My Trip/Road Report about a visit to Savannah, Ga---Vacation
on 28th of June 2001
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The ride to Savannah
took almost 4 hours from my Atlanta, and when you are stuck in the backseat of a
car with a 6 year old and a 4 year old, it is certainly no day in the sun.
Surprisingly, the 4 year old was more patient than the older that kept torturing
us with that irrepressible impatient cry of the young and pesky: “Are we there
yet?”
However, after stern
warnings to quit the torment, she stopped and onwards we went braving the heat,
the hunger and the stabs in the wrong direction (we lost our way within the
first hour of the trip) to Savannah. We made it at a little past noon for a
journey, which commenced at 6.30am.
As soon as we spotted
the sign that read: Welcome to Savannah, it started to pour down annoying
droplets of rain. I instantly turned to my sister who deceived me into packing
skimpy outfits on the pretext that Savannah was hotter than our Atlanta, and
gave her a stern look to which she replied, “I never said it didn’t get wet
too.” End of story as regards hazardous Savannah weather.
Certainly, the first
port of call was the hotel, which was the Days Inn located on East Bay street
just opposite the bay…it wasn’t all that it had cranked up to be on the Net
where we made the reservations. It smelled of stale carpet, cigarette smoke, and
dirty overnight linen but it was home...home for the next 2 days. And luckily
for us our rooms were on the second floor overlooking the pool so we escaped the
stale corridor carpet smell quite a bit on our way inside them.
Being that the hotel
wasn’t exactly meeting up to standards we decided to spend as little time in
it as possible. So we left immediately to get lunch on River Street. As it was
still raining we couldn’t go through the entire length of the long line of
shops, restaurants, antique stores, souvenir stores, fishing gear shops, toy and
candy/ice cream stores and hotels on that street so we quickly picked a fast
food joint that was right up the street a few steps from the hotel.
Savannah
was beautiful…an antique city tucked in the belt of a modern state. It kept
its tradition, history, architecture and values intact over the years and thus
was now a major tourist attraction for big-city gals or families like me.
After lunch, I tried
to salvage my hair from getting drenched by the rain by holding my hand up to
it, but it was to no avail so we just ran freely underneath it with the children
and entered a few
more antique and tapestry shops as we could. My sole mission was to sight the
place where “The Gift” starring Keanu Reeves was shot…but my sister’s
sole mission was to sight and visit the graveyard where
“Midnight in the garden of good and evil” was shot and the house
Isaiah Davenport whom the movie was based on lived and was killed in. She was
fruitful in her search but I was not in mine. In between that we caught sight of
the house where Forrest Gump was shot in, the park bench he sat in and an
autographed shrimp and gumbo cookbook by Forrest Gump himself. (You can tell
someone was pulling our leg)
Later that first day,
my brother-in-law retired to his room while we (my sister and I and the 2 girls)
took a drive to Taybee Island to view the local sights and stores there, and if
possible, take a sneak peek at the beach, Taybee Beach to return the next day
hopefully for some sun. (It had stopped raining but it had a slight drizzle)
The line of the beach
was filled with local stores selling beach gear, bathing suits and shoes and the
parking was coin-operated…how ingenious for those who decide to stay too long.
Opposite the beach was a hotel, which wouldn’t have been a bad place to lodge
in considering that our main aim was to spend some time at the beach.
As we made our way to
the beach shack just before the beach where people disrobed to their swimsuits,
Eve 6’s “Here’s to the night" blasted from the ice cream store radio and
immediately I was filled with déjà vu feelings of my long hot summer days
spent boat riding, swimming, lying at the beach and counting the days until the
summer was over. Good times were behind me, I knew.
+++The kids played
with the sand a little…while we just stood around.
We convinced the
kids to take pictures of us too, turns out they take better pictures than I do.
Back at the
hotel we noticed a band had set up just behind it to play live
music…tonight’s act was a soul artist, a lady who had en edgy cutthroat
voice like Ella Fitzgerald’s who sang to one man on Bass guitar and an
electronic synthesizer. Despite the lack of full instruments, she still sounded
good.
+++
Picture here.
Famished, we raced to
East River Street to grab some dinner, being late of course our choice
restaurant was packed full. We settled for Huey’s (I think that was the name)
that had poor service, carefully minimized rations of food, but a tasty menu and
a very young hippy crowd. They served us a local beer that was brewed right
there in Savannah on Bay street…it had a strong bitter sweet taste that let
the yeast sting your tongue just before it landed in the right spot. And that it
did. I was tempted to have 2 glasses.
++++
The next day, the sun
was out, but started to pour a little as we got dressed…talk about sour luck.
We raced to breakfast at a delightful café called Castlebrook seated just
underneath the underpass, and they had a customer sign-in book in which I left
my sought-after autograph.
Taybee beach was
packed full of couples, families, lovers, hunky men, trim, slender women, and overweight
chunks like me playing in the water. Dark water, dark sand, and heavy tidal waves
that crept closer and closer as the day went by. We met a couple that was
visiting a beach for the first time in their lives and they looked thoroughly
enthralled by the whole splendor of it all. I took a nice nap on the mat after the
first couple of dips in the water that I noticed was extra salty, I couldn't
help relaxing after awhile, but the kids had an endless amount of energy. I
bought a raffia-beaded anklet just as a souvenir on our way out…that I donned
immediately I got into the car. We had spent 4 hours there before we began our hunt for Bonaventure graveyard.
After lunch at Sonic,
my first experience at a real drive-in special we proceeded to hunt for the
graveyard.
The Sonic experience was supersonic…the food was wholesome.
The graveyard was
closed but we snagged some good pictures.
+++ Picture of front
entrance of Bonaventure graveyard. I particularly like the statues/figurines,
very eerie and solemn showing profound respect for the dead.
It turns out that the
Clint Eastwood movie was not actually shot here but was a re-enacted set of the
graveyard…the guards informed us. I could see the enthusiasm fade instantly
from my sister’s eyes as she heard this.
From there we
searched for Isaiah Washington’s house, the search had us going round and
round in circles for the next couple of hours…in between we searched for the
local brewing factory where that lager was made so we get some for the trip back
to Atlanta. We didn’t get the
beer but we found the house sometime later but it was closed by the time we
found it but we were still able to take some pictures in front of it.
And Owen Thomas
house, the great architectural masterpiece was just around the corner from it.
+++
This is his
courtyard.
It was located in
this marvelous square where horse carriages passed ever so rapidly…They
reminded me of London streets just around Buckingham palace.
+++ A horse carriage
with tourists.
After a day of sight
seeing we drove back to the hotel area, on River Street where a jazz saxophonist
serenaded us into the midnight. Silly me failed to capture that on film.
But, I got my nieces
to take the last couple of pictures I had left in my camera of me in front of
the hotel…on a bench.
Then, we did a round
of the Art galleries, studios and exhibitions that were in the Arts Complex just
opposite our hotel, next to the live band sector (tonight’s band was a soft
rock band but we didn’t go…too tired) It turned out that Savannah loved its
arts and crafts just as much as it loved its history.
Trip
around art gallery here in diary.
As we watched the
night slip by, we decided out of a whim to take a midnight cruise with the river
boat joining the 9.30pm entertainment cruise up the river and back for an hour
and a half. Surprisingly, my sister agreed (she is sea sick) and was off to get
the tickets…the kids were still awake so we hopped on the boat, the last
passengers in and took the gentle cool ride up the river with the smooth flurry
of water underneath the churning engine, twinkling lights dancing on the sea
from the factories nearby, and sea vessels from all over the world passing us by
on our way (we waved gallantly to one or two of the sea men we encountered). By
this time, I had run out of film so I didn’t take any pictures.
The
review of boat ride here in my diary…cos’ it was something else.
Then, we retired
home…tired, exhausted and fulfilled.
The next day after
breakfast, we made one more trip to get inside Bonaventure cemetery, and the
other 2 cemeteries around it…and we did. It was just as eerie as the first
time. We found the grave of a 14-year old boy whose father had died just 2 years
after he did. They were buried side by side.
Then, we took the
long ride home, stopping at Macon’s Longhorn Steakhouse restaurant for some
refreshing filling dinner.
Savannah was a good
experience for me most of all. I can’t complain for life’s little pleasures,
wish it were Europe but that time is coming I am sure.
We
felt alive
Here’s
to the tears
You
knew you’d cry
Here’s
to the future
Tomorrow’s gonna come too soon
----Eve 6.
