We spent all day Monday in Savannah, about an hour drive. Our GPS routed us on back roads, not I-95, which I always like. They call this the Lowcountry and we could see why. Marsh land everywhere.
To get a feel and overview of the city, the first thing we did was take the 90 minute trolley tour. Always informative, we learned the following: Colonists landed in what is now Savannah in 1733. It is the first planned city. Broad Street was the first paved road in Georgia. Slavery was banned in Georgia until 1751. Two-thirds of the world's cotton came from the south and there were only two pricing houses for cotton: Liverpool, England and Savannah. The city was planned around 24 "squares" (22 still exist) that are basically green spaces, or parks (very welcoming and restful). Some have fountains or statues and some are just a lovely oasis in an urban setting. Savannah is the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts , and Johnny Mercer, who wrote "Moon River". During the Civil War, General Sherman burned the city of Atlanta on his march through the south. Savannah was spared that fate because Sherman had friends (the Telefairs) who lived here.
And to add to our list of "oldest this or that", Savannah is home to the oldest African-American church congregation.
After doing the entire city loop, we got off the trolley and explored on foot. It was a beautiful day, sunny and in the 70's. The gal at the ticket booth said Savannah has 14 good days a year and we hit one of them. She said it is either freezing cold or blazing hot. I think that might be an exaggeration, but we could see the distinct possibility of steamy summer days here.
Walking around, we found some of the architecture similar to New Orleans with wrought iron fencing and balconies. I tried to take pictures of the beautiful houses that surround the squares, but, for the most part, large oak and magnolia trees would block the view so I knew the pictures wouldn't show what we could see.
After reading some online reviews, we chose Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House over Paula Deen's The Lady and Sons for lunch. (Ok - I may have been influenced by the name Wilkes, as Ashley and Melanie Wilkes are major characters in one of my favorite movies - Gone With The Wind.)
We were warned that there would be a line, but I told Mike this is like the Cafe du Monde in New Orleans where the beignets were worth the wait. The line actually serves a useful purpose - helping to locate the restaurant and the side entrance. It would be very easy to walk right past it.
There is no menu. We were seated at a large oval table with 6 other people. The food and iced tea were already on the table and it is all family style. The main dishes were fried chicken, beef stew and BBQ pork. We then could choose from the 15 side dishes on the table, including sweet potatoes, yellow squash, black-eyed peas, collard greens, baked mac n cheese. In other words, all things southern! For the unadventurous, there was mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and cole slaw. The servers wore T-shirts that said "If the Colonel made chicken this good, he would have been a General." It was delicious, along with the cherry cobbler and banana cream pie pudding we forced ourselves to eat, even though we were stuffed!
To work off some of those calories, we walked to River Street, which appropriately enough runs parallel to the Savannah River. When Savannah was founded, the river was 12 feet deep. Dredging has increased that to 42 ft. and 98% of the world's ships can navigate the river, making it a very active port. The street is cobblestone and lined with the touristy shops you would expect. Other than having to go downhill to this area, Savannah is a very walkable city with no high rise buildings.
Tuesday was our day to explore our end of Hilton Head. I say "our end" because when we were leaving today, I realized that the island is quite large and some areas very commercial and busy. We were down on the southern tip where we could easily get around on our bikes. The trails are well marked, paved, and flat. (you have to be thankful for the little things. . . ) We turned right out of our park and rode 2 miles to a marina and back. We then headed the other way and rode 2 miles to one of the many public beaches. The tide was out so we were able to ride our bikes right on the beach. We rode in one direction close to the water, playing chicken with the incoming waves and rode back up higher on the beach. We now have the distinction of riding our own bikes (not rentals) on a beach on the west coast (Santa Monica) and east coast. As Mike said, "From sea to shining sea." It was actually ocean to ocean, but that doesn't fit so well in the song.
It was a perfect day weather-wise so we ate lunch at an outdoor cafe just off the beach. We rode back to the RV, worked on a tire pressure problem and then took our camp chairs and drove to another beach to spend the rest of the late afternoon gazing out at the Atlantic, looking for dolphins (no luck), and watching two beginner surfers attempt to handle the small waves. You would think that growing up on Lake Michigan, as we did, that being on the water, or looking at the water would be ho-hum. Not so. Maybe because we grew up on the water, we never tire of the calming effect it has, watching the waves break on shore or gorgeous sunrises and sunsets the water produces.
We also drove to Harbour Town to see the iconic red and white lighthouse that stands behind the 18th hole of the Harbour Town Golf Links, home to a PGA tournament. Harbour Town is part of Sea Pines Plantation, a huge resort that takes up the entire tip of the island, and the only drawback is the $5 fee to enter this area. So to get to all the restaurants, shops, golf courses, or beaches here, you have to pay.
We left at 8 am this morning and are almost to St. Augustine, where we will be for the next 3 nights. (my goal lately is to finish a blog post in the hours it takes us to get to the next destination. I've only got 16 more miles!)
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