Civil War – CountUp

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. My journey continues in Savannah Tennessee and the adjacent area to the west on the other side of the Tennessee River.

On Saturday October 03RD 2026 our ship docked at Wayne Jerrolds River Park – a relatively small 10-acre municipal park. It was the only port-of-call where we were docked alongside another cruise ship. In fact – it was another American Cruise Lines cruise ship – the American Symphony. In fact – it’s my next cruise ship next July !

(My ship is on the left, and my next ship is on the right.)

It was a chilly, gloomy, and drizzly South Tennessee morning, but that wouldn’t stop the shore excursions from moving forth.

In the morning I was on 1 of 2 full luxury coach buses for a trip 10 miles away to the Shiloh National Military Park. That’s where the Battle Of Shiloh – also known as the Battle Of Pittsburg Landing – was fought between Union and Confederate soldiers on April 06TH and 07TH 1862. Our first stop on our tour was Pittsburg Landing on the west bank of the Tennessee River. Much of our tour was on the bus; although, we were able to get off the bus, walk around, and stretch our legs twice.

Our guide on the bus tour narrated the entire way through from start to finish (pick-up to drop-off at the port), and he was an expert on the U.S. Civil War. He clearly had a passion for sharing the war with others. He served as a National Park Service Ranger for over 40 years, and he just recently retired a few years ago. He likes to stay busy in retirement.

It was a lot of information to take in over the course of over 2½ hours. I would have preferred a third stop to get off the bus and stretch our legs, as well as slightly longer stays at the two stops where we did get off the bus.

While the morning shore excursion was a slight disappointment – the afternoon shore excursion was a surprise gem – once we figured out where we were going.

In the couple of months leading-up to this cruise a “Savannah Air & Transportation Museum” shore excursion intrigued me. There was a nice description of what to expect on the 2-hour trip, and I was interested so I signed-up for it. No matter how much I searched online on Google and on social media – I could not find any references at all to this museum. I was beginning to think that this museum did not actually exist, and that #ACL mixed-up Savannah Tennessee with Savannah Georgia. I told that to a few of my fellow passengers who also had that shore excursion booked. This destination was definitely a mystery to us.

Even on the bus ride over there on that Saturday afternoon – we drove and drove and drove. Were we driving to Memphis ?

No. After almost 16 miles we finally turned off U.S. 64 and made a right-turn onto Airport Road. We arrived at Robert Sibley Airport (#SZY). The Air & Transportation Museum is owned and operated by Byron Conaway. Byron is a lifelong aviation enthusiast, a former Manager at Savannah-Hardin County Airport, and a 2025 inductee into the Tennessee Aviation Hall Of Fame. It is a family and friends run museum located in and in front of a hangar right along the flightline. There is a lot to see there – vintage aircraft, antique cars, and other 20TH Century memorabilia. They even serve free homemade ice cream.

Tomorrow on Facebook (#FollowUpFriday) I’ll share photos of some interesting items from our past that were on display at the museum, and next #TravelThursday I’ll write about Grand Rivers Kentucky. Let’s keep traveling together.