"Oh, Savannah, oh don't you cry for me,
cause I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee!"
EVERYBODY SING!
"Oh, Savannah ..."
What's that, dear? ... "Oh, Susanna"? Well, that just doesn't make any sense ... O.K., let's settle this by going to the supreme source of knowledge. Yes, I'll wait while you check Wikipedia.
"Oh, I come from Alabama ..."
Well, while Diedre's checking on that, let me tell you about our time in SAVANNAH (not SUSANNA), Georgia. Our friend, Jamie Deichen, once told us that you can tell a lot about Georgians by the first question they ask you:
"What do you do for a living?" means they're from Atlanta.
"What church do you attend" means they're from Macon.
But if they ask you, "What'll you have to drink?" you know they're from Savannah. It's a most gracious place.
We hit the great state of Georgia on Sunday, May 18. The campground there was a bit rustic; in fact, it was the first one we had been to in our two years of arduous luxury RV travel to have NEITHER toilets or showers. I mean, come on! We're not barbarians, you know.
So, a single night later, we furtively pulled up stakes and made our way to a new campground on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. This place was plush: it not only had toilets and showers, but the substances coming out of the faucets were liquid gold. They even had a nice restaurant, a bit of a rarity in the RV world, and a nearby pool at which we sat in the evening and viewed outstanding sunsets. We had regained our RV mojo.
We layed low most of Tuesday since we had been forced to set up camp two times in the previous two days, thus depriving us of our almost-sacred "No Rules Monday" where we basically redefine the word "sloth." And with me, "laying low" usually means going to a ball game, so on this evening, we procured tickets to the fine "Savannah Sand Gnats" minor league baseball game. I don't want to say that their minor league team doesn't draw well, but when Diedre called and asked what time the game started, the voice on the other end of the phone replied, "What time can you be here?"
So, a single night later, we furtively pulled up stakes and made our way to a new campground on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. This place was plush: it not only had toilets and showers, but the substances coming out of the faucets were liquid gold. They even had a nice restaurant, a bit of a rarity in the RV world, and a nearby pool at which we sat in the evening and viewed outstanding sunsets. We had regained our RV mojo.
We layed low most of Tuesday since we had been forced to set up camp two times in the previous two days, thus depriving us of our almost-sacred "No Rules Monday" where we basically redefine the word "sloth." And with me, "laying low" usually means going to a ball game, so on this evening, we procured tickets to the fine "Savannah Sand Gnats" minor league baseball game. I don't want to say that their minor league team doesn't draw well, but when Diedre called and asked what time the game started, the voice on the other end of the phone replied, "What time can you be here?"
As is her wont, Diedre then went on-line and found the finest beer-dispensing establishment she could. Downtown Savannah's was called, "The Crystal Beer Parlor." A sign over the bar read:
"In Wine There Is Wisdom.
In Beer There Is Freedom.
In Water There Is Bacteria."
You got to love a place like that.
Sure enough, they had excellent crab stew, about as good as it gets. And for Diedre, the humongous selection of draft beers almost made her forget we were going to see a team called "The Sand Gnats" that Gnight. All she could mutter was, “GNUTS!"
YAY! for inebriation.
"In Wine There Is Wisdom.
In Beer There Is Freedom.
In Water There Is Bacteria."
You got to love a place like that.
Sure enough, they had excellent crab stew, about as good as it gets. And for Diedre, the humongous selection of draft beers almost made her forget we were going to see a team called "The Sand Gnats" that Gnight. All she could mutter was, “GNUTS!"
YAY! for inebriation.
The Savannah Sand Gnats are a Class A (lowest class of ball short of playing for the Cubs) affiliate of the New York Mets. They play in the South Atlantic League (a.k.a. "The Sally League") established in 1909. The mausoleum they call a ballpark, historic Grayson Stadium, is the oldest minor league ballpark in existence. It was built in 1941.The team has come up with some distractions to take your mind off your surroundings. Their mascot was "Gnate the Gnat"; it took several pounds of Raid Insect repellant to keep this mildew-soaked insect away from you. On the plus side, it was "Two-fer-Tuesday," meaning if you bought one Miller Lite or Coors Light beer, you'd get the second one free. You can just imagine how thrilled this made Diedre, our beer connoisseur.
It was also "Bark in the Park" night where you could bring your dog to the game. There was no mention of cats, however. No matter, though, because when I had asked our three kids about coming to the game wearing Schnauzer disguises, they yawned and opined that they'd really rather stay in the RV and catch up on their "Masterpiece Theatre" viewing (or was it “Mouseterpiece Theatre”?).
Their loss.
At least front row seats for the game were only $10, so we grabbed two directly behind home plate. We were virtually the only ones in the place sitting in the box seat sections. The archaic stadium harkened back to medieval times as their moat-like protective screening effectively went all the way from home plate down both lines. I had never seen that before. I guess they don't want anybody knocked goofier than they already are in Savannah, GA.
That Gnight, the Gnats played the dreaded "Charleston River Dogs." The River Dogs first batter singled, then quickly came around to score. One run in, but that was it for the Dogs. They managed to garner only five more hits and no runs the rest of the game.
The Sand Gnats weren't doing much better, remaining scoreless until the 8th inning. Then, after the first two batters made outs, our Gnarly Gnats erupted for two runs on three hits highlighted by former Mets semi-star Lee Mazilli's son's long double to left. The home town Gnats romped to a late Gnight thrilling 2-1 victory.
YAY, TEAM!
That Gnight, the Gnats played the dreaded "Charleston River Dogs." The River Dogs first batter singled, then quickly came around to score. One run in, but that was it for the Dogs. They managed to garner only five more hits and no runs the rest of the game.
The Sand Gnats weren't doing much better, remaining scoreless until the 8th inning. Then, after the first two batters made outs, our Gnarly Gnats erupted for two runs on three hits highlighted by former Mets semi-star Lee Mazilli's son's long double to left. The home town Gnats romped to a late Gnight thrilling 2-1 victory.
YAY, TEAM!
The gnext morning (all right, egnough with the "g-n" stuff") the Gnats news was overshadowed in the morning paper by a story about our native Minnesota securing the rights to host the 2018 Super Bowl at its new ONE-BILLION dollar, 72,000 seat stadium. This will be the 2nd time my frozen city will have hosted a Super Bowl; the first time was in 1992 when the Washington Native Americans beat the Buffalo Williams. So, score one for the dudes from the frozen north.
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| If I could find my photo of me at age 3, I would attach it and further explanation wouldn't be needed. Probably only my family will understand this photo. |
Since we were actually staying in South Carolina while mostly visiting Georgia, we decided one of our precious days should be spent checking out the original Confederate state. I’m not sure, though, if Hilton Head Island is the best example for the ante-bellum set. We hit a nice beach where Diedre re-enacted her “Little Patty” pose from 1949. She’ll have to explain that one to you.
But other than that, it was Savannah that held the most interest for us. Are we getting too old to say that beaches no longer hold much interest for us?
But other than that, it was Savannah that held the most interest for us. Are we getting too old to say that beaches no longer hold much interest for us?
On Thursday, we did Part 1 of our usual walking tour. This town has so much to see that we had to divide the tour into two parts. Our route followed the suggestions of a book we purchased entitled "A Self-Guided Tour of Savannah." If you’ll be going to Savannah anytime in the near or not-so near future, let us know and we'll send you this fine, 24-page mini-tome for the low, low price of $2.95 … make that $1.95 … oh, what the hell, we’re never going to use it again. It’s yours for two pieces of Double-Bubble Gum. Let me know.
Savannah was America's first planned city and it was planned by the incredibly versatile and inventive General James Oglethorpe (no, not the really mean guy from the movie "Slapshot.") The wunderkind was Oxford educated, then elected to parliament at the tender age of 26. When he founded Georgia, he was aware of pressing social problems, so he enforced the following rules: no hard liquor, no slaves, no Catholics, and no lawyers. I think two of those were really good ideas, but I leave it to you, dear blogophile, to figure out which two. The General laid out the city in 1733 in a series of neighborhoods centered around 24 park-like squares, each measuring one block by one block. They’re spaced perfectly, laid out on a grid, all two blocks apart east-west and 3 blocks apart north-south, so no matter where you live in the city, you’re just a five-minute walk from a neighborhood green space. Pretty cool! Chippewa Square, the center square of Savannah (not “Hollywood Squares”), hosts the statue of General Oglethorpe.
Savannah has 2,200 homes of historical significance, many of them on our route, but since I can barely get you to stay with me for a paragraph or two, I think I’ll just give you the highlights:
Savannah has 2,200 homes of historical significance, many of them on our route, but since I can barely get you to stay with me for a paragraph or two, I think I’ll just give you the highlights:
-Also on Chippewa Square is where Forrest Gump sat on a bus bench while eating his box of chocolates. While the actual bench is in the Georgia History Museum, I did my best to re-enact that cinematically-historical moment.
-Cobblestone paved and canopied with oak and magnolia trees, Jones Street is considered one of the most beautiful streets in America;
-The Mercer-Williams House was built in the late 1800’s for the great grandfather of legendary song composer Johnny Mercer. It was later purchased by Jim Williams who the main character in the best selling novel/movie, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" was based upon. He was played by Kevin Spacey if my memory serves me right.
-The Massie School was built in 1856 and used till 1974. In it, they had a replica of an 1850’s classroom, complete with a replica 1850’s dunce and cap.
-The "Jingle Bells" church was where that great and simple Christmas tune was written in the 1850's by prolific songwriter James Pierpont, music director at the Unitarian church.
-The 10,000 square-foot Hamilton-Turner Mansion is a home of great beauty with an extreme sense of mystery. It captured the keen interest of Walt Disney who, after a visit, used it as his inspiration for his infamous Disneyland/Disneyworld/
-Diedre had to stop and pet the lions at the front steps of the Andrew Low house. Daughter-in-law Juliette Low inherited the house and on March 12, 1912, founded the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. Cookies, anyone?
-The “Pirates' House” first opened in 1753 as a tavern for low-lifes such as pirates, grave-robbers, and Department of Motor Vehicles Window Clerks. The attached herb house and fireplace, built in 1734 for the gardener, makes this the oldest house in Georgia. It’s been said that writer Robert Louis Stevenson's inspiration for his great novel "Treasure Island" was inspired by this place, although I’m sure Diedre feels the food hasn’t improved much there in the past 261 years.
That day’s massive walking tour totaled 8.9 miles as measured by Diedre’s new best friend, the Fit Bit. All I could say at the end of the day was, “WHEW! We need a beer! And so, it was on to the wonderful “Barracuda Bob's” restaurant where Diedre declared their bread pudding “the best ever!” Who was I to argue?
Barely being able to find our way back to the RV since it had been so long, we took the next day for some much needed rest. Then on Saturday, it was back at it, finishing up the walking tour after a brief Civil War expedition to Fort McAllister.
Highlights from Part 2 of the Savannah walking tour include:
So now, it’s on to bed before an early rise and our first visit to Charleston, South Carolina.
See y’all then.
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