when I stopped and looked around for my mom. I couldn’t find her, and got scared. She was watching me, and when we made eye contact, I smiled and ran towards her, just like in those love story movies 🙂 She and I both bonded at that moment – we both remember it clearly.
What has been your biggest “Oh no, now I’ve done it” moment so far in your home? I had never had an accident in the house, and was proud of it. One day, while mom was at work, I had a bad tummy ache and couldn’t hold it. I felt soooo bad when mom got home and saw my boo boo, my head was down and she just gave me a hug and cleaned it up. She knew I didn’t mean to do it.
Who do you have wrapped around your paws more – mom or dad – and why? I think I have my mommy wrapped more. She and I are so closely bonded, and when I give her my sad look, her heart hurts. On the other side of that, I come and sit close to her when she’s hurting, too.
What’s the biggest misconception that humans think about you? My daddy sometimes thinks that I automatically understand human behavior. In other words, he gets mad at me cuz I don’t automatically know how to do things, or I don’t understand why I’m being punished. Mom has to remind him that I’m a dog, and dogs need to be trained, and it takes time. He’s getting better, though. Mom says I’m teaching him patience 🙂
Hope you enjoyed meeting my friend – check back next week for another Spotlight edition!
Mom and dad take a vacation usually every year in historic Savannah, Georgia, I thought today I would focus on a wonderful cemetery in Savannah. Mom/dad have been here often and walked among the graves and tombstones… and perhaps some living and unliving. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
The cemetery I’m focusing on today is the Colonial Park Cemetery. It was established in 1750 and has been restored. It is located at the corner of Abercorn and Oglethorpe Streets in Savannah, Georgia. What an amazing archway they have to enter into the cemetery. This cemetery is amazing – so mom/dad says – snorts. I wouldn’t know first hoove but mom/dad did give me a lot of information by phone last night.
There are over 10,000 people buried here; however, there are only around 1,000 grave markers. Many people were buried in mass graves, others have had their grave markers knocked over and/or destroyed. The cemetery was actually closed for new burials before the Civil War and there are no confederate soldiers buried; however, the war did leave a mark. Federal troops took over the cemetery grounds during their occupation in Savannah. Many of the graves were looted and desecrated. It’s said that a lot of the union soldiers changed the dates on many of the headstones. Some dates look like the persons died before they were even born! Can you imagine with a lot of this information why some people are not having their final rest in peace? I’m sure some are still looking for their grave markers wanting to be remembered. Others are perhaps upset over the desecration of their headstones. It makes you wonder really who is walking beside you that you can’t see while you are visiting.
This cemetery closes at dark and there’s a good reason. Savannah has many Voodoo practitioners still living in and around the area. Before the cemetery started closing at night, it wasn’t uncommon for early morning visitors to find remnants of Voodoo rituals from the night before. Sometimes the soil from the graves was used in rituals and sometimes graves were raided in order to obtain human bones.
And, we can’t forget the story of Rene Asche Rondolier. He’s one of the most famous ghosts of Colonial Park Cemetery. Rondolier was a disfigured orphan who was said to call Colonial Park Cemetery his home in the early 1800’s. He was accused of murdering two young girls and their bodies were found in the cemetery. Rondolier was dragged to a nearby swamp, lynched and left for dead. More dead bodies turned up in the cemetery in the days that followed. The people in the town were convinced it was Rondolier’s ghost. Some even say that the cemetery is Rondolier’s playground.
Shivers! If that’s not enough to make you jump at things that go bump in the night! I’ll leave this cemetery for mom/dad to explore.
Oh, and before I go. I want to share something I found on YouTube on the Colonial Park Cemetery. A family was actually on vacation and caught something on camera. Their video made it on the news and is kind of intriguing. Here is the news clip from what they caught. Do you believe? What do you think now?
Welcome my friends to 31 Days of Spook. Today’s Curse of the Sorry Rocks is submitted by my Auntie Sharon from Gentlestitches. Are you ready to be spooked – remember as always, my hoof is there for you. Happy shivering.
The area around Uluru in outback Australia had an unusual rainfall before we arrived last week. This resulted in a desert land with scatterings of plant life to be transformed into a carpet of wildflowers. Did I take some cuttings home to add to my own carefully crafted Australian wildflower garden?
I DID NOT!
Let my explain briefly………………
The area of and around Uluru is considered sacred. The Anangu people are the legal custodians. Visitors are welcomed but expected to act in a respectful way.
Visitors are allowed to take photographs and that is all. It is a 5000 dollar fine if caught with any sands or rocks but even so that alone doesn’t always deter people. What does deter people is
THE CURSE OF THE SORRY ROCKS.
Every year, rocks, sand and vegetation, often very small, are returned to the Katatjuka National Park head quarters with letters of apology. It seem either the people’s guilt or the curse, led to misfortune and misery of some kind and they want to atone.
So we took photos and made friends with camels. All of whom were “rescue camels” and very well looked after. (my camels name was Lasseter because he was found wandering around the Lasseter highway) When you are a visitor you should respect your host, particularly if there is a well documented curse if you don’t.
Dear Bacon – Now sometimes when people meet at the park they give hugs. Sometimes when dogs or cats meet at the park, they sniff butts. Hey, it’s what we do, right? Well we have had enough of the butt sniffing. A group of my friends have decided that hugs are the new hello in the dog world. Maybe you should join us in our new mission. Signed Hugs
Dear Hugs – That sounds like a game plan my new friends. I never got the butt sniffing thing for hello anyway. Heck, I’ve smelled what comes out of my dad’s butt. No way in this piggy world I want to sniff it to say hello. Carry on the great work and I’ll be doing my part for the cause in giving hugs not butt sniffs!
Dear Bacon – I have drawn the line. Mom always tells me I’m her little flower. Now she is trying to make me her little flower. Help. Signed Bud in Progress
Dear Bud in Progress – I know it seems weird and it is. But you gotta think on the other paw of this. If it makes your human happy and she is daunting on you and giving you snacks, does it really matter? You have found the pot at the end of the rainbow.
Dear Bacon – We are family. Our humans wanted a Christmas card this year showing our family. We said okay but we wanted to pose as we wanted to pose – no help from the humans. So what do you think? Do you think this screams We Are Family in our Christmas Card? Signed Family
Dear Family – Way to go my friends – Bravo! Bravo! That picture screams family, diversity, togetherness and being united as one. What more could you do? I have to ask – that picture “looks” like you all get along and are so close. Are you? Or was this a snap-this-picture-now-before-I-hurt-someone kind of picture? Cause I’m telling you, you are pulling it off. Great card – don’t forget to send me one here at the Hotel Thompson.
.
Dear Bacon – We are buddies and sometimes secret hero’s. Really, this is us clowning around during the night. But during the day, we are the Pig and the Hare Hero’s. We visit children’s hospitals and bring smiles to the faces we meet. We highly recommend it. Signed Hero’s at Large
Dear Hero’s at Large – OMP! You are certainly right my friends. You are HERO’s. Not all hero’s have to wear capes or have special talents. Although I have to admit that you do have special powers of bring smiles to the faces that need it most. Carry on my cute duo!
Dear Bacon – Can you believe this? There I was sitting back, relaxing and minding my own business. My human said that he needed socks and to get out of his drawer. What? First up human, mind who you are talking to and second, you should have thought about socks before you left your drawer open inviting me. I think you should go without socks today because I’m not moving. Move me or reach around me and you may be wearing a sock over your bandage. What bandage? They bandage from the boo-boo I will leave on your arm. Carry on now and be gone. Signed Sock Keeper
Dear Sock Keeper – You know you do have a great point there my friend. They should have thought about that when they left the drawer open. Snorts – don’t do anything I wouldn’t do in that drawer.
Remember my friends – Dear Bacon can’t happen without YOU. Please continue to send me your pictures and questions to my email address.
Today, I’m taking you on a side trip my friends on my spook adventure. Today I want to talk to you about a place that mom and dad went to during their vacation to Tybee Island a couple of years ago. It was Fort Pulaski, a national monument, located at US Highway 80 E, Savannah, Georgia. Maybe it’s not full of ghosts, but if you close your eyes and listen hard enough perhaps you will still hear the sounds of battle. The park is open daily from 9AM until 5PM. You can go on a guided tour or roam the grounds by yourself. Mom and dad decided to go by themselves and see what kind of trouble they could get into – go mom/dad.
After you pay to enter the park, you drive over the Cockspur Island Bridge into the grounds. It’s kind of a dark picture to the right but the trees are gorgeous! Look at all of that rolling lovely green grass! So many places for this little porker to play – pets are welcomed 🙂
Then you start to see the fort itself – so massive! I don’t know why but mom was just astonished to the ‘moat’ that was around this huge fortress. Mom and dad said they were the only ones there for a bit and the silence from everything was kind of overwhelming.
It was like you could almost hear the gunshots in the background, the moans of soldiers and people talking. The wind was blowing and you could hear it singing in between the brick walls with the soft sounds of the water echoing. It was kind of eerie.
Fort Pulaski is huge. It was overcast this day so some of the pictures are not the best but hopefully you will enjoy them. Mom took this picture to the right as they were walking down to enter into the fort. It looks calm but mom/dad both said that the air was heavy.
They walked all the way down until the other side of the building. That’s where there was a bridge that they walked over to enter into the fort itself. For the building to be as old as it is (built in 1861), it is remarkably still intact. You do see some stonework falling inside of the casemates but as a whole, it is grand.
Fireplaces and windows are still standing as well as the cannons in the windows. You’ll even notice on the bottom of the cannon picture where the cannons could slide left/right for positioning of the firing.
And how would you like to be a prisoner of the fort? Look to this picture to the left of the ‘beds’ they used. Wood slats. Comfy huh? Daddy tried one when mom ‘locked him up’ in prison. It was kind of hard – snorts.
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And I saved the best picture until last. The stairs to the top of the fort. I’m not mentioning names but someone thought they would wobble up these torturous stairs to the top of the fort to take a peek. Notice that the stairs do not have handrails. It was a great view at the top and I would have a picture to share if only mom remembered to bring the camera – silly mom. And she wasn’t crawling back down to get the camera she said. And also let’s say that mom took the adventure of the stairs and that night it hurt in every place possible. That’ll teach mom not to climb and old fort like she was a teenager – snorts.
Oh, and another missed photo opportunity mom/dad made. They saw and met a beautiful white German Shepherd while visiting the Fort. She was so friendly and mom got to love on her for a while with her parents.
So the question remains. Is Fort Pulaski haunted? Mom asked one of the workers and she was told no. Is it spooky – yes. Do you pick up “feelings” of days gone – yes. Mom and dad both said they could close their eyes and hear and picture in their minds the activity that happened once upon a time.
When mom/dad came back home, I did a lot of research on Fort Pulaski. To my amazement, there have been many encounters with the unknown at the Fort over the years. There was a story about a mother and son visiting the fort that were crossing over the draw bridge to enter into the fort. They met a Confederate sentry dressed in uniform with his sword. They spoke to him about his outfit and the fort. The mother then inquired about a restroom and he advised that he could not leave his position to show her. She thanked the man and with her son she continued into the fort to ask about the restrooms. There she was advised that the restrooms were at the entrance. She became upset and told the man about the soldier she spoke to at the drawbridge. The man advised her that they had no soldiers dressed in Confederate uniforms at the fort.
Then there was a time that a group of Confederate re-enactors placed a wreath at the graves in 1994. They then settled down for the night and camped out. During the night, a young 12 year old boy couldn’t sleep and was walking around the fort. Nearing the graves, he saw a figure of a Confederate soldier in uniform on his knees near the grave they had put the wreath. The soldier had his hat in his hand, then stood and faded away into the air.
Then during further research, I learned that an actor that you might have heard of did a movie at Fort Pulaski back in 2009. The movie was called The Conspirator and the actor was Robert Redford.
It’s up to you to decide if it’s haunted or not. Maybe someone needs to let the worker at the shop know that there has been some cases of mysterious sightings. It was definitely an adventure that mom/dad would be willing to do again… of course minus the stairs – snorts.
Mom and dad take a vacation usually every year in historic Savannah, Georgia, I thought today I would focus on a wonderful cemetery in Savannah. Mom/dad have been here often and walked among the graves and tombstones… and perhaps some living and unliving. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
The cemetery I’m focusing on today is the Colonial Park Cemetery. It was established in 1750 and has been restored. It is located at the corner of Abercorn and Oglethorpe Streets in Savannah, Georgia. What an amazing archway they have to enter into the cemetery. This cemetery is amazing – so mom/dad says – snorts. I wouldn’t know first hoove but mom/dad did give me a lot of information by phone last night.
There are over 10,000 people buried here; however, there are only around 1,000 grave markers. Many people were buried in mass graves, others have had their grave markers knocked over and/or destroyed. The cemetery was actually closed for new burials before the Civil War and there are no confederate soldiers buried; however, the war did leave a mark. Federal troops took over the cemetery grounds during their occupation in Savannah. Many of the graves were looted and desecrated. It’s said that a lot of the union soldiers changed the dates on many of the headstones. Some dates look like the persons died before they were even born! Can you imagine with a lot of this information why some people are not having their final rest in peace? I’m sure some are still looking for their grave markers wanting to be remembered. Others are perhaps upset over the desecration of their headstones. It makes you wonder really who is walking beside you that you can’t see while you are visiting.
This cemetery closes at dark and there’s a good reason. Savannah has many Voodoo practitioners still living in and around the area. Before the cemetery started closing at night, it wasn’t uncommon for early morning visitors to find remnants of Voodoo rituals from the night before. Sometimes the soil from the graves was used in rituals and sometimes graves were raided in order to obtain human bones.
And, we can’t forget the story of Rene Asche Rondolier. He’s one of the most famous ghosts of Colonial Park Cemetery. Rondolier was a disfigured orphan who was said to call Colonial Park Cemetery his home in the early 1800’s. He was accused of murdering two young girls and their bodies were found in the cemetery. Rondolier was dragged to a nearby swamp, lynched and left for dead. More dead bodies turned up in the cemetery in the days that followed. The people in the town were convinced it was Rondolier’s ghost. Some even say that the cemetery is Rondolier’s playground.
Shivers! If that’s not enough to make you jump at things that go bump in the night! I’ll leave this cemetery for mom/dad to explore.
Oh, and before I go. I want to share something I found on YouTube on the Colonial Park Cemetery. A family was actually on vacation and caught something on camera. Their video made it on the news and is kind of intriguing. Here is the news clip from what they caught. Do you believe? What do you think now?
Miniature pot bellied pig and friends - Bacon, Houdini, Hemi and all of the Rock Clan with Journalist Rocky the Squirrel all out looking for adventures from the Hotel Thompson.
The stairs to the top of the fort.
Dear Bacon – Now sometimes when people meet at the park they give hugs. Sometimes when dogs or cats meet at the park, they sniff butts. Hey, it’s what we do, right? Well we have had enough of the butt sniffing. A group of my friends have decided that hugs are the new hello in the dog world. Maybe you should join us in our new mission. Signed Hugs
Dear Bacon – We are buddies and sometimes secret hero’s. Really, this is us clowning around during the night. But during the day, we are the Pig and the Hare Hero’s. We visit children’s hospitals and bring smiles to the faces we meet. We highly recommend it. Signed Hero’s at Large
Piglove 