Savannah, Day 4, Part 3, Tybee Island Beach

This is a continuation of a travel series to Savannah, Georgia.  If you'd like to start at the beginning, go HERE.  The rest of the posts in consecutive order are HERE,  HERE,  HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

On our last day in Savannah, we went to Tybee Island.  We spent the morning at Fort Pulaski, had lunch at The Crab Shack, and then we headed to the beach. 

We first stopped at North Beach which had the cutest lighthouse and light keepers cottage.  It is so charming, isn't it?  The lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse in Georgia, built in 1736.  It is 145 stories tall and actually has three light keepers cottages nearby.  You can tour the lighthouse, museum, and military battery for $15.00.  Because we just toured Ft. Pulaski we did not take the tour;  we wanted to save some time for the beach!

Right across the street from the lighthouse is the 1899 Military Battery.  It also houses the Tybee Island Museum.

You can also access Tybee Island North Beach from this area.  We stopped briefly at the North Beach and we also went to Tybee Island Beach.  Both are very nice, but North Beach is much more secluded and less developed.

I was so happy I wore this dress on the day we went to the beach.  I loved the way the wind whipped it up into the air.  It barely got wet, because the wind was always lifting it.

We found this sea creature laying on the beach.  We were not quite sure what it was, some type of sting ray?

My favorite part of the beach is always bird watching.  I just love all the different types of birds at the ocean.

 Next we drove down farther to Tybee Island Beach.  This area is much more developed and where more of the action is.  It's still quite small in comparison to other beach towns, but we liked it that way.  It was very quaint.

This is the main drag across from the ocean where all the gift shops and restaurants are located.

The best part of Tybee Island is that they have a free public pier.  You would be surprised at how many beach communities we've been to that don't have a free pier.  Most have a fee required to walk on or fish from.

 At the start of this piers this large, octagon pavilion where food is served and music is performed.

We had the exciting experience of watching some fisherman catch and release this large sting ray.

This picture was taken from the pier looking back at the beach.   You can see how much more developed it is that North Beach.

I love to see Pelicans flying in the air.

After spending some time on the beach and pier and visiting a few gift shops, we got back in the car and drove around a bit.  We loved all the gorgeous beach homes.  Most of these are available to rent for tourists.

 And finally, I have a funny story to share.  The entire time we were in Savannah my husband wanted a fish fry.  Now Savannah is filled with seafood restaurants, but we couldn't find a fish fry on any of the menus.  I don't know why.  We saw a lot of "Shrimp and Grits" and stuff like that, but no traditional fish fry.  Well, when we stopped at The Visitor Center there was a sign advertising Fish Fries at the American Legion Post.  It said "All Are Welcome", so we went and finally had our fish fry; and it was delicious!

We laughed and laughed through the entire meal.  We said that only we would end up at an American Legion post for dinner on a vacation instead of a fancy restaurant.  And the funniest part was when we left we saw a truck from The Crab Shack outside.  They catered the fish fry!  No wonder it was so good!

It was the best Fish Fry I've had in my life.  It was lightly breaded, so I could really taste the fish and not the breading.  And it tasted so fresh, like it was caught that day!

And this concludes my Savannah travel series.  Our next vacation will be in September where we will be headed to South Dakota to explore the Black Hills, the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, and much more.  In the mean time, I will share a few local adventures we've had this summer.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Savannah, Day 4, Part 2, Tybee Island: The Crab Shack

This is a continuation of a travel series to Savannah, Georgia.  If you'd like to start at the beginning, go HERE.  The rest of the posts in consecutive order are HERE,  HERE,  HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

On Day Four of our vacation to Savannah we went to Tybee Island to spend the day.  It was one of the nicest, happiest days of our vacation.  I think because my husband and I are nature lovers at heart,  anytime we are in nature, we are happy.  We spent the morning at Fort Pulaski, which I reviewed in last week's travel post in case you missed it.  Then we headed out for lunch at The Crab Shack!  This was such a fun and quirky place, I decided to devote an entire travel post to it.

A giant crab greets you as you enter The Crab Shack grounds.

And this giant fish tells you where you can find your hostess!

The Crab Shack is just that:  a Shack.  Or shall I say, "Shacks".  It's more like a bunch of hastily thrown together buildings open to the air that would probably topple over in a good wind storm.  It can be confusing where to park your car (we wondered what was the legal parking as there were no markings anywhere and cars seemed to parked everywhere on the dirt lot) and even find your way around the grounds.  Thanks goodness for lots of colorful signs to lead the way!

They definitely play up the marine theme with lots of alligators, fish, crabs and all the sea life you can imagine decorating the walls and every nook and cranny.

The majority of the dining is outdoors under a canopy of oak trees.  It was very primitive, in a cute "Giligan's Island" sort of way.  Aren't the bushel basket light fixtures delightful?  Another fun (and practical) idea they had was to have a big hole cut out of every table.  Underneath the hole was a large garbage can:  perfect for easy clean up and tossing crab leg bones into.

We ordered a light lunch.  We tried two different types of soup;  "Shack Crab Stew" and "Clam Chowder":   both were delicious.  I had the "1/4 lb of shrimp served in the shell" and my husband had the "Deviled Crab".  Both were very tasty, however the portions were small for $8.99.  Hubby was still hungry, so we split a slice of peach cobbler.  Also very good.

After we ate, we walked around a bit to check the place out.  We loved this "Gilligan's Island" type sink for the guests to wash their hands after they ate.

 My favorite part of this restaurant was the outdoor cats they had running around.  A sign said "Please don't feed our cats.  They are well fed."  It also said they were spayed/neutered and up to date on their shots, but this sweetheart looked very pregnant to me!

The cats walked all around the dining tables.  Being a cat lover, I was in heaven, but I could tell one guest didn't care for it at all for she sat up in her chair every time one walked by.  When I told my daughter about the cats she thought that was odd because so many people don't like cats or are allergic to them.  I said they probably keep the rat population down with all the dining and cooking being outdoors.

My silly husband always likes to do funny poses when he sees statues like this.  Then he makes me take his picture. haha!  

The Crab Shack is located right on the back waters of the ocean.  All the outdoor seating has a water view.  I love how the place was decked off around all the oak trees.  No umbrellas are needed, the trees provide all the shade you need.

There is one building that is somewhat indoors.  It's just a crude structure with a roof and open windows.  There is plastic on the windows that can come down in severe windows.

The Crab Shack also has an Alligator Lagoon.  You can look at the alligators for free, but you can also feed them for $3.00

Of course hubby had to strike a silly pose with an alligator statue again.

The Crab Shack is such a fun place to explore.  Definitely a place to stop if you have kids, or are a kid at heart yourself.

We enjoyed walking around looking at all the fun, quirky stuff so much.  I bet it's really pretty after dark too because they had a lot of lights set up!

If you ever get to Tybee Island, I highly recommend checking this place out.  It's a lot of fun!

Next week I will be finishing my Savannah travel series with my last post of Tybee Island:  Tybee Beach.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!