I consider myself a fairly decent driver. It wasn't always the case, but age, experience, a few traffic tickets and other events can transform a person from Demolition Derby specialist to Pa Kettle out for a Sunday drive. Bobby, my brother, was a curb cowboy; always cutting the turn a little too quickly and the lurch in the air was on.
Okay, Savannah is older than I am. But when cars first started rolling around, there should have been some foresight into knowing I'd make it down here someday. The streets are narrow and if there is any kind of construction, all hell breaks loose. At more than 21 feet long, turns aren't so easy. The picture demonstrates how Savannah lured the fight (cheated), then bruised me pretty good. First, there was a road closed sign at the end of the road I was on. Next, there was another truck behind me. The road was tight already, but the road I was turning onto was lined with those decorative stanchions that line gardens and that road was also narrow. It didn't help that some car was parked at an angle on the left side, which limited my ability to turn within the space. Totally Savannah's fault.
If you've ever been here, aside from the beauty and history, billboards litter the highways and every other TV commercial is about a Law Firm. It must be because of Savannah's inner city roadways. Pfftt - history. No one was hurt, just fragile egos.
On Friday night, Julie and I linked up with one of her old work buds. They've known each other for more than 25 years and have interacted in Vermont, London, Boston.
Veda... She had arranged for a tour of the Prohibition Museum and some dinner at a place called Repeal (aptly named), and both were a lot of fun. Veda knows a lot about the Savannah area, things to see and do and her advice was spot on.
Click slider to see images -->
The idea of prohibition was really crazy and America found ways to circumvent the failed experiment. 40% of all Americas alcohol was home produced. The 'stills' were everywhere and enforcement was was tough; not nearly enough officers to keep up with catching illegal production or Speakeasy's. I'll bet the people who designed the roads in Savannah were teetotalers that got a serious buzz on and screwed everything up. Yeah, they're responsible.
We went back down to Savannah on Saturday to walk the city, and as Julie says, eat and drink our way through the town! Some places would greet us with 'Welcome In', which is a local thing, charming actually. A lot of interesting shops. Later in the afternoon, we met up with Sean, Nikki, Blake and Parker, Julie's extended family. Frankly, Nikki is the daughter of Julie's first cousin. Blake and Parker are Sean and Nikki's daughters. They drove up from Jacksonville, Florida to spend the afternoon with us. It was great. The food was okay, the visit was better. Blakely and Parker are really fun people!
The city has several areas, each with its own vibe. We walked to Forsyth Park and we stopped at the north end of the sprawling 30 acres to see the fountain. It's one of Savannah's most photographed places. It's appeared in movies, the site of countless proposals and weddings. In the Garden of Good and Evil, Forest Gump, among others, are some of the movies filmed here. And the reason simple; picturesque.
The fountain was built in the mid eighteen hundreds and well worth the walk to see it. The historic districts are wonderful, with draping oaks, covered in moss.
We even found a restaurant that is trailer park themed (Treylor Park) and stopped in for a drink. We had a cocktail at the Olde Pink House, met Julie's cousin and family for lunch down on Riverwalk. On Sunday, we drove back to Savannah for brunch and then over to Skidaway Island State Park to explore their hiking trails and camp sites. And there's lots of history and beauty to discover. One of the fascinating things is the fallen limbs of trees stuck in the mud, or driftwood, or root systems that appear as wildlife. We've yet to see alligators.
Comments