It was a loooong Saturday, so this blog is being written Sunday morning after a shower and while sipping the first cup of coffee, as another train goes by in the distance--a frequent occurrence. Saturday began with a pancake and sausage breakfast served by the KOA volunteers. KOA has a program similar to some of the National Parks where people get free camping in exchange for a few weeks of volunteer time to do grounds work and customer service. The pancake breakfast was great!!
Then it was on to exploration of Savannah, elevation 43 feet, similar to Charleston. Savannah was settled in February, 1733 by Gen James Oglethorpe. It was the 13th and last colony and was laid out in a series of wards rather than the usual English grid system. It was at the crossroads of trade with England with tobacco and cotton being the chief exports. When Savannah was garrisoned to join the revolt against England, it was quickly captured by English troops under Gen Robert Howe in December 1778. During the Civil War Gen William Sherman captured Savannah for the North in 1864, but it was not burned like Charleston. Cotton again saved Savannah after the war. So there; that's as much history of Savannah as I'll share now.
We started out the day at Forsythe Park where a farmers' market was underway. We were entertained by a family of squirrels to whom someone had tossed cheetoes. The fountain in the center of the park is very refreshing.
Much of our day was spent browsing the shops, starting at the Paris
Market and continuing on to City Market. Street musicians entertained
us along the way as did raindrops. It was not supposed to rain today,
and it never really got up more than a little moisture until bright
sunshine beamed late in the day.
The gold-domed City Hall is a landmark seen both from the Savannah River and throughout the city. Appropriately it is situated at the end of Bull Street!
We paused midday for a slice of pizza at Vinnie's at City Market, a highly acclaimed pizza place which we all agreed was well earned.
While we browsed we saw this unique self-pedaling transport which was controversial until the mayor and his party tried it and urged its licensing!
We browsed some more after our pizza slice pausing for a while at the memorial for Haitian soldiers who assisted the colonists during the Revolutionary War, a fact none of us knew. The drummer depicted in the memorial later became the first king of Haiti when it fought for its independence.
While waiting until our dinner reservation at Lady and Sons, Paula Deene's restaurant, we strolled the waterfront where an artisan's fair was going on, again the last day we just lucked upon! We bought our tickets for the Savannah River Sunday Brunch cruise for tomorrow.
The Deene Restaurant is three stories and features a buffet which most of us enjoyed--three entrees (fried fish, fried chicken and roast beef in a rich gravy) and 13 veggies plus a salad bar and three desserts (famous butter cake, peach cobbler, and banana pudding). Too much food and delicious!
Because it's best to do ghost stories at night, we all went on a ghost tour, David and me on a Hearse-driven tour and Kathie, Ashlie and Heather on a walking tour which included actual recordings of sounds captured at some sites. Savannah is rated as the most haunted city in the US. Both tour guides had many stories to tell of restless spirits arising from graves, houses and other buildings.
It was 10:30 PM by the time we got back to camp---a very full day!!!
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