Georgia on My Mind (7)

Savannah to Hilton Head to Savannah

After leaving Dublin and driving a few more hours, we arrived in Savannah. We made our way to the Savannah Marriott Riverfront and enjoyed our river view (although through windows that needed cleaning!) before we set out to explore Savannah. Because it was so hot, we waited and took the last local ferry (a very short ride) to the commercial waterfront area with restaurants and shops and then leisurely walked back after dinner. We were last in Savannah 20+ years ago. We had purchased a boat in Fort Lauderdale and in taking it back to the Chesapeake, one of our stops was Savannah.

Just a bit of history. . .General James Edward Oglethorpe was granted a charter by the king of England to found a colony, Savannah, for the purpose of creating a buffer for Charleston from the Spanish. Oglethorpe had his own vision, which included banning rum, slavery and lawyers (yup!). However, public pressure ended the ban on alcohol and slavery. The initial ban on alcohol is particularly interesting as Savannah now has a very liberal open-container law by which adults can walk with alcoholic beverages around downtown as long as the drinks are in paper or plastic containers. In 1753 the Crown reclaimed the Charter, making Georgia England’s 13th American Colony. After the American Revolution, Savannah became Georgia’s first capital until 1786, and, its heyday was the antebellum period, 1800-1860. During the Civil War Savannah was mostly blockaded, but war came when General Sherman captured Savannah in 1964. Lengthy reconstruction followed.

Savannah was built as a series of rectangular “wards,” each constructed around a central square. As the city grew, each square took on its own characteristics. Since 1965, the squares of Savannah’s downtown are National Landmark Historical Districts.

With the weather being too hot to really enjoy being outdoors, we decided to drive to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, as we were only an hour away. Overall, the entire area had a resort feel to it, a very gentile resort. The shopping areas, including the outlet mall, were all quite well camouflaged behind lines of greenery and trees. Spotting restaurants was a bit of a challenge as all was so “well hidden,” but, we got lucky again and found Red Fish, which was a local place with very good food. Having gotten a sense of the place and recognizing that it would take staying there to get to know the area at all, we made our way back to Savannah.

Although too hot to walk around, it was not too hot to drive the streets. So, one by one, that is what we did, stopping to note a few places like the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, which became the first National Historical Landmark in 1965 in Savannah. So, you ask, what exactly did Juliette do to earn such prestigious acknowledgment. She was the founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA. We also stopped to admire one of the many squares in the city, and, we just enjoyed seeing the city with its buildings and lush greenery.

Having read that what one remembers about trip highlights frequently rests on the beginning and ending experiences, in which case our memories will be fond. On our last evening we dined at The Olde Pink House (yes, I wore pink), considered one of the best restaurants in Savannah. It is located in the historic downtown area, having been built in 1771. The menu is upscale Southern (my description) with caring and attentive service. I started my meal with a Fried Green Tomatoes appetizer, and, it was delicious. Following dinner our waiter encouraged us to go to the cellar tavern where a pianist was entertaining those waiting for tables, those enjoying after-dinner drinks and those enjoying their meal downstairs. Watching the comings and goings, we noticed that the locals entered directly from the outside door coming down the outside stairs. We sampled a mint julep, a very expensive one made with a special bourbon, and listened to the music, popular and jazz. To our surprise he then did a beautiful rendition of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” which seemed a perfect ending to the evening. Then, we, too, went local and left via the direct cellar door to the stairs to the street.