Savannah

It was raining pretty hard when we pulled into the Visitors Center right after crossing the state line into Georgia! We'll do pretty much anything to make sure we get some sort of picture, however!

It was a very long drive from New Orleans into Savannah. Over 11 hours, most of it on Interstate 10. Nice drive, though. The weather was sunny, blue skies and puffy white clouds along the way (until, of course we crossed into Georgia....see above....). But the landscape was really pretty.

It was almost dark when we got to the hotel, The Planters Inn in the historic district of Savannah. A nice old Southern hotel. Tall ceilings in the rooms, quaint 4 poster beds. A non-HD flat screen TV that Adrienne couldn't see from her bed because one of those cute 4 poster posts was smack dab in her line of sight. That was okay anyway, since she isn't much of a TV watcher. But still.....

There wasn't much to do after we got settled. We thought about going out and walking around, but it was rainy and dark and we weren't all that hungry since we had lunch late. So we stayed in our room and got caught up on emails and plotted out our plan for the next day.

Woke up early - and today was my birthday! Yay me! It was nice not to have to get in the car and drive anywhere, and had the entire day to wander about Savannah. Although it was still overcast and drizzly out, it was a bit cool which was perfect for wandering about. We had decided to take a trolley tour around the historic center so we walked down to the Visitors Center, got our tickets and hopped aboard. These trolleys and hop on/hop off tours are a quick and easy way to both see and hear about the highlights of a city, but also a good way to get to know your surroundings in terms of how the city is laid out, what you'd like to see later on, on "foot", etc.

Savannah is called the Hostess City of the South and is the oldest city in Georgia. It was established in 1733 and was originally the first state capitol (now it's Augusta). It's always been a very important seaport and today is no different. In fact, I learned that Ikea has one of its largest U.S. distribution centers here in Savannah, due to the strategic nature of the port. Savannah is also home to the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts of America. We visited her home and enjoyed browsing through her gift shop and small museum.

The Waving Girl is a famous statue of Florence Martus, who lived in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Her father worked at Fort Pulaski on Cocksure Island and Florence took it upon herself to be the unofficial greeter of all ships that came and left the Port of Savannah. For 44 years she didn't miss a single ship. She waved a handkerchief by day and a lantern by night. Legend says that she waved at arriving ships because she had fallen in love with a sailor and wanted to be sure he would find her when he returned.

These two shots below are from inside the Congregation Mickve Israel. Beautiful stained glass windows. It is the 3rd oldest synagogue in the U.S.

My cousin Nik on the right, Adrienne on the left. Birthday girl in the center! Getting ready to visit the Olde Pink House for a special birthday dinner. It was very good and a lovely evening.

This Spanish moss hanging from the live oaks trees in Savannah's many squares, or parks, is not really Spanish moss, but it is. It's really a member of the pineapple family and also contains insects including the nasty little chigger (think bed bugs....). Ewwww.