Day: October 20, 2018

We had two packed days in Savannah, a delightful, eccentric and beautiful city. With its “open carry “ drinks laws, it reminds me a bit of New Orleans.   It is the home of the Savannah College of Art and Design, and is filled with college age students.  Actors  stroll the streets in period costumes, pretending they’re famous citizens.  In the last two days we’ve met a pirate, Robert Louis Stevenson and Forrest Gump, who chatted with us in the breakfast room of the hotel this morning. It is the land of the whimsical  and artistic. I love it.

We began the day with a trolley tour, which was helpful in giving us an overview of the city.  We started at the river area, then branched out into the neighborhoods which are punctuated by  verdent squares, as you can see by the map.

We got off the trolley from time to time to walk in the neighborhoods.  The entire town is one giant photo op.

We had lunch at Elizabeth’s on 35th, in an elegant mansion..

We took a tour of the Andrew Low house, whose son, William, married Juliette Gordon, who founded the Girl Scouts. She was the last person to live in the house.  She got the house, but no money to run it so she turned it into a boarding house !

We were free today to do whatever we liked. We took our time getting up and eating, then did  some shopping at the many stores at the river’s edge. We returned to the hotel to statch our booty then headed off to the Mercer-Williams house to take the tour.

On the way over, we ran into lots of dogs and their owners, as today was Wag-O-Ween.   Dogs and owners were dressed up, looking for treats from the local merchants-  what a hoot !

We got to the mansion with little difficulty. If you’ve read the book or seen the movie, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil put Savannah on the map as a tourist destination. This house was originally commissioned by the great grandfather of the singer Johnny Mercer (who wrote  “ Moon River,” among many others) and was restored by Jim Williams, a flamboyant  bon vivant  antique dealer whose standing in society was very important to him. He gave a Christmas party every year which was one of the most sought-after invitations in all of the city.  And then there was the murder..

if you haven’t read the book or seen the movie, I urge you to do so. The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, starred Kevin Spacey. Unfortunately no photos were allowed in the interior of the building or the gardens, since it’s still a private home.

We visited the Jepson Center for the Arts to check out their exhibits then, overcome with thirst, ended up at a rooftop bar with views overlooking the city.

We spent both evenings at the Olde Pink House, a place highly recommended both for food and entertainment. We ate in the River Street area with the group last night and wandered over later for a drink. We ate a light meal there tonight- fantastic  appetizers – then once  again  ended up in the basement bar listening to the piano player. Last night Diana Rogers played and sang;   tonight’s entertainment was David Duckworth who sang and played, with his wife Alisa accompanying him on the bass.  Both pianists were wonderful, accomplished musicians and a real treat for us.

Now it’s time to say goodnight, since it is already the next morning.

We leave for Jeckyll Island tomorrow for two nights.

Life often interferes with one’s best-laid plans and I didn’t have time to write last night, so I’ll play catch up for two days. We left Charlestown and took a leisurely trek to Savannah, with many stops along the way.

Our first stop was to a ruined church. It had been burned twice, once by the British and once by the Yankees  it is a popular photo stop for people who enjoy looking at ruined columns and Spanish moss. It is a beautiful ruin.

Our morning stop consisted of a visit to another beautiful spot, Beaufort, S.C. We drove through town, and were divided into two groups for carriage rides of the historic downtown area.  We were in the second group, so we wandered around, looking at the picturesque area for an hour before getting on the carriage.

Our carriage driver was Charlotte, a descendent of local folk who’ve been here since the 1600s.  We passed St Helena Anglican Church, the first church of the town, and saw scores of gorgeous homes.  Charlotte’s horse was Maximus, who originally worked for the Amish six days a week ; he is now in retirement and works four half days.  Part of the mission of the carriage tours is to provide a kindly retirement for these lovely animals.

We also heard of celebrities who rented out homes when they were filming movies in the area: Robert Duvall,  Tom Hanks,  Barbara Streisand and Nick Nolte among them, as well as members of the cast of The Big Chill, which was filmed in town.

We had time for a brief lunch before getting back on the bus for our next location , the Penn Center, an African-American research  center on Saint Helena island.  Founded in 1862 by Quaker and Unitarian missionaries from Pennsylvania, it was the first school specifically for the education of slaves freed after plantation owners fled the island.  The school provided vocational education for the people and it became the first place where blacks and whites could work together cooperatively in the United States.  In fact, Martin Luther King worked on his “I have a dream”speech here. It was designated a National Historic Monument District in 1974 and is still thriving, becoming  a major international think tank. We stopped at an art gallery which carried the students’ work.

Our last stop was a marina, where we saw descriptions of local marine life and I had a chance to capture some glimpses of the area photographically.

We arrived in Savannah late afternoon and had time to settle in before leaving for a sumptuous repast in the river walk area, right across the street from our hotel.  We were told that we’re very centrally located, and it appears we are.

Most of us opted for the filet and praline cheesecake for dessert.  Delicious!

Savannah will be the focus of my next post.  My energy is waning ..