My first week in Savannah ended with a cool and windy Friday. I had thought about going to the beach, but the weather made me decide to wait. Instead I went to a local coffee shop and spent time people watching from a table outside. March is a huge tourism month here and the crowds on Bull Street reflected that.
Most of the tourists were white, middle-aged couples who spend time strolling Savannah’s distinctive squares in the central historic district, touring historic homes and visiting gift shops. There were also a fair number of students from SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, that borders the historic district.
There are some pretty eccentric people here. While sitting outside the coffee shop, one 50-ish guy went by on a segue and shouted “Happy Friday!” Most of the people on the sidewalks waved or yelled back at him. Because I am retired, Friday no longer has the cachet it once had, but I know it is still important to those still in career mode. A little while later, a 40-ish woman walked down the sidewalk and was urging everyone who is “unknown’ to join her group. I have no idea what she meant, but it added to the slightly bizarre nature of this area.
My wife Pam and I first visited Savannah in the late 1970s, when we decide to stop during the return home after visiting my parents who were living in Florida. We were impressed by the stunning beauty of the numerous parks on squares throughout the historic district. There was a charming, antebellum quality of the city that impressed us. We visited the city a few times since, most recently in 2016 when we enjoyed the annual Home and Gardens Tour and an evening carriage ride through the historic area.
I came down here alone this time and I am less impressed than I was in the past. That may partly be the because I am staying in the middle of the historic district, where there is more traffic and noise, especially during the daylight hours. Each weekday morning, I’ve been awakened at around 6:30AM by the sound of garbage trucks emptying trash dumpsters. There are several nightclubs and hotels in the area, and I’ve heard music from bands playing until well past midnight. I like the convenient location of the AirBnB that I rented, but the downside is that it is definitely noisier.
The crowds on the streets Saturday were unbelievable. It was like a Yesterday Land at Disney World. The closest coffee shop had a line out the front door and the parks in the squares were jammed with tourists. The odd counterpoint to this were the homeless people in a couple of the squares I visited who were sitting or lying on the benches oblivious to the commotion. The noise on the streets was much worse than I had encountered before in Savannah because of numerous very loud motorcycles and monster trucks speeding down the streets.
Sunday I decided to drive to Hilton Head Island, SC, which is about an hour away and visit Coligny State Park which has a giant parking area near the beach. I never made it to the beach because the parking area was packed and there were dozens of cars patrolling the lots seeking an available space. I tried another beach access area, but the story was much the same. Apparently, thousands of others also decided to take advantage of the 80-degree temperatures and blue skies to hit the beach.
I headed back to Savannah and enjoyed the rest of the day on the comfort of my balcony with an ample supply of Bourbon.
Monday, it was less crowded so I took a long walk through several blocks to Boughton Street and then turned back towards my apartment. I sat on the balcony and read another book. About 4:30PM, I noticed another young women in the Drayton Tower across the street undressing in front of the window. This was the second time during my visit I had seen this happen. My new take on the old saying is: “People who live in glass houses need to remember when to close the blinds.”
Monday night, I went to restaurant that was only a block from my apartment. It’s called the Six Pence and I had a good meal of “Bangers and Mash” which is sausage links and mashed potatoes with gravy with a serving of green beans. The meal was very tasty.
Tuesday began with a very thick layer of fog and clouds when I awoke at 6:30AM to the noise of the garbage trucks making the rounds. I had morning coffee and breakfast and decided to go to Chippewa Square and read. I found another place to get iced coffee and I read my book and occasionally looked up at the tourists and students from the nearby Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). It was about noon and the sun came out and it was comfortably warm. The weather for the rest of the week was questionable, so I decided to go back to the apartment and gather my stuff to head to the beach.
Tybee Island is about a half-hour east of Savannah and I arrived a little after 1PM. As you enter town a sign says that all visitor parking is only available on pay parking lots. I found a lot near the main beach and paid my $7 for two hours and headed out onto the sand. The sun was bright and breeze was a bit cool, but it was a very enjoyable couple of hours. On the drive back to Savannah, I was stopped at a railroad crossing for 20-30 minutes before arriving at my apartment.
Wednesday and Thursday were fairly uneventful and the skies were mostly cloudy with a chance of rain. I spent a lot of time watching college basketball games in conference tournaments. Wednesday for lunch, I visited Clary’s, a longtime Savannah traditional diner that was prominently mentioned in the book and movie based here called “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”
I went for a couple of short walks and made a trip to the grocery store on Thursday, but did not do much else, That night, I went dinner at Hitch, a bar across the street. I had chicken pot pie filling in a large burrito and was topped with a unique recipe for pico de gallo that was mostly collard greens in a sweet and sour base. It was really delicious.
I will be back again with more next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment