It was still humid when I got up this morning but seemed less hot than it has been. This would change rapidly. Yesterday’s day of marathon driving was tough because I figured I would get to Savannah at about 10am and would have the whole day to play there. I’ve heard wonderful things about Savannah and couldn’t wait to check it out for myself.
On the way to Savannah, I saw my second traffic accident. The first was as I was taking the bypass freeway around Atlanta. There was an accident on the exit ramp that blocked things up for about a half mile and we crawled forward for about 15 minutes. The second accident was about 15 miles outside of Savannah on the 16 West (I was going East on the 16). Two trucks were lying on their sides across the entire two-lane freeway. Traffic was a parking lot for miles. Felt like home in LA :) I think it’s pretty impressive that I’ve gone close to 3,000 miles and I’m just now seeing my first accidents.
My first stop in Savannah was at the visitor’s center where a supremely nice woman gave me a map, made some suggestions about what sights were “must sees” and the low down on the parking situation. I had actually made an advance reservation at a very funky hotel so I just needed parking until 3pm when I could check in and park at the hotel. This supremely kind woman also informed me that it was going to be 100 degrees today and the humidity would make it feel like 106. Gak! I thought I was leaving LA to get out of the heat!
Savannah is a beautiful, beautiful city. The main historic district is a mile north to south and a mile east to west. The city was formed around 22 squares (used to have 24 but the city took two over for parking) that are shady and a huge relief for the unbearable heat. It’s super walkable though there are tons of trolley tours. Driving in Savannah is a blood sport and traffic laws seem to be suggestions so was footing it (which would have been my choice anyway).
My first stop was at the Juliette Low house. Juliette Low is most known for being the founder of the Girl Scouts. She was also an amazing and accomplished artist which was pretty impressive for the 1800s. The house had been maintained from when she lived there and nearly everything was original. The gardens in the backyard were beautiful! Our tour guide was a total hoot and she called us all “babies.” Interesting to note that Juliette’s parents met when her mischievous mother slid down a banister at Yale hitting her soon to be husband, knocking him off his feet and squashing his brand new top hat. I had to laugh hearing this story because my own parents have a somewhat similar “first meet” story.
As a contrast I also took a tour of the Davenport House. I was in a group of one so I got my own tour guide and got to really barrage her with questions. Isaac and Sarah Davenport have are much more tragic than the Low family. Isaac was a woodworker but died of yellow fever when Sarah was pregnant with her 10th child (at age 30!). Only 7 of Sarah’s children survived past their first year so with 7 children Sarah was ultimately forced to sell the house and its contents and move down the street to take in borders to survive. At one point the house housed 13 families so it was completely trashed when in the 1950s the local historic preservation group paid $22,500 for the house to refurbish it. They’ve only been able to re-acquire a few of Sarah’s possessions and have gotten the house to what they think a middle class family would have had. The house had “great bones” – the staircase was amazing and the hard wood floors were incredible (I have a thing for hardwood floors) but the originality of the house can’t compare to Juliette Low’s house.
I wandered through a few of the squares and down quite a few streets actively seeking shade. The trees in the squares are so old and huge that they make the entire square shady so it was marginally cooler to sit and rest in the squares and watch the world go by. I also stopped at the Colonial Park Cemetery which has a lot of interesting grave sites. They stopped adding to the cemetery in 1835(?) so some of the gravestones are so old they’re unreadable. I do like a good historic cemetery! In school we had to gravestone rubbings at old cemeteries so I guess it stuck with me. My California friends did not have to do this which I find strange.
City Market is a funky little few block area of converted factories into galleries and artisan spaces. I could not believe there were some silver jewelry makers working outside! It was so hot! The Savannah College of Art and Design is in the historic district and the influence of the arts is palpable.
As I was wondering around I kept running into cop cars blocking of streets along side crowds of people. No one seemed all that bothered (the southern way?) so when I finally asked what was going on (a sign of being in LA too long – I thought it was for a film shoot!) I was kind of surprised to hear that there was a bomb threat in the courthouse! I have to say the Savannah police were the most laid back police officers I’ve ever seen! When I asked one of them if I could still get around to a museum I wanted to visit he said “Ma’am, I sure don’t know, but you can try and if you can, you can and if you can’t, you can’t.”!! (Say this in your head with a beautiful southern drawl.) At one point I observed a big group of cops gathering for a Coke break. Either the bomb threat was no big deal or the south really is different!
One of the more air conditioned tourism adventures was a visit to the Telfair Museum of Art. In addition to having wonderful air conditioning :) they had just a few small galleries of some interesting collections, including a collection of private works owned by a Savannah native and former head curator of the Met in NYC and a collection of photographs and mixed media objects of an Alabama native and current DC resident who left Alabama to get a better perspective on his home state.
The Riverfront District is about a half-mile long with historic buildings now housing touristy shops on the first level. The Savannah River is beautiful! There were a couple of dudes jet skiing and it was about all I could do to keep from jumping in too! Despite it being so hot I tortured myself with more strolling around, visiting squares and Forsyth Park, Savannah’s version of NYC’s Central Park. I was probably sweating from every pore of my body but I couldn’t help myself. Despite only spending a few hours in Savannah, I have totally fallen in love with this charming city! I can’t wait to return and spend more time here! In November.
Philosophical question of the day: what's the deal with pralines?? They are made and sold all over Savannah and candy shops have clerks stand outside with sample to try to lure you in. As best as I can tell they're made of butter, brown sugar and pecans and super super sweet. Not sure if I can see the appeal . . .
Total miles for today: 125.7
On the way to Savannah, I saw my second traffic accident. The first was as I was taking the bypass freeway around Atlanta. There was an accident on the exit ramp that blocked things up for about a half mile and we crawled forward for about 15 minutes. The second accident was about 15 miles outside of Savannah on the 16 West (I was going East on the 16). Two trucks were lying on their sides across the entire two-lane freeway. Traffic was a parking lot for miles. Felt like home in LA :) I think it’s pretty impressive that I’ve gone close to 3,000 miles and I’m just now seeing my first accidents.
My first stop in Savannah was at the visitor’s center where a supremely nice woman gave me a map, made some suggestions about what sights were “must sees” and the low down on the parking situation. I had actually made an advance reservation at a very funky hotel so I just needed parking until 3pm when I could check in and park at the hotel. This supremely kind woman also informed me that it was going to be 100 degrees today and the humidity would make it feel like 106. Gak! I thought I was leaving LA to get out of the heat!
Savannah is a beautiful, beautiful city. The main historic district is a mile north to south and a mile east to west. The city was formed around 22 squares (used to have 24 but the city took two over for parking) that are shady and a huge relief for the unbearable heat. It’s super walkable though there are tons of trolley tours. Driving in Savannah is a blood sport and traffic laws seem to be suggestions so was footing it (which would have been my choice anyway).
My first stop was at the Juliette Low house. Juliette Low is most known for being the founder of the Girl Scouts. She was also an amazing and accomplished artist which was pretty impressive for the 1800s. The house had been maintained from when she lived there and nearly everything was original. The gardens in the backyard were beautiful! Our tour guide was a total hoot and she called us all “babies.” Interesting to note that Juliette’s parents met when her mischievous mother slid down a banister at Yale hitting her soon to be husband, knocking him off his feet and squashing his brand new top hat. I had to laugh hearing this story because my own parents have a somewhat similar “first meet” story.
As a contrast I also took a tour of the Davenport House. I was in a group of one so I got my own tour guide and got to really barrage her with questions. Isaac and Sarah Davenport have are much more tragic than the Low family. Isaac was a woodworker but died of yellow fever when Sarah was pregnant with her 10th child (at age 30!). Only 7 of Sarah’s children survived past their first year so with 7 children Sarah was ultimately forced to sell the house and its contents and move down the street to take in borders to survive. At one point the house housed 13 families so it was completely trashed when in the 1950s the local historic preservation group paid $22,500 for the house to refurbish it. They’ve only been able to re-acquire a few of Sarah’s possessions and have gotten the house to what they think a middle class family would have had. The house had “great bones” – the staircase was amazing and the hard wood floors were incredible (I have a thing for hardwood floors) but the originality of the house can’t compare to Juliette Low’s house.
I wandered through a few of the squares and down quite a few streets actively seeking shade. The trees in the squares are so old and huge that they make the entire square shady so it was marginally cooler to sit and rest in the squares and watch the world go by. I also stopped at the Colonial Park Cemetery which has a lot of interesting grave sites. They stopped adding to the cemetery in 1835(?) so some of the gravestones are so old they’re unreadable. I do like a good historic cemetery! In school we had to gravestone rubbings at old cemeteries so I guess it stuck with me. My California friends did not have to do this which I find strange.
City Market is a funky little few block area of converted factories into galleries and artisan spaces. I could not believe there were some silver jewelry makers working outside! It was so hot! The Savannah College of Art and Design is in the historic district and the influence of the arts is palpable.As I was wondering around I kept running into cop cars blocking of streets along side crowds of people. No one seemed all that bothered (the southern way?) so when I finally asked what was going on (a sign of being in LA too long – I thought it was for a film shoot!) I was kind of surprised to hear that there was a bomb threat in the courthouse! I have to say the Savannah police were the most laid back police officers I’ve ever seen! When I asked one of them if I could still get around to a museum I wanted to visit he said “Ma’am, I sure don’t know, but you can try and if you can, you can and if you can’t, you can’t.”!! (Say this in your head with a beautiful southern drawl.) At one point I observed a big group of cops gathering for a Coke break. Either the bomb threat was no big deal or the south really is different!
One of the more air conditioned tourism adventures was a visit to the Telfair Museum of Art. In addition to having wonderful air conditioning :) they had just a few small galleries of some interesting collections, including a collection of private works owned by a Savannah native and former head curator of the Met in NYC and a collection of photographs and mixed media objects of an Alabama native and current DC resident who left Alabama to get a better perspective on his home state.
The Riverfront District is about a half-mile long with historic buildings now housing touristy shops on the first level. The Savannah River is beautiful! There were a couple of dudes jet skiing and it was about all I could do to keep from jumping in too! Despite it being so hot I tortured myself with more strolling around, visiting squares and Forsyth Park, Savannah’s version of NYC’s Central Park. I was probably sweating from every pore of my body but I couldn’t help myself. Despite only spending a few hours in Savannah, I have totally fallen in love with this charming city! I can’t wait to return and spend more time here! In November.
Philosophical question of the day: what's the deal with pralines?? They are made and sold all over Savannah and candy shops have clerks stand outside with sample to try to lure you in. As best as I can tell they're made of butter, brown sugar and pecans and super super sweet. Not sure if I can see the appeal . . .
Total miles for today: 125.7
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