A complimentary breakfast is not offered at this hotel, but they do have a little mini-restaurant where the four of us enjoyed a quick repast. What was best about this meal?
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| My darling! I've missed you so! |
Once thus refreshed, it was back into the city of Savannah for another day of sightseeing.
We began at the Bonaventure Cemetery, the famous final resting place of important Savannahians and one of the settings for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The girl on the cover of the book has since been removed from the cemetery and now resides at the local history museum. But there was plenty to see.
A visit to the office got us a map and little guide book, and Maddie took over as navigator. The first visit we paid was to little Gracie Watson. Gracie was her parents' only child and a great favorite around 1889 Savannah. She passed away from pneumonia at just six years of age. Her burial site is remarkable for the sculpture of her, sitting all dressed up in her Easter dress as she died just after Easter. The sculpture was the work of one John Walz, Savannah's pre-eminent sculptor, and is wonderful in its wistfulness. But, as with any child's grave, it does tug at the heartstrings.
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| Little Gracie Watson, 1883-1889 |
After Gracie, we walked over to see one of the founding fathers of Georgia, one Noble Jones. Noble arrived with colony founder James Oglethorpe in 1733 and his son and grandson after him were both active in Savannah and Georgia colonial and state affairs. Most people from the colonial area are buried at Colonial Cemetery (which is where my favorite Georgia historical figure, Button Gwinnett is buried), but the Jones were picked up and moved to Bonaventure, I guess so they could all be together.
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| From left to right: Heidi, Noble Jones, Maddie |
Next on this self-designated tour was Mrs. Mary Telfair. Her family had deep roots in Georgia, with one member, Edward, being one of the leaders during the American Revolution. Mary herself donated her home to be an art museum and also founded the Telfair Hospital for Females. Why do I like her? Well, the Telfair Hospital for Females was just that--a hospital for females. It was staffed by women, for women. The only males allowed in the facility were those born there--and they had to vacate the premises after three days' residence. The man-hater in me says "Go, Mary!!"
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| Lovin' that Mary! |
No trip to Savannah's premier cemetery would be complete without a visit to some of its artsy figures. We began with the great Johnny Mercer. As I mentioned yesterday, I love so many of Johnny's songs. He is buried with several other members of the Mercer family, several of them with lyrics from his songs on their gravestones.
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| The Mercer family |
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| Here's Johnny! |
Another of the arts community found at Bonaventure is author Conrad Aiken. Aiken came with his own tragic story. It seems that his father was a brain surgeon and a prominent man in the medical community of Savannah in the late 1800's. He started out as a brilliant physician but soon began to become angry and, eventually, violent. With no warning, he killed his wife and then himself when Conrad was just a boy. Strangely, he and the little woman are buried side by side. What? Is she saying she has no hard feelings?
I had never heard of Conrad Aiken before, so I did a little checking into him. Here is a portion of one of his poems, entitled "Rose and Murray" included in his Turns and Movies and Other Tales in Verse:
After the movie, when the lights come up,
He takes her powdered hand behind the wings;
She, all in yellow, like a buttercup,
Lifts her white face, yearns up to him, and clings;
And with a silent, gliding step they move
Over the footlights, in familiar glare,
Panther-like in the Tango whirl of love,
He fawning close on her with idiot stare.
Nice, huh?
I wish I had gotten a picture of Conrad's grave site. He had his tombstone fashioned like a bench so people could sit down and have a martini with him. I sat right on down, sans martini, and proceeded to read about him to what I thought was just Yvette and the girls. When I finished and looked up, other tourists were around. I jumped up and scrammed out of there too quickly to even think about taking a picture.
We finished our time at Bonaventure by driving leisurely through its many little roads, looking at the interesting grave markers, names, and dates.
Then it was time to head back to the historic district, now one of my favorite places in the U.S.
Here I must take the time to note the amazing Parking Karma that accrues to my traveling companion, Ms. Yvette Woolfolk. She has long been known for her amazing good fortune when it comes to finding parking, and today was no exception. Making use of her luck, we found a parking place right across the street from Mrs. Wilkes' Boarding House, our chosen location for lunch. Of course, a good parking place is no good without someone who can parallel park. And I did--and pretty good, too.
Time to walk about Mrs. Wilkes' Boarding House. It was recommended by my mom as well as by my friend Faith, and we felt compelled to give it a look. All I can is "Oh, my God!"
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| And this doesn't do it justice.... |
First, you wait outside until there is room for you at one of the large tables. Then you sit with complete strangers at a table already full of food. Then more food arrives at the table. Somehow you manage to start passing food around and the visiting and talking starts. Next thing you know, you're eating waaaay more than you expected, trying new food, meeting other people, and having a wonderful time.
I tried three things for the first time: Sweet tea--very nice but not something I'd drink all the time; collard greens--icky; and black-eyed peas--they tasted like peas, yuck!
I wasn't the only one bold about trying new things. The girls and Yvette did even more sampling than I did, as did the other guests at our table. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, beef stew, pulled pork BBQ, sweet potatoes in some amazing honey glaze, dressing, lima beans, squash dishes, okra, greens, black-eyed peas--and I know I'm leaving out things. Lunch was finished off with either banana pudding (ah-mazing) or blackberry compote. All of us at the table, including the Los Angelenos who are now living in Miami and the couple from Texas, were groaning by the time we had to pick up our dishes and take them to the kitchen.
As I stepped away from the building, I wanted to stand and shake my first, just like Scarlett O'Hara, and say:
"With God as my witness, I'll never BE hungry again."
If you get the chance and have the $18 to spend, I strongly recommend you join the throng and go to Mrs. Wilkes'. It's only opened from 11 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and you'll have to wait, but it is well worth the effort.
Having eaten ourselves into a stupor, what else could we do but head in the direction of the Savannah Bee Company. Again, Yvette's parking karma came to the rescue, and we secured a free spot right on the street.
Here a note: driving in Savannah is not as difficult as you might think. While there are one-way streets and such, it really doesn't seem all that daunting. We were able to easily find parking (this may not work for you unless you have Yvette with you) and got used to the grid-and-square arrangement pretty easily.
Ah, the Savannah Bee Company. You begin with the tasting--just like wine tasting, at a bar that runs half the length of the shop. While you're tasting the various honeys, you can talk to the wonderful bee-rista (I made that up!) who is so knowledgeable that she'll knock your socks off. Then, you are free to purchase whatever honey products you may want. Yvette purchased several things, including some little jars of honey for the girls and a beeswax lip tint for me.
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| Yvette about to enter the Savannah Bee Company |
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| Yvette and the Bee-rista |
After having all that honey, what could we do next but to visit the special salt store. This did not hold as much interest for me, but Yvette sampled salt and other seasonings to her heart's content.
We next headed for the waterfront, ready to buy cheesy tourist products. While the riverwalk is lined with shops, restaurants, and bars, it is interesting to look up at the huge buildings under which these little places are located and to remember that the big cotton factors had their offices there. According to the literature, cotton prices were set in only two places--Liverpool and Savannah. The men who worked in those tall brick buildings had a lot of power over the economy of the entire South, both before and, surprisingly, after the Civil War.
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| Exhausted shoppers |
We were running on empty by the time we left the waterfront and headed back to the hotel. For me, it was right into my swimsuit and down to the spa, clutching one of the two books on Savannah history I have purchased. Maddie and Heidi took off to explore the woods surrounding our hotel (where do they get the energy?), and Yvette hung out in the blessed peacefulness of the room.
We gathered together when it was, shockingly, time for dinner. You'd think there would be no need for food, ever, after Mrs. Wilkes. But we all wanted a little something for dinner, and we had yet to visit one of the most ubiquitous features of the South, the Waffle House. As luck would have it, there is one near our hotel.
While some may sneer, I enjoyed my waffle very much. And, after dinners that cost nearly $100, the tab of $20 for the four of us seemed pretty damn reasonable--better than reasonable.
I will miss Georgia when you come home.
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