It's a long weekend here - Martin Luther King Memorial Day - so we've headed down to Savannah for 3 nights, and although we didn't arrive until after dark on Friday, due to various detours along the way, we have been struck by the magical and somewhat spooky qualities of the lichen-laden trees that line the streets. Isabella has named them the "drippy droppy trees"!! It's actually called "Spanish Moss", and the trees are a variety of oak trees that maintain some level of foliage throughout the year, unlike our Fehon Street variety.
It was only a 2+ hour drive but we were all exhausted ... Daniel didn't nod off once, the varmint, preferring to yell instead.
We're staying at a very cute, fully reno'ed cottage, less than 10 mins from downtown.
Isabella wanted the 'princess room' - just as well Daniel's in touch with his feminine side!
Saturday, we spent the day strolling around Savannah's historic district and soaking up the atmosphere. Savannah's completely unique and unlike any other place we'd ever been. It has the striking beauty of Sydney, but in a completely different way - the stunning architecture, numerous park like squares - all with "drippy, droppy trees", and significant place in American Civil War history, along with its vibrant restaurant and shopping make it such a stimulating yet meditative place to be.
We found a great (and free!!) carpark on a main street near River Street, where a lot of the old cotton mills operated along with the shipping that brought goods in and out of Georgia. We'd hear that River Street is famous for its praline, which we reluctantly sought out, just so we could take some back of the kids' teachers. We might have tried a little ourselves ...
Lunchtime was upon us, so we sought out The Lady and Sons Restaurant, which is famous (amongst Americans, or maybe just Southerners!?) because of its owner, Paula Deen, a celebrity tv chef who fell from grace after dropping the "n" word on TV. It's not fine dining by our standards, but Southern cooking, from what we've sampled so far, is mostly fried, with some assortment of black-eyed peas, collard greens, and grits - speaking of which, "shrimp and grits" is supposed to be a local delicacy, so I opted for that. Grits is like a kind of porridge made of corn, and like polenta or rice, it's what you put with it that adds the flavour. My shrimp and grits had been cooked with a creamy, wine sauce - extremely rich and flavourful, but I coudn't finish it. (Most unusual for me, I know!!)
With Isabella and Daniel's tastes and tolerances in mind, we have had to be selective about what we could manage to soak up in the time we have here. So, after a rather heavy lunch, and a little stretch, we opted for a guided 90 minute trolley tour, which was perfect with the kids, as they'd tired of walking after a bit, and we could listen in to the various historical tidbits and smile politely at the universally sexist jokes (e.g. "He died, I mean got married - sorry, I get those two mixed up!").
That aside, we did learn that Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech was first delivered at the 2nd Baptist African Church in Savannah, prior to its more famous delivery in Washington; St Patricks Day is huge here - the 2nd biggest in the US; General Sherman's union headquarters were here in 1864; and movies including Forrest Gump, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and Roots have been filmed here.
One of the most interesting and culturally insightful snippets, however, came from our illustrated map of Savannah, quoting an old Southern adage:
"In Atlanta, they ask, 'What do you do for a living?'
In Macon, they ask, 'What church do you go to?'
In Savannah, they ask, 'What do you want to drink?'"
No wonder, we're enjoying it!!
Here's a taste of some of what we saw on and off the trolley ...
Savannah's answer to St Pat's!
Today, Sunday, we took a quick look at the hauntingly beautiful Bonaventure Cemetery - 5 minutes from our pad. A guided tour highlighting the significant and/or historical graves will be on the cards for our next trip ... but not today!!
By the time Daniel started playing "let's run among the graves" we'd decided it was time to move on, so we drove to Savannah's laid back beach, Tybee Island, a 20 minute drive from our digs.
Lunch was first - what a surprise! Our host had recommended A-J's which was a quirky and colourful little beach shack serving variations on fish and chips.
A stroll along the beach helped move the salt, fat and sugar through the system, and the kids had a ball!!
Kegs?! Tybee must go off in summer!!
The kids and I made a brief stop at the very tiny Marine Science Centre, near the start of the pier, while Dave walked back to fetch the car - Daniel's little legs weren't going to make the return trip.
We finished up our tourist trail by stopping by Fort Pulaski, a fascinating but completely kid-unfriendly landmark. We had a hard time holding Daniel back from leaping off the unfenced walls of the fort ... a short, potentially interesting, but ultimately stressful detour!
Needless to say, both chillins are sleeping very, very deeply tonight ...
Savannah has always been on my bucket list, particularly after reading Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil years ago, but I feel I would need to go when it was hot and the Spanish Moss on the trees really would be dripping!. The pics are lovely, Soph, but can you get Dave to take some so we can see YOU (as well as the rest of the family) 'in situ'? p.s. Dave looks like he's sitting on the dunny in that 'watching cable TV' pic......
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