There’s nothing I love more than introducing my son to new locations. Having lived in this area since I was 8, I sometimes forget all that there is to see. One of my favorite places has always been Fort Pulaski.
Growing up on Tybee, my mom used to take a couple friends of mine and me over to the Fort and leave us until it was closing time. We would entertain ourselves climbing the battery, running around the grounds, and hiding in the bunkers in the tunnels and try to scare tourists (many of them did not have lights in them back then). So I was real excited to take Ian and his friend, Carter (who was born 6 days before my little Doodle) and Carter’s mom, Stacy, for an afternoon of mommy and son time.
We love hiking the trails around the Fort, and with two little ones, decided to head over to the battery that doesn’t get quite the amount of traffic as the Fort. It’s a great place for two toddlers to terrorize without disturbing too much peace. Ian and Carter immediately took to climbing everything they could, first the steps then the mound. My little precious bundle saw fit to throw a tantrum anytime I tried to stop his high climbing efforts. I threatened to photograph it for his future girlfriend, and since he didn’t believe me, I fired two shots with the Pentax. He was off the ground shortly after that.
After a nice run of the battery, we headed into the Fort, toddlers secured so there would be no moat diving. Turns out, it was cannon firing day. Ian, of course, had no interest in the cannons but thought it was fun to run in and out of the open rooms to see just how many tourists he could trip. However, his bravery was brought to a halt with the first cannon firing. After that, mom had to learn how to shoot her camera in one hand while holding the tot with the other arm.
If you haven’t been to Fort Pulaski in awhile, I highly recommend you go visit. It’s just $5 per adult, and the admission is good for the next 6 days. Not only that, but you’ll find so many great opportunities to photograph (though if you have a tot, I highly recommend an extra pair of hands if you want to try any fun shooting techniques).
