Charleston odometer mileage: 93,765
Odometer mileage at destination: 93,902
Miles driven to destination: 137
Total miles driven to date: 913
States driven through: South Carolina and Georgia
I think I'm in love... with Savannah, GA! If I were in the market for a new place to make my hometown, Savannah would definitely be on the short list. Filled with friendly people, plenty of activities, and mild winters make this city a pleasant place to visit and, according to locals, a great place to live.
Savannah is Georgia's oldest city and was founded by General James Oglethorpe, a British general, in 1733, who created a unique design for the city. The city's historic district has 22 park-like squares, surrounded by 4 residential blocks and 4 civic blocks. For me, the design makes the city seem more homey and comfortable. Also, Savannah has many significant historical landmarks; such as the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low (founder of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America), the Georgia Historical Society (the oldest continually operating historical society in the South), the First African Baptist Church (one of the oldest African-American Baptist congregations in the United States), Temple Mickve Israel (the third oldest synagogue in America), and the Central of Georgia Railway roundhouse complex (the oldest standing antebellum rail facility in America) - just a drop in the bucket of some of the amazing things to see in this city of 140,000 inhabitants.
My day in Savannah was fabulous! It started with a 90-minute trolley tour around the 2.2 square mile historic district, which was a great way to get an overview of the city and for me to make decisions on which sites were "must sees". The trolley did make one quick 10 minute stop at the Catholic cathedral, which was a perfect amount of time to dash in a take a couple of photos. When the tour was completed, I made my way to the first site that I wanted to see:
Owens-Thomas House, which is considered by architectural historians to be one of the finest examples of English Regency architecture in America. The house was designed by an English architect William Jay and was completed in 1819 for a cotton merchant, Richard Richardson. After suffering financial losses, the house was sold and went through several different hands before it was donated to the Telfair Museum of Art. The tour of the house was interesting and actually a little weird and awkward because I was the only person on the tour. The house is beautifully decorated with early 19th century period pieces and is an elegant reminder of simpler times. (Photography is not allowed inside of any of the historic homes or museums.)
Next I walked around town, taking random photos, including a photo of identical houses built side-by-side by a father for his identical twin girls. His intent was to address their constant fighting over everything, but inadvertently, the twins ended up fighting over who would get what side. Oops.
I finally meandered my way to the one place that was on the top of my list to see: the Mercer Williams House Museum. If you're familiar with either the book or the movie, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, then this house should ring a bell. Designed by John S. Norris for General Hugh Weedon Mercer (great-grandfather of the songwriter Johnny Mercer), construction of the house began in 1860. Construction was interrupted by the American Civil War, and finally completed around 1868 by a new owner, John Wilder. For a period in the twentieth century, the building was used as the Savannah Shriners Alee Temple. It then lay vacant for a decade until in 1969, Jim Williams, one of Savannah’s earliest and most dedicated private restorationists, bought the house and restored it. Today, the house is privately owned by Mr. Williams' sister, Dorothy Kingery. This house quickly became one of my favorite places that I have visited (including Europe). I'm not certain why I was so charmed by this house. Maybe it was the personal touches. So much of the house was meticulously restored by Mr. Williams and he had the most exquisite taste! It could be that I love it because this house is still a home. It's not just a museum. I don't know but if you get to Savannah, see this house.
On my way to my next stop (Telfair Academy), I took a slight detour past Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room, a unique restaurant. Generally, there is an hour to two hour wait to eat lunch at this family-style restaurant where strangers eat along side each other. The hairstylist I went to in Charlotte recommended this restaurant, but sadly, it is closed for the entire month of January. I'm not a fan of waiting an hour or two for lunch anyway. A few minutes later, I arrived at the Telfair Academy of Art and Science, which is a historic mansion turned into an art museum. It houses some interesting artwork by artists of which I have never heard. There were a few that were pretty memorable, but I especially liked a painting entitled La Parabola (A Parable), painted by an Italian artist named Cesare Laurenti. It's difficult to describe the painting, but feel free to click the link to see it.
My last stop was across the street from the Academy: the Jepson Center for the Arts. It's Savannah's modern art museum. I'm not much of a modern art fan, but I wanted to go to the museum because it houses a sculpture that I wanted to see: Sylvia Shaw Judson’s Bird Girl (the sculpture from the book cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil). The sculpture used to stand in Bonaventure Cemetery, but after the release of the film, people were flocking to the cemetery to see the statue. There was a fear that the sculpture might be stolen so it was permanently moved, first to the Academy and now the Jepson. She is quite remarkable and I'm so thrilled I got a chance to see it.
It was time for some dinner, so I headed back to my hotel and found a local restaurant. While eating dinner, a question ran through my head: are green beans still considered healthy if they contain bacon and ham? Of course, I suppose the point is moot if you're eating fried chicken and mac and cheese with the green beans. Ahhhhhh, you have got to love the South!
I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Savannah. She's a beauty!! Check out all my photos of Savannah on my GART photo site!
The minute I post this blog, I hit the road -- heading to my brother, Tim's house in Boca Raton, FL. More from the Sunshine State where I hear it's 80 degrees.
I think I'm in love... with Savannah, GA! If I were in the market for a new place to make my hometown, Savannah would definitely be on the short list. Filled with friendly people, plenty of activities, and mild winters make this city a pleasant place to visit and, according to locals, a great place to live.
Savannah is Georgia's oldest city and was founded by General James Oglethorpe, a British general, in 1733, who created a unique design for the city. The city's historic district has 22 park-like squares, surrounded by 4 residential blocks and 4 civic blocks. For me, the design makes the city seem more homey and comfortable. Also, Savannah has many significant historical landmarks; such as the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low (founder of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America), the Georgia Historical Society (the oldest continually operating historical society in the South), the First African Baptist Church (one of the oldest African-American Baptist congregations in the United States), Temple Mickve Israel (the third oldest synagogue in America), and the Central of Georgia Railway roundhouse complex (the oldest standing antebellum rail facility in America) - just a drop in the bucket of some of the amazing things to see in this city of 140,000 inhabitants.
My day in Savannah was fabulous! It started with a 90-minute trolley tour around the 2.2 square mile historic district, which was a great way to get an overview of the city and for me to make decisions on which sites were "must sees". The trolley did make one quick 10 minute stop at the Catholic cathedral, which was a perfect amount of time to dash in a take a couple of photos. When the tour was completed, I made my way to the first site that I wanted to see:
Next I walked around town, taking random photos, including a photo of identical houses built side-by-side by a father for his identical twin girls. His intent was to address their constant fighting over everything, but inadvertently, the twins ended up fighting over who would get what side. Oops.
On my way to my next stop (Telfair Academy), I took a slight detour past Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room, a unique restaurant. Generally, there is an hour to two hour wait to eat lunch at this family-style restaurant where strangers eat along side each other. The hairstylist I went to in Charlotte recommended this restaurant, but sadly, it is closed for the entire month of January. I'm not a fan of waiting an hour or two for lunch anyway. A few minutes later, I arrived at the Telfair Academy of Art and Science, which is a historic mansion turned into an art museum. It houses some interesting artwork by artists of which I have never heard. There were a few that were pretty memorable, but I especially liked a painting entitled La Parabola (A Parable), painted by an Italian artist named Cesare Laurenti. It's difficult to describe the painting, but feel free to click the link to see it.
It was time for some dinner, so I headed back to my hotel and found a local restaurant. While eating dinner, a question ran through my head: are green beans still considered healthy if they contain bacon and ham? Of course, I suppose the point is moot if you're eating fried chicken and mac and cheese with the green beans. Ahhhhhh, you have got to love the South!
I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Savannah. She's a beauty!! Check out all my photos of Savannah on my GART photo site!
The minute I post this blog, I hit the road -- heading to my brother, Tim's house in Boca Raton, FL. More from the Sunshine State where I hear it's 80 degrees.
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| The twin houses |
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