Our Adventures at Wormsloe

The timing couldn’t have been worse. My wife had been planning for months to attend a women’s conference in October. What we didn’t realize was that was the same week our kids, Evie (11) and Gideon (8), would have a five-day weekend. What a great opportunity for a family to have learned how to plan a bit better. Yet, with many of the pandemic restrictions still in place, the prospects for a fun-activity packed weekend, seemed bleak.

Even though many restaurants and businesses were open, we couldn’t go to the movies, museums, or amusement parks. Our options were limited not only by restrictions but (if you have children you understand) whether the children like it. While they are generally good-natured about most things, they do have their limitations. They learned that from Dirty Harry.

So, the planning inquiries began. And due to her nature, my wife began searching for ideas. Some of them I rejected because of their age, they’ve done it before, or it was closed. I settled on a couple of things we could do over the weekend that might be somewhat fun, albeit not extravagant.

Our first activity was a scavenger hunt at Wormsloe State Park in Savannah, Georgia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wormsloe_Historic_Site) I’ll leave the details up to you, but it’s a nice little adventure and educational experience for the family. (https://gastateparks.org/Wormsloe/) Besides, did I tell you it was just pretty!

Click this link for a preview!!

After checking in with the Ranger station, welcoming two first time out-of-town visitors, paying our entry fee, we were set for our Wormsloe experience. Before leaving the house, I checked the weather and we planned for a wet, muggy afternoon. So, we grabbed our umbrellas, snacks, and canteens for just short of a two-mile hike along the trails of Wormsloe.

Since we had to check in with the Museum to begin the scavenger hunt, we discovered the park was in Halloween “spirits”. The scavenger hunt was centered around finding the “bones” of the most notable family of the Wormsloe Park, the Jones’.

The kids nearly missed the first skeleton because it was hanging above a Coke machine, but we found it and worked our way to the next missing skeleton.

By now the drizzle had started in on us and the snacks began calling me. I had found some Luna (energy/ration/trail/snack) bars that we all liked and had received high reviews for taste and nutrition. I prefer the lemon ones.

Just around the corner from our hidden skeleton above the Coke machine, was the stalwart defender of the Wormsloe colony manning his cannon. While they were looking all around above their heads for the clue, it was nailed to a stump not five feet from the skeleton. They eventually figured it out. And then onward, to the next clue.

Pretty straightforward, right? Just a creepy way to have fun during the Halloween season, looking for bones in the woods, right? No, my son started creeping himself out. “Daddy, how did they die? Were they tortured? Did Indians kill them? How long have they been in the woods?”

Oh my, I thought. If any of you have ever studied anatomy, you’ll recognize the plastic skeletons from a mile away. But the dramatic imagination of my son got the best of him for a minute. I guessed the creepiness of it all worked.

Our next clue led us to the most appropriate place for a skeleton to found during Halloween. The Noble Family Cemetery!

Depicting what we all might a spouse expressing her sorrow, Gideon wondered if she had been captured and eaten by Indians. I assured him the Indians had better taste than that.

After discovering our third skeleton of the day we sat for a few minutes, I finally got to eat my snack, and Gideon played with the crabs along the creek.

With the final clue in hand, we traveled back in time to a small Colonial-era farm where the blacksmith was at the forge. He was making knives for some local mushroom hunters. He had spent the day forging them from twisted iron over a hot Pennsylvania coal fire. We couldn’t stay long because the dinner bell was ringing, and he was off to lunch. Meanwhile, my children were climbing through the attic of the house.

After finding the fourth and final set of Noble bones, we climbed out of the attic in pursuit of our next adventure.

As we were leaving the kids wanted to visit the museum and gift shop to buy a couple of arrowheads, and while they were there, they received a small gift for the successful completion of the scavenger hunt.

And thus, and so, our afternoon at Wormsloe ended. While the adventures in various parts of Savannah continued, they will for the moment remain ours to remember.