Georgia’s Low Country

Savannah – “Hostess City of the South”

If you go to Atlanta, the first question people ask you is, “What’s your business?” In Macon they ask, “Where do you go to church?” In Augusta they ask your grandmother’s maiden name. But in Savannah the first question people ask you is “What would you like to drink?”

-John Berendt, American Author

Befitting, that Savannah, Georgia would offer you a drink first and foremost, as this highlights its famous hospitality and antebellum charm! And even though it is a large city (the third largest in Georgia), it still maintains a “small town” feel as you meander around it’s downtown and various historic areas.

Our first day was clear, with blue skies, perfect for immersing ourselves in the history of Savannah. We started off in an area called the City Market. Known as the heart and hub of Savannah for centuries, it was established in 1755 and initially served as the place where local residents shopped for food, services and other goods. It was truly the community market hub and the area continues to pay homage to it’s past with a modern twist; it’s many restaurants, art spaces, unique shops and museums taking center stage.

While ambling through, we came across an old Ford Model A display with a sign explaining how this particular vehicle was a favorite of the local “Moonshiners”, and how they modified it to greatly increase it’s overall speed while hauling up to 100 gallons of moonshine. Now stop and think about this; that’s almost 1/2 a ton! Can you imagine back in the prohibition days, speeding along a bumpy dirt road, glass jars of moonshine bouncing and clanging together in their crates, while trying to evade the local sheriff right behind you with sirens blaring, lights flashing and the occasional gunshot, while hoping that your moonshine didn’t just…explode?! (Or, while speeding along, did you just slow down, pull over and wait for the local Sheriff to waltz on up and demand his share of the moonshine or the cash? Just wondering?! We will surely have to visit the American Prohibition Museum the next time we’re in Savannah in order to find out the answer).

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The Forest City of the South

Since the City Market is within the defined Historic District of Savannah, we decided to explore its acclaimed eye-catching and composed Parks and Squares; twenty-two (22) of them in all! And how did we find them? Well, we followed the enormous and graceful trail of trees of course!

Like many cities, Savannah is laid out in a typical grid pattern, yet the founder, James Oglethorpe, incorporated four original squares within it’s design, and the theme continued as the city grew. Most of the squares that we saw, eight (8) in all, also held either a fountain or statue, or a combination, that highlight early local American history. So while we slowly wandered through the streets, gaping at the prepossessing architecture along the way, we found these small park-type squares, with their ample benches for taking a break to enjoy their tranquil and colorful settings, a delightful respite along our path. We certainly enjoyed relaxing in a few of them with all of the walking we were doing!

Continuing on, we eventually found our way to Forsyth Park which is one of the more iconic parks within Savannah This park is fairly compact, about 30 acres, however with the numerous huge Live Oaks with the famous hanging Spanish moss, beautifully blooming flowers (yes, even in early March there were blooming flowers!) and the fountain located at the center of this park makes it one that everyone should visit when in the Savannah area. 

Eventually the Historic District segued into the East and West Victorian Districts, showcasing its beloved gingerbread architecture. It definitely takes dedication from the owners for maintaining these beauties and several were in the throes of renovation, yet when they are well cared for they are colorful and amazing to behold. You could almost feel like you were transported back two hundred years and imagine what life might have been like back in the early 1800’s! 

The Golden Isles

For our second day in the area, we decided to ride on down to St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island. We arrived on the former around noon, deciding to have lunch at a restaurant called Fiddlers. As we gazed through their menu we decided to order the Fried Green Tomatoes for an appetizer, which were deep fried and topped with pimento cheese, basil and a balsamic citrus reduction which was extremely tasty! After sampling this amazing appetizer, we both agreed that this was the absolute best Fried Green Tomatoes we each had ever had! For our lunch, Laura ordered the Seafood Chowder, which was made up of shrimp, crab and fish, while Curtis ordered the Fish Sandwich. Both meals were excellent!

After feasting on a large and extremely tasty lunch we knew we needed to get a little exercise, so we went in search for a place to stretch our legs a little. We found a gorgeous little local recreation ground called Neptune Park that had a beautiful paver walkway so we could stroll along the shoreline. As we made our way, we were serenaded by a multitude of young children who were running around having a great time playing on all of the playground equipment and we noticed an intriguing sight that drew us along.

To our surprise we stumbled across the St. Simons Lighthouse and Museum and, needless to say, we just had to investigate! The small museum highlighted the role and history of the lighthouse, as well as its Keepers. It turns out that the current lighthouse is actually the second one that had been constructed in that location, with the contemporary being completed in 1872! And it’s a good thing that we were interested in some exercise, because we had to climb a total of 129 steps to reach the gallery (balcony) located just below the lantern room; we turned our exercise tracker on for that one! We can assure you that the 360-degree view is spectacular! We could see for miles; across the treetops of the island itself, to the mouth of the Brunswick River as it pours into the North Atlantic Ocean, and across to Jekyll Island beyond!

Unlike most oak trees, which are deciduous, southern live oaks are nearly evergreen. They replace their leaves over a short period of several weeks in the spring

The Avenue of the Oaks was to be our final caper on the island. Planted in 1826 by the owner of the Retreat Plantation, Anna Page King. Originally a columnar entrance into the retreat, it now serves as a grand entrance into the Sea Island Golf Club. Motoring through on our trike, we were amazed at how large and “sprawling” these old Live Oak trees were; marveling at the distance some of the massive branches could grow out from the main trunk! Mother Nature is a true artist!

We had seen it from afar, so now it was time to see it up close. Once a private retreat, Jekyll Island is now part of The Jekyll Island Club National Historic Landmark District. While the island is owned by the State of Georgia, it is actually run by a self-sustaining, self-governing body who charges a fee for you to enter the island (under the guise of a “parking permit”…hmmm, we call it something else). Anyway, by the time we got through the backlogged waiting line for collecting their “fee”, it was getting a little late in the day, so we only had time to drive around the entire perimeter of the island, taking in the sights. Having very little in the way of traffic due to the “fee” and most other visitors heading to their respective hotels and resorts, it was an enjoyable, calm drive, around a beautiful island. With the sun’s zenith passage nearing conclusion, it signaled our time to head back to plan out another day.

The Yuchi (Euchee; Uchee) Word for Salt – Tybee Island

The next sightseeing location on our list was Tybee Island, which is about 15 miles to the east of Savannah. This particular island has had quite the history over the last 300 years, from Plantations, various military forts from the Revolutionary war to the Civil War, through a variety of “vacation” destination developments over the last 50 years! Today, it’s an eclectic mix of authentic beach town to unique places to visit.

Of course we arrived on Tybee Island just in time for lunch so we headed to the Surfing Goat Coffee and Bagel Bar, which is a really unique little coffee shop! Of course we had coffee, after all, the air had a little bite as we were whipping along on our trike. As for our sustenance, we ordered a Peanut Butter-Bannana-Honey bagel and a Strawberry-Strawberry Jam-Cream Cheese bagel! We ended up sharing so we could each sample both bagels and they were really very good…just a little messy and sticky which we had fun with since the strawberry jam oozed all over us!

From there we did some window shopping on the southern end of the island, and found a really cool rebuilt VW Van inside one of the stores! From the outside of this little van, it appears very small; however when you poke your head inside and check out it’s tiny living area it seemed to somehow “grow larger”! Who needs a 44-foot fifth-wheel anyway?! (gulp)

The rhythmic song of the ocean was calling, and the pier jutting into the Atlantic Ocean seemed to be the best way to answer! It did not disappoint, as it had a tremendously endless view of ocean and beaches. And what caught our eye?! A phenomenal cast of a a fishing line by a local (what would a pier be without locals fishing from them? Probably not a pier, right?!) We were so impressed that we struck up a conversation with him to gain some “fishing pointers”. Apparently if you get a giant fishing pole with enough weight on your line and work out at the gym on a regular basis, you too, can chuck your rigging out to the horizon line!

On the northern end of the island, once again, we were drawn to another lighthouse, the Tybee Island Light Station and Museum.  It was very interesting to learn that it is the oldest and tallest lighthouse in Georgia so we were excited to get the chance to exercise our way up to the gallery of this one! Alas, our hopes were dashed when we found out that it is currently undergoing structural repairs. Instead, we turned our attention to exploring the grounds which bear the original “restored” homes of the lighthouse Keepers. Intriguing to us was that this lighthouse was important enough to the Savannah shipping industry that it required three full-time keepers; the “Head Keeper” and the “First” and “Second” Keepers. Indubitably, the Head Keeper enjoyed the largest home, while each of the other two homes were smaller based upon “rank”. There was certainly a lot of interesting historical insight, offering a glimpse into the life of an on-site light keeper which is truly foreign to us.

Neighboring the light station is Fort Screven which expands upon the strategic importance of the geographic location through various times of war. Yet it also highlights non-war time history as well. Tybee Island has definitely been a part of the action.

After this much exercise and history, it was time to hit the North Beach Bar & Grill for some appetizers and local brews. And great conversation as it turns out! Our bar mate was a local from the Pooler area, gladly expounding on tons of recommendations of sights to see…which we’ve put on the list for the next time we’re in the neighborhood!

Again, we had to race the sun in order to make it back to camp before nightfall.

A Peachy Introduction

The Atlantic Coastal area of Georgia has a lot of history and was a pleasure to visit. It’s varied and large expanse cannot be uncovered in a week, so many areas of exploration had to be put on the “visit next time” list. However, during our last day at McIntosh Lake RV Park, which is typically a day where we catch up on standard “household” things, we set aside some time to visit a place that we’d been zipping by on a daily basis, as we sped to the attractions on our list. Georgia Peach World now vied for our attention. And let us tell you that it’s a dangerous place! If we could, we would’ve loaded up the rig with one of everything! From wines, to snacks, to jams, to pies, to barbecue sauces, to butters and spreads, and all sorts of pecan delights too, we could’ve gone crazy! Funny enough, there wasn’t any ice cream, so Curtis sat in the truck sulking…(those of you that know my sugar-craving husband are laughing your *sses off right now!!). Needless to say, we did go crazy and stocked up just to make sure we could make it 100-miles down the road to our next stop in Georgia. One can never have enough snacks, right?!

Follow us as we continue our escapades…