"But in Savannah the first question people ask you is ‘What would you like to drink?'” *

When last I wrote, we were leaving Saint Augustine behind, and we pointed our car in the direction of Savannah, Georgia. We have visited once before in May 2018, and we enjoyed it even though it was nasty hot and humid.  This time, we were likely to see rain, but at least the weather would be cooler!  We got such an early start that we decided to go to Tybee Island before stopping at the hotel.  This image appeared on my maps as we neared our destination. Such a happy looking lord in his fine frock coat! A fortuitous beginning!!

It was so cold!! And windy!! And sandy!! And yes, even a spit or two of rain.  It was still lovely to stroll along the almost deserted beach and walk along the pier.  I should say it was nice until we texted Dutchboy's sister a picture of the beach waves and she said, "OH!!  Watch out for the bomb!"  Ehm.  What?!?!?!  She was talking about the story of the  missing Tybee Bomb.  Long story short, in 1958 a B-47 carrying a nuclear bomb collided with a F-86 jet and jettisoned the bomb.  It's never been found.  A real broken arrow off the coast.  Why the heck did my sister-in-law in Leiden know this story?!? As if we need proof that Americans don't know our history.  (Sorry Mr. Adams, Mr. Clark and Mr. Reid.  I promise I did pay attention but we never made it to World War I, much less beyond World War II! I've learned a lot more since those early days!)

The rain picked up, so we headed to the car and to the hotel. Which was a disappointment.  On our last trip, we stayed at the Thunderbird Inn. It's a basically a retro themed hotel from the heyday of road trippin'. It wasn't in the best spot, by the bus station, but it was clean and close to the historic district without the fuss.  What we found this time was a place abused and well past it's prime.  The lights flickered like a horror film. The countertops were...interesting.  Let's just say I stripped the covers off the bed, checked for bed bugs and nasty critters, cleaned the sink, all surfaces and the toilet with disinfecting wipes.  If I hadn't prepaid, I would have left.  Dutchboy laughed, called me paranoid, and said it was an adventure.  Then he said, if we stayed there I could go to Husk for dinner.  You read that right. Dutchboy resorted to BRIBERY. That's not playing fair.  I made reservations, just before I re-made the bed.

Our Table

 

Just sparkling water with lime.   But it's HUSK. 

Black Parade

Old Forester Rye, Averna, Black Walnut Miso, Honey Butter, Bitters, Cherry

Just behind us was one of the pantries.  Just for show, I think.  Most of the canned goods

were labeled 2019.

pimento cheese, hot honey, husk pickles, benne cracker, chives

For those who don't believe I drink white wine.  

Domaine Gueneau “Les Terres Blanches,” Sancerre, Loire Valley, France 2024

The reason behind the Sauv Blanc.  Shrimp & Grits

georgia shrimp, marsh hen mill grits, corn, vidalia onion, calabrian chili

Dutchboy opted for chicken. 

Coal roasted chiecken, benne seeds, Carolina Gold rice, okra, aji dulce

Beautiful port. 

Casa Manouel Boullosa, Quinta dos Pesos Carcavelos, Lisbon, Portugal 1992

Dark Chocolate Torte

caramelized peanut, muscadine jam

And just like that, it was finished. 

A brief look into the kitchen before I departed.  It was worth every penny of that $210.67. 

We walked the 1/2 mile back to the hotel and then Dutchboy got the treat of his life.  NO. This isn't that kind of blog.  There, under the "hunde d Inn" sign of our hotel, was the Weiner Mobile. He was so excited. He ran to the weiner wagon.  He was laughing and happy. We had to take pictures even though it was dark.  

After all the excitement of the day before, we weren't sure what day two in Savannah would hold.  I can tell you I slept very little with the partying happening next door to our room.  But the hotel came through with really good coffee and fantastic donuts for breakfast.  The donuts were definitely the highlight -- made by Baker's Pride, a Savannah classic.  How good were they? Dutchboy doesn't like donuts and even he said they were good.  That's high praise indeed.  Fortified, we set off for the day, heading down MLK Blvd to River Street. 

Poe Tavern.  I always love their random Poe faces. 

Marble faces outside the Marriott 

The Marriott also houses a Gretsch Guitar Museum! 

Once again, excited Dutchboy!!!

The start of River Street, near the Marriott.

Our first sight was this large container ships navigating its way up the Savannah River. 

 Lunch at Traylor Park.  Chicken and Biscuit with collard greens.  It was...meh.  

Collards okay okay, I can usually eat them. But these were terrible. 

Part of the allure of Savannah are these huge oaks. They're everywhere. 

 I wanted to hug them all.  

We decided to head to Jones Street for the rest of our afternoon walk.  It's known as the prettiest street in Savannah due to it's well-kept stately old homes and beautiful tree-line streets.  Along the way, we strayed off onto Abercorn and came upon the most magical bookstore, Books on Bay.  It's one of those shops that you walk in and you feel like you've stepped into a movie set, all cozy bookshelves and knickknacks.  I was talking to the shopkeeper about how amazing it was, when I notice THE TARDIS. It turns out he had built a Tardis frame around the door of the science fiction/fantasy collection. Most amazing, he had made the bookshelves inside moveable to hide the storage space behind them. It was, indeed, bigger on the inside!!! I was as giddy as the 11th Doctor, jumping around and clapping.  

Can't you see the excitement?!?!

As if they TARDIS wasn't enough, I found out the owner (the mother of the TARDIS builder) was a collector of Trixie Belden memorabilia.  She had several amazing pieces on display.   Including this original cover art for Mystery in Arizona.  Incidentally, that's the cover art that features all the Bob-Whites of the Glen except one! If you know which one wasn't on the cover, we can still be friends. 

It was hard to leave that shop behind, especially when the owner did show up and we started geeking out about Dr. Who (her favorite Doctor is Tom Baker followed by Tennant), and Trixie Belden.  But after an hour we really needed to move on with our tour.  So out the door and on to Jones Street.  It didn't disappoint! Beautiful homes, several of which were decorated for Halloween (which was only a couple of days away). 

After a day of walking, around 8 miles of it, we headed back to the hotel and collapsed.  We couldn't work up energy to walk to any place to get food, so we ate donuts and popcorn for free at the hotel and fell asleep early.  After all, I needed my beauty sleep for Charleston! 

Summing up, Savannah is a beautiful, classic city with friendly people, good food, and a vibe all its own.  But somehow it still didn't steal my heart.  Charleston is my preferred old southern town, maybe because it feels more intimate and laid back.  Still, I would tell anyone to visit at least once. Numerous city squares give each part it's own feel, a bit of a different identity.  The art students at Savannah College of Art & Design give it a vibrant feel.  But underneath there is a grittiness that keeps it from being cozy. While the city seems to have worked on cleaning up the area near the bus station, there is still a large unhomed population in the city, and a seediness to some of the parks & squares.  That said, other than people asking for a few dollars (no one approached us this time, but several did on the last visit)  I don't feel it's threatening.  It's just a beautiful old city, with a few ghosts floating around and some skeletons in the closet, and that's half the charm. 

*Title is a quote from the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil  by John Berendt.