Oh, boy, where to start! Marcus and I got to go to Savannah, Georgia, for4 days last week. He had an adoption attorney's conference so I decided to tag along. And I am so glad I did!
We had wonderful grandparents that came to watch the kids, my mom the first few days, and Marc's parents for the weekend. Thank you!!
I will try not to bombard y'all with as many pictures as I took, but I will say that if you love history, this is a place you should visit.
We flew out on Tuesday night and did not arrive in Savannah (after 4 legs of flights!) until Wednesday morning. We checked into our hotel and took a 3 hour, well needed nap! Marcus then had a class to go to, so I hit the town. The historical district there is still laid out like the founder, Oglethorpe, designed it. There are 24 squares, although orginally there were 4, that divide the streets. For you history folks, here is a drawing of what I am talking about.
Back in the 1700's, these squares (the brown one) were the common areas for people to gather, graze animals, cook in the communal oven and get water. Now they are park like settings, usually with a monument to honor someone of Savannah's history. The small rectangles were for public buildings and more prominent folks, and the large rectangles each had 5 houses for common colonists. (Can you tell I was lovin' this city!)
Anyways, the first picture above is Johnson Square, the first "Square" and the one right near our hotel. The last night there, the association rented this square and had a wedding reception-like party.
Being on the Savannah River, 15 miles in from the Atlantic, Savannah was a major port for cotton in the 1800's. This was a beautiful stretch of buildings that included the Cotton Exchange.
The old cobble-stone streets that lead down to the river.
The first night there, the association had a welcome reception at one of the old houses. This is called The Olde Pink House. It is currently a restaurant/ banquet house, but is still decorated as it formally was. When we got there, we were given a brochure on the history of the house and each room. We were allowed to tour the home and even serenaded by this lovely lady below.
Savannah is still working at restoring the historical district to its original look. One thing they are changing are the street lamps back to gas.
Later that night we met up with one of Marc's friends that lives there. We were headed to one of his favorite southern bbq spots, but there was sign on the door saying they were sold out of food. Apparently this is a good thing meaning they only use fresh food and when it is out, it is out! (It looks like they are relieving themselves, but they are just reading!)
We ended up at The Six Pence Pub (below), which was where they filmed a scene in "Something to Talk About" when Julia Roberts is yelling at Dennis Quaid. It had heavy English food. One dish that we order was called Welch Rarebit, a breadish appetizer smothered in cheese.
Thursday morning I met up with my friend Jodie that moved here a few months ago. We took a horse and carriage tour, had lunch at Paula Deen's Lady and Sons, and toured around some more with full bellys from the southern food. Our time flew by as we were having such a great time. I only got this one picture together from Jodie's phone because my camera ran out of batteries after the tour.
Friday morning I was woken by this enourmous barge coming down the river. We saw a few of these during our time here. This pic was taken from our room.
Marcus was able to meet me for a few hours and we had a GREAT lunch at Barnes, a pit bbq spot.
As Marcus went back to the hotel for more classes, I went to the historical museum as I was craving more facts on this city. I did gain a bunch of historical knowledge but below is a fun thing, Forrest Gump's bench. He didn't use one of the benches in Chippewa Square, where the scenes were shot. In fact, they also had to change the direction of the traffic around the square so the people got on and off the bus on the correct side.
Marcus met up with me again and we walked all over. Below is St. John's Cathedral, which is still in use and was preparing for a wedding.
Forsyth Park, a long way from our hotel. We caught the shuttle back towards the river, but stopped off first at the Pirate's House below.
This house is the oldest in Savannah. It was built in 1734 for the original gardner of the colony (one of the main purposes of the colony). It is said it later became a common place for sea going folks and many "mishaps".
We went with the pirate theme as a souvenir for the kids and got them a book on how to make pirate stuff.
Friday morning I was able to spend one more hour sightseeing before I had to meet a car to take me to the car rental office. Since it was the same price as a taxi to the airport, we decide to rent a car for the day to be able to go to the coast before heading home.
Cemetery for Revolutionary War vets, although their are some interesting stories involved here with General Sherman during the Civil War.
Davenport House- One of the many houses that you can tour.
Juliette Gordon Low House-Founder of the Girl Scouts
We made it out to Tybee Beach, a beach about 15 miles away on an island. We had about an hour and 1/2 before we needed to leave the island and head to the airport. One problem. There is only one road and it happened to have an accident blocking both lanes! We were at a stand still for 45 minutes and slowly started moving at the time we should have been checking our bag. Another issue was our plane tickets. Delta would not let us check in online because our flight was booked through Alaska. They also would not let us check-in over the phone and said that they start reassigning seats an hour prior to departure. There was nothing we could do, knowing we would arrive at the airport about 1/2 hour early IF the rest of traffic was normal. With the race car driving of Eric G., we arrived 35 minutes ahead of departure and our seats were still ours!
The rest of the trip home went fine, although I am ready to stay off a plane to the East coast for a bit!
