About 10 years ago I spent an evening and morning in Savannah, Georgia and found it so enchanting that I've ached to go back again. For many reasons I couldn't do this until this April on my way home from Florida and, again, loved the place so much that I think I could even live there.
My ex sister-in-law, Mary, came down to stay with me in Florida for about a week before I headed home. We had a great time doing some sightseeing, shopping, and sunbathing before packing up for the drive home. As usual, my car trunk and back seat were packed to overflowing but we got everything we needed into the car and first headed over to Cocoa Beach. Cocoa Beach is another favorite spot for both of us because it's the very first place we ever stayed when she, her husband, my husband, and I came to Florida back in the mid 70's.
We got the very last suite (livingroom, 2 bedrooms, kitchen, and dining area) available at the Kahulla Inn. One night with all the discounts cost us $80 and that's a real bargain. Even though it was post season the Inn was packed. We couldn't get into our room until after 4 P.M. so we changed into our swimsuits in the lobby restroom, struggled to remove 2 folding chairs and a beach umbrella from the car, and happily set ourselves up on the hot, sunny beach for the afternoon. It was heaven. The beach umbrella belonged to another sister-in-law who had lent it to us for our trip home and I found it so useful that I know I have to buy one for next year.
We decided to leave for Savannah the following morning and it turned out to take longer than I'd thought. The weather was excellent and the traffic wasn't too bad but the distance was a little more than we'd expected. Of course I had lots of maps but Mary had to take on that responsibility.
We arrived in Savannah in the early afternoon and, using the coupon books found at the Welcome Center, booked into the Ramada Inn. This time we had to pay $75 per night for 2 nights. The motel had seen better days but it was clean and offered a nice breakfast in the morning. Mary and I dumped what we needed into the room and drove into Savannah right away to enjoy as much of it as the day allowed.
After a few wrong turns we found our way down a ridiculously steep and narrow brick ramp to the waterfront shopping area. It's really picturesque with quaint little shops, restaurants and small waterfront parks where you can watch the barges traverse back and forth. We shopped, naturally, but just got a few little trinkets for gifts. At dinnertime we left to buy fast food and take it back to the room. We watched a bit of T.V. and then went to bed early. No nightclubbing for us!
The next day we packed up the car again and drove back into Savannah where we took a trolley tour of the area. We chose "Ogilvie Tours" because it only cost $10 each and seemed to offer the same quality as other tours which cost twice as much. As we waited for our trolley to arrive we were treated to the screams and scrabblings of the family from hell. 3 grown women and 4 kids ranging in age from 2 to about 10 were also going to take the tour and we hoped desperately that they'd be seated far away from us. They ended up sitting at the back while Mary and I took front seats and we were very grateful. The tour guide continually reminded the demon family that they must be quieter or the other paying customers wouldn't be able to enjoy their tour. Of course, the adults in this group had no control over the kids so our wonderful tour guide did something that made me fall in love with him. He kicked them all off the trolley. Unbelievable! I can't believe how many times my meal or something else was ruined by other people's rowdy children and now a knight in shining armor (tour guide t-shirt) had actually done the right, if not the politically correct, thing and removed the people who were ruining the tour for everyone else. I love this man!
Old Savannah has been laid out with about as many blocks of parks as there are blocks of lovely old homes. The architecture of the large homes and row houses is beautiful to see. Government buildings are another story but even most of them are old, historic buildings.
Our tour guide told us of a restaurant where locals like to grab their lunch so Mary and I followed the well drawn up map we'd received from him and found this little hole in the wall restaurant called "Zusys" (I can't remember exactly but it was something like that). It was packed with locals ordering lunch to go because there are no tables. Mary got a special hamburger that included an egg and I got Cottage Pie (Shepherd's Pie) with a salad. We took them up the block to one of the parks where we sat on a bench and chowed down. The food was excellent as promised.
We did a lot of walking that day and took the last trolley back to home base around 5 P.M. We then drove back to the Riverside Walk and found a great little restaurant bar that advertised seafood strudel and a glass of wine for $8.95. Now the seafood "strudel" is what caught my attention but add that to a glass of wine and it caught Mary's attention, too. In we went to a very nice bar where we were seated at a table immediately. We placed our orders and waited mere minutes before our wine and a large basket of bread was delivered to the table. Minutes later we were each brought a dinnerplate which held 3 philo wrapped seafood concoctions that turned out to be delicious. By the way, the restaurant is called "The Shrimp Factory" and I wish it was in my own home town because I'd go back again and again.
There was still room in our tummies for some home made Italian ice cream so we got that at a nearby store. We got back to our room before dark, watched some T.V., and then hit the sack for a good night's sleep.
If I'd had to drive back home from Florida by myself I would never have taken these side trips so I'll always be thankful that Mary made the trip with me. She's been a good friend for many years...during her marriage to my brother-in-law and after their divorce. True friendship always stands the test of time, doesn't it?
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