Deffense Mechanisms

I’ve seen a few forts in my day. There is a whole spectrum of forts, from snow forts and tree forts to the imposing Fort Henry near my home town.

I’ve seen a whole lot more now. It seems the Americans and the British got into a couple of tiffs over the years and decided to resolve the conflicts by throwing cannonballs at each other.  Then they started a little bit of sibling rivalry called the Civil War.

The forts that we’ve seen on this trip are right on the Atlantic Ocean, and took a lot of battering in all that fighting. We toured Fort Sumter, built on a sand bar in Charleston Harbour, where the first shot of the Civil War was fired. Rocks had to be brought in to stabilize the sand enough so they could build walls on it. The fort took up the entire resulting island. It was a brilliant position for defending the harbour and the city. Except that the fort was built and controlled by the Union, while the Confederates held the city and all the rest of the land around the harbour.

It was a short-lived battle.

Fort Pulaski is just south of Savannah. It was protected by a moat, and with 7 foot thick brick walls it was thought to be impenetrable. Their greatest fear was a siege, so it was built with an amazing water collection and storage system and ample room for supplies.  But then the Union developed a cannonball that was shaped like a bullet that could travel farther and inflict more damage than the commonly used round ones.  After a few well placed shots, the Confederates at Fort Pulaski surrendered.

Defense is important in current affairs, too, and we had an interesting tour of a Marine training base and got to watch a graduation of recruits. These boys and girls had spent 13 weeks away from home to endure the physical and mental endurance testing necessary to become Marines.














After the final order from their drill sergeant, “Dis-missed!”, their proud families ran onto the parade grounds and mobbed them. What a sight.

But humans didn’t invent defense. I found it interesting that all the barrier islands that we saw were surrounded by marsh. It is often so dense that it looks like land, but on the maps is designated water. These marshes are pockmarked with mud flats during low tide, and crisscrossed with deep channels at high tide. They often dull the fury of a storm surge and provide protection for wildlife.

One of the joys of visiting the southern states is the view of the Spanish Moss hanging from trees. It has such an ephemeral look to it as it wafts gently in the breeze.  This trip we learned that the moss is in fact a plant that takes all its nourishment from the air, like an orchid. 

 




This plant is very soft and does not harm its host; therefore no defense mechanism from the tree is required. The moss itself is not defenceless, however, for a simple touch on it will bring out a horde of biting insects locally called “chiggers”.

But even though we are in the south right now, there is a cold front coming in. And we are going to have to brave that cold front and even attack it. Just like in a battle, we are going to rush the enemy. We are going to drive north into the very heart of that cold.




And shortly after, turn tail and run right back south again.

It’s our personal defense mechanism.

W

Go South, Old Man

As November approaches, we feel like we are in a mass exodus.  Besides our group of 21 rigs ambling our way along the coast, we have huge motorhomes and 5^th wheels passing by us, hurrying south on the highways.  When we are on the barrier islands, we see strings of sailboats on the Intracoastal Waterway working their way to a warm winter. And above us all, the Canadian geese are going the same way.

I must admit, the weather has been very pleasant so far.  Even when Hurricane Gonzalo passed a few hundred miles off the same coast we were sitting on, we only experienced strong winds and thundering high surf. Both were very appreciated by the surfers and kiteboarders.

The fishermen may not have thought quite so much of the wind. But it sure didn’t slow them down any. Along the coast, fishing is ever-present.  And the boys have all the toys to prove it. Platforms are hitched to the back of their trucks to hold not just tackle and coolers but also the wagons to pull them on when they get to the pier or beach. 

And one might say that there is a little bit of rod envy among these sport fishermen. Their fishing rods are very long and do not stay inside their trucks, but have to be displayed prominently, attached by racks to the front bumper.

Again, my hubby has not had much chance to partake of that sport. I wouldn’t dare suggest that he was ashamed of his short rod. 

But neither of us would want to miss any of the tours that we get on this caravan. There was a tour of plantation grounds that had been transformed into a sculpture garden. Huge live oaks draped with Spanish moss lined the paths and the roads. The sculptures were carved out of rock and moulded from metal. My favourite was the aluminum sculpture at the entrance titled "Fighting Stallions". I think it would make a great mascot for our aluminum caravan.

The weather was great for our wide open trolley tour of Wilmington, where we passed many large 18^th century homes. 

It was a little cooler for our horse drawn carriage tour of Charleston, but still sunny. Both cities had war stories from the American turmoil of the late 1700's and early 1800's.

We had the chance to stop in for lunch at Ella’s of Calabash. The original owner was the Mrs. Calabash of Jimmy Durante fame. “Goodnight, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.” The selection of choice from the lunch menu was, of course, seafood.

And we had a tour of Fort Sumter, an island fort just outside of the harbour of Charleston. The island was small, created specifically for the purpose of protecting the city. It was barely big enough to hold the battlement, and much of the fort was destroyed when the Confederates finally lost the war.

But now the cold is catching up to us, and soon we will be off again to a new destination.

Heading south, like all the others.

W