As I mentioned before, Savannah is a quintessentially Southern city. Many of its streets and boulevards are lined with large oak trees with branches draped with Spanish moss overhanging the lanes of traffic. It has a unique street pattern of nearly two dozen small city-block-sized parks stretching out for about mile or so from the city center on the Savannah River—the border between Georgia and South Carolina.
These parks provide a restful interlude for anyone walking between historical sites, shops and restaurants in the historic district of Savannah. One would expect these parks to be quiet, with the sounds of chirping birds and the clip-clop of hooves of horse-drawn carriages plying tourists around town.
I picked an AirBnB rental in the middle of the historic district for its location, a 15 minute or less walk from many of the main historic sites. I have a studio apartment in a 100-year-old building and this rental is pretty much what I expected. The building is old, but serviceable, and the accommodations have pretty much met my expectations.
My one problem is, however, the constant noise emanating from the streets surrounding my building. I am on the eighth floor on the east side of the building and there is a 1990s 12-story apartment building directly across the street from me. Based on my observations, these two buildings may be among the tallest in all of Savannah.
Street noise between our two buildings is amplified by a “canyon-effect” and that has been a source of annoyance. During the day, there is a pretty-much constant rumble of regular traffic from cars, an occasional truck and tour busses. I have no problem with that.
My issue is with those who drive so-called muscle cars that sound like NASCAR race cars and accelerate with a roar on the streets below. Also, there is an occasional motorcycle or large pickup truck far noisier than conventional vehicles. Add in the noise from sirens on police cars and ambulances, and it gets to be a bit much.
I acknowledge that I am not used to the street noise of the city because I have lived in the suburbs for the last 30 years. And I am willing to accept a lot of this street noise as part of living in the city. As I write this, the bells of nearby St. John Basilica are tolling for the six o’clock Angelus, and I find that sound quite appropriate and beautiful.
Another source of noise are garbage trucks that patrol the city well before dawn and pick up the refuse from nearby hotels and apartment buildings including mine. Very early in the morning there is a lot of noise with the clanging of the metal as large dumpsters are picked up and emptied and the beeping sounds as a truck backs up away from the dumpster. Most of the time this noise starts between 6 and 6:30AM, but one morning I was awakened by the clanging and beeping at 4:20AM!
Now to the good stuff. One of the nicest aspects of the neighborhood is that there is small bookstore on my block that has a wide selection of used paperbacks. I needed it last week because the weather in the middle of the week was cool and wet. The small store has is jammed with books and most of the paperbacks are $2.50 and up. I’ve read a couple of international intrigue books by David Baldacci and mysteries by Dean Koontz and James Patterson.
I wanted to hole up in a coffee shop and read or write during these rainy days, but most were too crowded to find a seat. Once the weather broke, I headed for nearby Madison Square to read and enjoyed some people watching. Two city employees were there with leaf blowers cleaning off the sidewalks, but they were gone in about 15 minutes.
After a while, I was hungry and walked a couple of blocks to a sandwich shop called “Anita Deli Sandwich.” I love puns and this one will remain high on my list of favorites. The roast beef, cheddar with carmelized onions on a sandwich sandwich was delicious It was so big I took half of it back to my apartment for later.
As I walked back through Madison Square, I noticed a work crew arranging several dozen white wooden folding chairs in rows in one corner of the park for, I presume, a wedding. The sunny and pleasant weather and the beautiful park would be a nice change from a conventional church wedding I thought.
There is a contemporary looking hotel down the block from me that has a rooftop swimming pool and a couple of rooftop patios. Later that afternoon, I saw a bunch of people in suits and dresses gathered on one of the patios for another wedding. It looked like a swanky affair (rooms at this hotel start at about $400 a night!) with about 100 people in attendance. After the ceremony, people gathered inside and a band played until almost midnight.
The rest of the weekend is kind of a blur as I read, watched hoops and walked about town. The streets were still crowded on the weekend, but nothing like the weekend after St. Patrick’s Day.
On Monday, I headed to Tybee Island for a couple of hours of beach time. It was sunny and about 70, but the wind was very chilly and I was glad to get back to my warm car for the ride home.
I’ll have more in my last Savannah blog in a week or so.
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