We spent most of our time in
the downtown historical
Savannah area but one
morning we did drive out to Tybee Island.
It wasn't our favorite part of the trip
but we did climb the 178 steps to
the top of this historic lighthouse
which was built in 1732.
The view from the top.
The island in very 1950-ish.
The beach was big but there were no
crashing waves so I felt cheated,
The day we went to Tybee Island I had hoped to visit
the Bonaventure Cemetery but I was not feeling
too great so we skipped it.
However, there was the Colonial Park Cemetery
within our walking distance so we did visit it.
It is the final resting place for Revolutionary soldiers
and also about 700 people who died of
Yellow Fever in 1820
During the Civil War the Union soldiers camped here
and changed some of the dates and names
on the tombstones and moved them around.
The whole back wall of the cemetery had these stones
that no one knows where they belong.
Although Savannah is 20 minutes away from the ocean,
they are on the river and they have a kind of 'river walk'
with shops and restaurants along the way.
This is Huey's where we had lunch along the river one day.
Goose Feathers was our favorite breakfast/bakery spot.
And of course we had to eat at Lady & Sons.
The food was good but nothing spectacular.
You have to make a reservation early in the day and
when you show up they tell you to go across the
street and wait until they call your name.
This is about half of the crowd waiting for the 5:00 seating.
We had a great lunch at Six Pence - an English pub.
Julia Roberts fans might recognize it from one
of her movies. I don't remember the name
but she stood looking in the window at her husband
with a baby in her arms.
We spent most of our time wandering the area which was
built in grids with 22 city park 'squares'.
It was modeled with an European flair.
This is a huge cathedral which was started before 1850.
Pretty fancy.
We didn't eat at every restaurant or tour every home
but we loved just wandering from square to square
and taking in the sights.
With this picture think Forest Gump-
remember the feather floating down?
This is the square where he sat waiting for the bus.
You'll notice there is no bench - it's in a museum
because they were afraid it would be vandalized if left out.
But we did get to see Forest -
This is the City Market - more little shops
and restaurants. This is across the square from our
hotel so we ate in here a few times.
The squares were all different but
most either had fountains or monuments -
and they all had lots of benches which were
favorite places to eat, read, or just relax.
We did not stay here but this is a haunted
bed and breakfast - the Kehoe House.
We did tour this home - the Isaiah Davenport home.
Built around 1815 this was not considered the
home of a wealthy family but it was pretty neat.
This was my favorite - The Owens-Thomas House.
Built around 1816 - it doesn't look like much from
the outside but the inside had a lot of character.
It even had a 'bridge' on the second level.
Of course you're not allowed to take pictures inside.
I found the streets very quaint.
Our hotel - Avia- is in the background.
We opted for a modern hotel with
good plumbing.
The statue is of John Mercer,
a songwriter who wrote Moon River and
Days of Wine and Roses.
The squares usually each had their own significance.
Usually where there was a monument there was a body
or two buried beneath it.
This is the Mercer-Williams home which we did tour.
It was the location for the movie
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
This house was also in the movie -
it was the judge's home.
Just a few more homes and squares we enjoyed
as we wandered:
Steve was pleasantly surprised at how much he enjoyed
the city - I think he was dreading the whole trip.
It's a great walking city with lots of history but be sure
to go when it's pleasant weather - I hear it gets awful
hot and humid during the summer.
