Savannah, Georgia

Following a drive of less than two hours this morning, we found ourselves in the heart of old Savannah. Since we arrived well before lunch, we headed straight for the tourist information office to decide what we should do before we could book into our hotel. Since the weather was once again threatening rain, we opted for a trolley tour, so we’d at least be covered if it started to rain.

The hour and a half tour took us through the old town and around most of its 22 squares. In 1733 General James Oglethorpe and his settlers landed here and founded the colony of Georgia. He named the city after the river, which had an Indian name that sounded like Savannah. He was responsible for laying out the city in a very geometric grid pattern, with green areas (squares) regularly located. These squares later proved very helpful in creating fire blocks after the first fire in 1796 pretty much razed the city. There were two more citywide fires in 1820 and then a war related attempt to eradicate Savannah in 1862.

Today, the historic district is a delight of Victorian and turn of the century homes and buildings. We saw many homes featured in the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which for a change were not Hollywood props. In fact, this has been the location for many movies, including the Notebook and Forrest Gump. We also saw Paula Deen’s restaurant and as it was Sunday they only served brunch today, which didn’t fit into our time frame.

The most noteworthy statue in town is The Waving Girl, which depicts the story of a girl who waved at every ship entering Savannah, until the ship containing her boyfriend returned.

Savannah has had a very intimate relationship with ghosts. Apparently many houses are so haunted that no one can either live in them or renovate them. The house below is one such house and it has not only been exorcised, but it is a constant curiosity for tourists as can been seen below with people seeking a peek within.

Apparently the house above and many other Savannah locations have been featured on the TV show Ghost Hunters. The haunted house frenzy has also spawned a related industry including hearse/ghost tours in the evening, where you sit up high in the back of an old hearse. Ghostbusters was not filmed here - maybe it should have been.

Our Savannah trolley tour finished at the Museum of History. Outside are the benches that Forrest Gump sat on, where he said, ”Life is like a box of chocolates. You don’t know what you’re getting.”

Following the tour, we finally checked into the Double Tree Hotel on Bay St., right at the edge of the historic district. Our room faced the river so we had a nice view of the suspension bridge leading to Hilton Head. After unloading our bags, we headed out on further exploration.

Our efforts at discovery were short lived as the rain once again came down in torrents. So, enforced slow time at the hotel was ‘de rigueur’. The rain stopped, the sun returned and we hit the streets. We headed down to River St., home of the original cotton mills. They now house restaurants and tourist shops.

In our walk along the river, we discovered that this is a very active and large container port, as several large ships, including this one headed for the ocean. Apparently cruise ships will also soon find a berth here.

Weary from our walk along the river, we retreated to the rooftop bar of the Bohemian Hotel for a local libation. Dawn’s was a Georgia Peach martini, containing Smirnoff Peach vodka, peach schnapps, a splash of OJ and lime. Mine was a Savannah Tea, containing Firefly Sweet Tea vodka, Beefeater gin, Bacardi rum, Patron (tequila) Citronge, a splash of coke and lemon and lime. Woo hoo!

Our waitress at the Bohemian recommended Alligator Soul for dinner, since we said we wanted authentic Savannah fare, so off we went. The restaurant was only a short walk and soon we were ordering – to share – gator croquettes using a combo of gator, scallop and shrimp; an alligator soul salad featuring the most amazing crispy parmesan cheese grit croutons; and the crowning touch, Shrimp and Grits. We got a lesson on their grits. They are stone ground cornmeal, only found in the south. A Hedges Red Mountain blended red wine, from Washington State accompanied dinner and we finished with a Grand Marnier soufflé for Dawn and banana beignets and pecan praline ice cream for me. Our meal was FABULOUS!!

Needless to say, we returned to our hotel, totally impressed with Savannah.