The South - Savannah, Georgia - Day 2

We get up reasonably early and have our continental breakfast in the dining room. Michael did warn me, and he did rubb it in of course - it was awful!!!!  They offered scrambled eggs and hush browns - oh my goodness.... it was disgusting - I could not eat it... so we had toast with jam and mini muffins with cold coffee.  They didn't even have plates for the toast, only bowls - and everything was plastic!!!!  And.... the breakfast was supposed to be served til 10.00am - they put all the stuff away 9.45am.... not that I wanted anything else, but it is the principal of it!!!!

I said to Michael, lets go quick and find some real coffee in town!

Michael found us a car park downtown with a cheap flat rate fee for the day.  We or rather I have a lot of walking planned: Riverfront / Historic Town / Market City / Museum of History / City Squares / Forsyth Park / Cathedral of St John the Baptist / Colonial Park Cemetry.
Poor Michael, he doesn't like walking....

Savannah was established in 1733, and was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important Atlantic seaport. It is Georgia's fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area.

Savannah has a population of around 136,286.  The racial makeup of the city is 57% Black, 36.% White, 4.5% Asian, 2.23% Native American, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.93% from other races, Hispanic or Latino were 8.23% of the population.

Each year Savannah attracts millions of visitors, who enjoy the city's architecture and historic buildings: the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low (founder of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America), the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences (one of the South's first public museums), 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).

Savannah's downtown area, which includes the Savannah Historic District, the Savannah Victorian Historic District and 22 parklike squares, is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the United States.

Savannah's climate is classified as humid subtropical. In the Deep South this climate is characterized by long and almost tropical summers, with temperatures reaching freezing only a few times in the winter (and with rare snowfall). Due to its proximity to the Atlantic coast, Savannah rarely experiences temperatures as extreme as those in Georgia's interior. Nevertheless, temperatures as high as 105 °F (41 °C) and as low as 3 °F (−16 °C) have been recorded.

I love Savannah - it has great architecture and old homes, a wonderful riverfront with shops and cafes... and lots of tourists.  We also went on an old ship - it still sails...The old town is nice with horse carriages ... and lots of tourists. The whole place has a very nice feel to it and is quite historic.

The Talmadge Memorial Bridge spans the Savannah River between downtown Savannah and Hutchinson Island. Completed in November 1990, the new Talmadge Memorial cable-stayed bridge provides 185 ft (56.4 m.) of vertical navigational clearance for oceangoing vessels. Its horizontal clearance is 1,023 feet (312 m), with both main piers located on the north and south banks of the Savannah River. With a main span of 1100 ft (335 m.) and a total length of 1.9 miles (3.06 km.), the new Talmadge Memorial carries four lanes of traffic.

River Front

Very high-tec navigation systems....(cheating...)

City Market

There are sweet shops everywhere...not sure what it is down South with the sweets and lollies.... very tempting though...

I know, I know... I will wait til tonight for my Sheisha / Hooka....

Museum of History - I was very disappointed - it was all about wars the Americans had been involved in and not about real history and people.

Spot the soldier???.....

Interesting... the fishing methods in the Middle East are very similar to these ones!

A good old fashioned dentist practice.... scary stuff!!!

Forest Gump Bench! = from the movie...

Quilting and weaving in the old days...

Savannah's historic district has 22 squares (Ellis Square, demolished in 1954, was fully restored in early 2010). The squares vary in size and personality, from the formal fountain and monuments of the largest, Johnson, to the playgrounds of the smallest, Crawford. Elbert, Ellis, and Liberty Squares are classified as the three "lost squares," destroyed in the course of urban development during the 1950s.

These squares are amazing - full of old beautiful trees and surrounded by the most fabulous homes and architecture...

Forsyth Park - where Forest Gump meets the world...

Forrest Gump is a 1994 American comedy-drama film. The story depicts several decades in the life of Forrest Gump, a Greenbow, Alabama simpleton who travels across the world, meeting historical figures, influencing popular culture, and experiencing firsthand some of the historic events of the latter half of the 20th century. Filming took place in late 1993, mainly in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Forsyth Park is a large city park that occupies 30 acres (0.12 km²) in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia. The park is bordered by Gaston Street on the North, Drayton Street on the East, Park Avenue on the South and Whitaker Street on the West. It contains walking paths, a Cafe', a children's play area, a Fragrant Garden for the Blind, a large fountain, Tennis courts, BasketBall courts,areas for soccer/frizbee, and home field for Savannah Shamrocks Rugby Club. From time to time, there are concerts held at Forsyth to the benefit of the public.

Dougal meets 'Forest Gump'!!!
In 1981, Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) sits at a bus stop in Savannah, Georgia, telling his life story to strangers nearby.

Cathedral of St John the Baptist

Colonial Park Cemetery - an early graveyard dating back to the English colony of Georgia.

Very historic....

Savannah Firebrigade - also historic...

Another Forest Gump ... on another bench....

We had a wonderful day walking and sightseeing -  a great place.  Of course we had coffee and lunch breaks, otherwise Michael would have gone on strike!  It is now almost 5pm and we walked since 10am - quite an achievement.

We are back at the car and decide to drive to the Bonaventura Cemetry, which is out of town.  Unfortunately, as we get there, the gates close.  We discover, that all the tourist thingys close at 5.00p.m. We take some photos and try the next point of sight seeing....

... the Wormsloe State Historic Site  - this one is also closed!  Oh - well, at least we know where they are and we can come back early tomorrow morning if we wish. It was a very nice drive, passing by some big lakes / swamps....beautiful.

As it is still light and we are on the right side of town, we decide to drive to Tybee Island -

Tybee Island is an island and city near the city of Savannah. It is the easternmost point in the state of Georgia, with a population of 2,990. Officially renamed "Savannah Beach" in a publicity move at the end of the 1950s, the city of Tybee Island has since reverted to its original name. The small island, which has long been a quiet getaway for the residents of Savannah, has become a popular vacation spot with tourists from outside the Savannah metropolitan area.

It is beautiful, a pleasant drive - there are swamps everywhere.... and beautiful beaches...

....- we were actually looking for the lighthouse - and could not see it anywhere.... so the search for the lighthouse was finally done via GPS - and when we got there, it was all closed too.

The Tybee Island Light, is located on Tybee Island, Georgia, at the mouth of the Savannah River. The Tybee Lighthouse is one of just a handful of 18th century lighthouses still in operation in North America.

In 1732, General James Oglethorpe, Governor of the 13th colony ordered construction of a lighthouse on Tybee Island to safely guide mariners into Savannah harbor. The latest incarnation of the Tybee Island lighthouse stands at 154 feet (47 m) and in 1933 became an electrically driven lighthouse. Because modern marine navigation techniques outgrew the need for such a lighthouse, the Tybee Island lighthouse became obsolete and is now a popular tourist destination.

Another way of travelling ....grey nomads????

I was looking forward to my Middle Eastern meal and sheisha all day.  I read about this restaurant in one of the tourist brochures.  The restaurant looked nice, the food was very good and tasty, we had some mezze and mixed grill.  Then my sheisha - it was The most awful sheisha I have ever tasted!  It was pure perfume... and the Mooroccan tea was equaly disgusting and perfumed - it was not mint tea at all.... and I had to drink it out of a mug!! - normally you get a nice small glass... oh well... never expect anything authentic in America!! Not long to go before I will be back in Dubai where I can smoke a Real sheisha!

Well, I put on a brave face, smoked a bit and complaint to Michael because I still had to pay tips....

However, all in all we had a wonderful and enriching day.... ready to go to sleep - we want to get up early to make the most of our weekend....

Good night

S & D