Savannah

We arrived at the Hardeeville RV Resort in Hardeeville, SC, (http://www.hardeevillerv.com/aboutus.htm) on Mon., and what a beautiful campground. Nothing fancy....no swimming pools, no bath houses, no playgrounds, no social activities, just lots of trees, large spaces, quiet, peaceful, and a very friendly unobtrusive staff. That's Scott's rig behind ours in the photo, so you can see how big the spaces are because he's our next door neighbor! The campground is located just 15 minutes from Savannah, GA, so that was on our agenda for Wed.'s day trip.

Well, sugah, to Savannah we did go, and a what simply delightful town it is! Why Georgia's oldest city is just lovely! We decided the best way to take in the sights was by purchasing tickets for the Old Town Trolley Tour, which provided on/off privileges. The first stop was the visitor center and across the street was Battlefield Memorial Park, which was dedicated Oct. 9, 2007, 228 years to the day when about 800 soldiers died in one of the bloodiest battles of the American Revolution. There isn't really much to see at the site though we understand they are doing a lot of excavation and we didn't walk around too much, but there is this 13-star American flag flying atop a 50-foot pole.

It was back on the trolley for a narrated tour around town. Savannah was founded in 1733 by Gen. James Ogelthorpe and was America's first planned city. The General's plan consisted of a military style grid with a square in each ward of this new city. These squares generally served as meeting places for the colonists, a place to see and be seen. Most of Savannah's squares are named in honor or in memory of a person, persons or historical event, and many contain monuments, markers, memorials, statues, plaques, and other tributes. Essentially they are mini parks, each of varying sizes and personalities, of which 21 of the original 24 remain. Chippewa Square is where Forrest Gump sat on the park bench telling his story while waiting for the bus, but the bench now resides in the Savannah History Museum. Surrounding these squares are many historical homes with incredible architecture for which Savannah is well known. We were told that the wrought iron fences seen around town was a sign of wealth because only the wealthy could afford it. Well, evidently there were a lot of wealthy people in Savannah cause there's a lot of wrought iron in this historic district!

Now as y'all can imagine, sugah, there are rules and regulations in the historic district, such as what colors you may paint your house. We passed this very pink house with teal trim and were told that the owners do not even live here. They live in Costa Rica, had come back into town, painted the house, and then returned to Costa Rica. Many of the neighbors complained, and some even moved because nothing could be done about it. The house is located just outside the historic district!

We got off at stop #7 to view the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, a definitely worthwhile stop. The church was established in the mid-1800s and is the oldest Catholic church in Georgia. Upon entering the doors, I was awestruck by its beauty and grandeur. Never have I seen such an incredibly beautiful church! The interior is magnificent with beautiful stained glass windows, and marble columns, baptismal font, and altar. The stations of the cross are large and three-dimensional. A gilt Celtic knot adorns the bottom of the 8,000 pound marble baptismal font as you enter the church and is quite stunning. Up in the choir loft was a massive pipe organ featuring more than 2,300 pipes! Mass is held a couple times daily, but during non-Mass times, the public is welcome to tour and take photos. At one point a lady standing near me told her friend that it reminded her of the churches in Europe. And here we have one right here in lil' ol' Savannah! Even if you're not Catholic, this is definitely a place worth visiting. These pictures truly do not do this magnificent church justice.

Back on the trolley we passed more historical homes, massive old oak trees, and the Colonial Park Cemetery where many famous Revolutionary War heroes are buried. It was founded in 1750 and closed for burials in 1853.

Then it was time to stop for lunch, and where else should we dine but at The Pirates' House, the most historic spot in Georgia! It was first opened in 1753 as an inn for seafaring folk, but soon became a meeting spot for pirates and sailors. Legend has it that a man who stopped for a friendly drink would hours later wake to find himself as crew on a sailing ship to China! It's also said that Robert Louis Stevenson's book "Treasure Island" has some of its action taking place at The Pirate's House, so rare pages from the book are on display in one of the rooms. The "house" rambles in many directions and each "room" is a separate dining section. They have a traditional Southern buffet lunch, but we opted to order off the menu. We each started with a "kettle" of yummy she-crab soup, though its consistency was closer to stew. Russ and Scott got the steak sandwich, which both claimed quite good, and I got the half sandwich and salad. All I can say dahlin', is if that was half a sandwich, I'd hate to have seen a whole! The half was huge!

Now it was on to the River Street area along the Savannah River. We got off at stop #12 as there was a huge ship docked, which we were told had arrived the day before. It turned out to be the General Frank S. Besson, Jr., a Logistics Support Vessel, one of the Army's largest powered watercraft. The soldiers were allowing people to come aboard and tour, but we decided not to go so don't know why the ship was in town.

Back on board the trolley we passed Savannah's Waving Girl, a statue immortalizing a local girl named Florence Martus, who lived near the entrance to Savannah Harbor and supposedly waved to every ship that came and went -- for 44 years! We also passed the Olympic torch sculpture, which was lit during the 1996 games for the sailing venue held in Savannah. Since Savannah is so far from Atlanta, they were allowed to have their own torch. Our last stop was the City Market at Franklin Square, where Russ and I visited a huge junk shop and Scott bought some more souvenirs and some homemade candy. Then it was back to the car and home.

Savannah is truly a beautiful city, and until Scott remarked that he had not seen any graffiti, I didn't realize that we hadn't. I'm sure in some section of town there might be some, but it was amazing not to see any downtown. Tomorrow will be a "day of rest", and then we plan a trip to Fort Pulaski on Friday.