Oh, Savannah!

Goodbye Atlanta.  Hello Savannah.

This was our day to hop to another town.  We meant to get up early, and did so, even earlier than we expected.  Just minutes before Yvette's alarm was set to go off, a weird alarm sounded in the room.  I was confused, thinking that Yvette had changed her quirky little tinkling alarm for an abrasive honking sounding one.  Yvette was confused, thinking that Maddie had set her alarm for an obnoxiously early hour.  Then a voice was heard in the hall, mechanically telling us to evacuate the building.

If this had been a real emergency, we would have been fried.  I grabbed my phone and a sweatshirt, thinking it may be cool outside.  Heidi began putting on all her clothes and getting her purse ready.  Yvette rolled out of bed and promptly vanished into the bathroom.  And Maddie, finding the bill had been slipped under our door in the night, decided to pause a while to read it.  Meanwhile, we could hear people stomping down the hall, using the staircase opposite our door to obediently leave.  By the time we were all ready, we peeked out of the door only to be told by a maintenance man not to bother.  Lucky us, as it was several minutes before our neighbors returned to their room.

Nobody really wanted the extra few minutes of sleep we still had coming to us.  Yvette was ready first and went down to breakfast.  The girls and I followed some time later.  Of course, we couldn't eat together.  Since our first trip to Europe together,  Yvette and I have never eaten breakfast together on vacation.  She's always the one up early, and I'm always the one unwilling to leave the cozy comfort of my bed.

Somehow, we got all our gear together and into the rental car, and we bid a fond farewell to the Embassy Suites at Centennial Olympic Park.  Thanks to confusing Siri, we got off to a start going the wrong direction, but we were soon on our way east and south toward Savannah.

There is much to say about the weather today.  As we left Atlanta, we were in a light rain.  After leaving the city, it was either raining like hell, barely allowing any visibility, misting just enough to be irritating to the windshield wipers, or sunny and bright requiring sunglasses.  The weather was anything but dull as we went about our journey.

A delightful thing to mention about the freeways we took to get from Atlanta to Savannah.  There was hardly any trash along the road--not anywhere along the road.  These were the cleanest highways I've ever been on.  Also, the roads were nearly always surrounded by forests.  Again, kudos to Winnie the cab driver for pointing out that Georgians just pick a spot in the forest, clear it, and let the rest of the forest remain.  Made for a lovely drive.

We reached our hotel in the early afternoon, having made pretty good time on the road.  Dumping the luggage, we immediately set out for Savannah's historic district.  We picked a trolley service, paid, and hopped on for a tour.  Our driver, Michael, was a Brit with that nation's wonderful accent.  He pointed out items of historical interest but was also very knowledgeable about the architecture we were seeing.  There are both a colonial section and a Victorian section in the city's historic center, and many of the fabulous homes are privately owned and occupied.  Wouldn't I love to be one of those owners-occupiers!

Once the tour was over, we determined to set out on foot.  Yvette wanted to check out some of the shops in the City Market area.  That's where I discovered....

PRALINES!!!!!

Where have these been all my life?  Maddie and I went in together on a purchase of an embarrassing amount of this candy delight, and I'm crunching a piece while blogging.

One of the most delightful things about Savannah are the squares in the historical district.  According to the literature, there were originally 24 squares in the city, but two have been irrevocably lost to development.  Savannah seemed to have gotten a late start when it came to preserving its historic treasures, with some of the buildings being rescued as late as the mid-1980's. 

Trying to decide where to have dinner, we stopped in Johnson square, which, in an eccentric Savannah tradition, does not honor any Mr. Johnson (not Andrew, nor Van, nor Howard, nor Jimmie).  It does honor Nathanael Greene, the leader of American forces in the South during the Revolutionary War. 

Me, my hair, and the remains of Nathanael Greene

Another well-loved Savannah figure is the composer Johnny Mercer.  Anyone who has ever seen Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil knows that Johnny was a descendant of General Hugh Mercer, who built Mercer House, the house where Jim Williams killed his bad-boy lover.  Well, there are tributes to Johnny everywhere, including roads, signs, and the bench on which you can see Maddie below.

Maddie's bench includes the names of several of Johnny's
famous tunes, including my favorite Mercer tune, In the
Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening

Also near Johnson Square was Christ Church, founded in 1733 with the current structure dating to 1838.  John Wesley started the first Sunday School in America right there in that church.  Another rector of the church, George Whitefield, was one of the men responsible for the "Great Awakening."  We didn't go in--maybe next time.

Christ Church, the "Mother Church of Georgia"

From here, we used the awful directions from Trip Advisor to go in the exactly opposite direction from the restaurant that Yvette had selected for dinner.  Looking on the bright side, we got a good look at the Savannah River.

That beautiful bridge in the background is the New Talmadge
Bridge which separates the upper and lower portions of
the Port of Savannah

We turned back in the correct direction and went off on what I can only call a forced march that would have put General Sherman to shame.  I'm sorry to admit that I was wearing flip-flops, not suitable for a forced march.  It was also nice and sunny--which translates here to hot and muggy.  I was soaked and aching by the time we reached the restaurant.

Happy, the restaurant was the Crystal Beer Parlor, with plenty of tempting beverage options.  While I enjoyed a Dogfish 60 Minutes, Yvette sipped a Smutty Nose Old Brown Dog brew.  In spite of their names, they were delicious and just hit the spot after a forced march.

As we dined relatively early, we had time for one more sightseeing bit before coming back to the hotel.  Off we went to Tybee Island, just 30 minutes from Savannah.  Soon my babies were dipping their toes into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.  And, for that matter, so was I.  While I have visited Boston, I never put my feet into the Atlantic.

First time in the Atlantic

First time in the Atlantic

First time in the Atlantic

NOT her first time in the Atlantic

After our trip to the beach, we came home to soak in the hot tub for a while before heading up here to our room.  I've now munched two pralines while writing this, and I may have to eat just one more before laying my head on my pillow.

Having a wonderful time!!