Savannah and All Her Southern Charm

Leg 11 – Savannah GA

11/26/2023 – 12/03/2023

Our journey to Florida starts with a week long layover in Savannah. I have wanted to visit this sweet southern town for as long as I can remember and the time has arrived!

We learned a very valuable lesson this time last year, AVOID I-95 AT ALL COSTS! Last year our 6-hour drive day turned into a very long 8+hour day. Not this time. We decided to take I-85 over to Charlotte, I-77 to Columbia and then hop on US321. That would put us on I-95 5 miles before the GA state line. Would you believe that 5 minutes still added 30 minutes to our trip?? South Carolina, invest some money into your highways!

Creekside RV Resort was our home this week and was our first true “RV Resort”. It was very nice. They had activities, pickleball and tennis courts, pool tables, ping-pong, a heated pool, a lazy river and wait for it… a HOT TUB!!! When you live in a sticks and bricks you don’t realize how nice it is to have a nice hot soak until you can’t. We enjoyed a few soaks in the hot tub during the week. 😊

Savannah on Foot

Savannah is the oldest city in the state of Georgia and we have two days to experience the beauty and charm of this sweet southern town. Day one began at Forsyth Park. The plan was, there was no plan. We found a great parking spot right by the park and started walking and exploring. Of course the first thing to see was the exquisite Forsyth Fountain. I’ve seen the pretty pictures of the park and fountain and could not wait to see it in person. Walking up oak tree lined sidewalk, there it was and it was everything I thought it would be.

Forsyth Park and Fountain

Forsyth Park, established in 1841, is Savannah’s oldest park, in fact, it is even older than Central Park in NY. It serves as an early example of public-park planning in the US. The famous fountain is over 150 years old and is not unique. It was ordered from a catalog! Regardless of its uniqueness or not, it is beautiful.

I don’t know how many pictures I took but I just couldn’t capture that perfect shot. Oh well, I think I got some goods ones though. Bill finally peeled me away and we set off to see what else we could find. Savannah is laid out in squares and still retains most of the original town plan designed by the founder of the city, John Oglethorpe. It is a very walkable city and I believe we came close to clocking 6 miles.

Headquarters of the Girl Scouts

With no real destination in site, we just started walking north and quickly ran into the First Headquarters of the Girl Scouts. A long time ago when I was a little girl, I was a girl scout for a year. I learned a lot in that one year and have some good memories, especially our trip to the FL Governors office and camping and making a stove out of a coffee can and a tuna can.

Squares, Fountains and Houses

Continuing with our wander along the cobblestone streets, we strolled though several of the squares and I looked in awe at all the beautiful old houses, some of which were just starting to be decorated for Christmas. Each square either had a statue that memorialized an important figure to Savannah history or a beautiful fountain. I couldn’t remember which square was used during Forrest Gump and a quick search on Google informed me that it was Chippewa Square, where we just happened to be. The bench is no longer here but I had Bill take my pic at the site anyway.

Colonial Park Cemetery and St John’s Church

We made our way over to Colonial Park Cemetery, which was the second cemetery in colonial Savannah. This was the main burial ground for the city from 1750-1853.

Next to the cemetery is the Cathedral of St John at Lafayette Square. The colonial charter of Savannah prohibited Roman Catholics from settling in the city because the English feared the Roman Catholics would be more loyal to the Spanish authorities in Florida. Interesting. The prohibition ended just after the American Revolution. St John’s was dedicated in 1876 and has 81 beautiful stained-glass windows. I had to literally close my mouth as I was standing there, it was so beautiful.

It was time to start making our way back to the jeep. My poor legs and feet were tired but I couldn’t leave without one more glance at Forsyth Fountain.

Bonaventure Cemetery

Bonaventure Cemetery is a short 3 ½ mile drive from Forsythe Park and overlooks the Wilmington River. The peaceful setting, tree lined roads and cemetery sculptures have made this a popular tourist destination. It gained major notoriety, though when it was featured in the novel and movie, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”. I read a little about this story when we walked by the Mercer-Williams House in Savannah and now have the novel in my queue on Libby to read.

The cemetery is very peaceful and many of the tombstones and monuments are beautiful. My favorite wa probably the sculpture designed for Gracie Watson. Grace was an only child. Her father managed Pulaski House, one of Savannah’s more notable hotels and Gracie was a favorite with the guests. In 1890 at the age of 6, Gracie died from pneumonia. One year after her death, her father took a photograph of her to an up-and-coming sculptor, John Walz. From that photograph, Mr. Walz carved from marble, a life-sized sculpture of young Gracie lost in thought. It is one of the most visited sites in the cemetery. When you come to Savannah, be sure to visit Bonaventure.

Savannah by Trolley

Before I write about our second day in Savannah, I want to know… When you are visiting a new city are you Team Trolly/Bus Tour or Team I’ll See It On My Own? I am Team Trolly Tour. Bill is not…usually. I think he is starting to come around to my way of thinking though. 😉 I purchased our tickets at the RV park and they provided a shuttle from the park into Savannah.

I love the trolly tours. Not only do you get to hear stories about the city and famous landmarks, someone else is dealing with the traffic. Your only job is to sit back, enjoy the sights and learn about the rich history  of the area. Olde Town Trolley Tours of Savannah did an excellent job on all accounts.

Since we already walked around Forsythe Park and the area south of Oglethorpe Ave, we knew we wanted to spend most of our time today around City Market and River Street. Our stop was about ½ way into the trolly tour and it was just about time for lunch.

The Lady and Sons

Being a Paula Deen fan I really wanted to eat at the Lady and Sons but I was a little wary for two reasons; one, you always hear of the long lines to get in with wait times over an or two and two, we have been burned by a celebrity chef restaurant before. Well, I decided to go ahead and take a chance. I am SO happy I did. There was no wait and the food was FABULOUS.

The meal is served family style; you choose one main each and two sides each then you get to share everything and they will bring more if you want it. Even more of the main dish. I had the fried chicken (of course) and Bill ordered gumbo and y’all we did have seconds! (said in my best Paula Deen voice) You cannot eat at Paula Deen’s and not get the Ooey Gooey Butter Cake. It was so good that I did not even think to snap a picture of it. I’m sure it sent my sugar level through the roof but it was worth it. Besides, I walked 6-miles earlier this week LOL. If you want to give it a try, check out the recipe here.

After lunch we walked around City Market for a bit. Our trolly tickets included discounted tickets for the Prohibition Museum so we decided to go ahead and do that next.

The Prohibition Museum

The Prohibition Museum takes you on a journey through the temperance movement to the rum runners of 1919, the moonshiners and on into organized crime, gangsters and the flappers. While Bill was reading about the gangers, I was checking out the flappers. There was a video playing with instructions on the floor on how to do the Charleston. There was even a mirror so you could see if you were doing it right. What the heck, there’s no one around, I’ll give it a go. I’m flapping and crossing my hands over my knees and having a grand old time. Bill catches up to me and giggles and then we head on into the speakeasy.

As we entered the speakeasy, to my horror, I quickly saw that the mirror I was dancing in front of was a 2-way mirror. Everyone in the speakeasy saw me flapping like a bird. Whatever, the saying goes, “Dance like no one is watching” and that’s exactly what I did. LOL We enjoyed our cocktails and headed back out to catch the trolley.

The Jingle Bell Church

James Pierpont, composer of the popular Christmas carol, Jingle Bells served as the music director of the Unitarian Church in Oglethorpe Square. The church is now known as the “Jingle Bell Church”.

The Waving Girl

Down on River Street we watched a giant container ship navigate the river up to the port of Savannah and visited the Waving Girl Statue. Florence Martus was Savannah’s Waving Girl. Legend has it that Florence ran out to the edge of the Savannah River to greet and bid farewell to all the passing ships. She would either wave a handkerchief or towel during the day or a lantern at night. She did this for 44 years. When the ship captains spotted her they would sound their horn three times, a tradition departing vessels still do today. Why did she wave? Florence herself said she was just lonely. Sad.

We finished our trolley ride and made our way back to the shuttle and eventually back out to camp ending another magical day in Savannah.

New Friends

While we were waiting at the resort for the shuttle to take us into Savannah for the trolley tour we started talking to another couple. During the shuttle ride we discovered we had a lot in common. They became empty nesters about the same time we did. They sold their house and began full-time rv’ers the same time we did. They have an Aussie just like us. The more we talked the funnier it became. They were wintering in the same part of Florida as we were. Later that evening after our day in Savannah, they invited us to their campsite to enjoy a fire and cocktails. As it turns out, they also met a couple a few sites down that were from their home town. They joined us for campfire and cocktails and from there a friendship was born.

On our last night in town we invited everyone to go back into Savannah with us for dinner and to see the Christmas lights. We had a pleasant evening walking around the Christmas Market, enjoyed a fabulous low country boil at the Savannah Seafood Shack followed by the famous homemade ice cream from Leopold’s. It was the perfect way to end a perfect stay in Savannah. We all agreed to meet up while we are in Florida this winter.

Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt Update

While Bill was working during the week, I began working on my first clue of the mystery quilt. 70+ nine patch units and 60+ four patch units. Week one clue done.

What’s Next?

Tomorrow we are southbound. I am ready for some of that warm Florida sunshine and visits with my mom, my dad and all my Florida friends and family!