Savannah

Our first stop in Savannah was a parking lot where we faced the Pay to Park pay station.  This time we conquered it!  We were able to enter the information it wanted and print out a parking receipt.  We weren't the only people to struggle with it.  We heard grumbles from others around us when parking was discussed.

  River Street is one of the oldest streets in Savannah.  It runs parallel to the Savannah River.  Today it is filled with small stores and shops to entice visitors to spend their money. 

The old trolley car tracks still run down the middle of River Street along with the original brick/stone of the street.

.

This is where we ate lunch.  Carol had a shrimp poboy and I had chicken fingers.  Both were very good.

Walking on this street wasn't easy for us old folks with balance trouble.

This is a statue of Florence Martus who was known as "The Waving Girl."  She took it upon herself to be the official greeter of all ships that entered and left the Port of Savannah between 1887 and 1931.  In the daylight, she waved a towel and at night a lantern.  As we walked to this status, there were a couple of homeless men sitting close by.  We saw other homeless men in the River Street area.  These men did not look like the homeless of Decatur.  They looked in much worse condition physically.  A couple of them sang or played the trumpet to earn some cash.  We didn't see homeless in St. Augustine.

This is an original retaining wall built to keep the banks from sliding into the river.

The streets parallel to the wall were paved with stone.

This street was called Factors Walk.  Savannah used to be a big hub for cotton.  During the early days of cotton production, the wagons filled with cotton would come down this street.  Men called "factors" would stand on the metal bridges over the cotton yelling out the value and grade of the cotton for the buyers.  In 1951 the boll weaval devastated the cotton industry and put it out of business in Savannah.  Now the old cotton businesses are quaint shops for the tourists

This is the entrance to River Street   One  way traffic comes from around the corner down to the level of the waterfront.  It is a very bumpy ride.

We had to buy some candy.  This is the first candy we brought on this trip.

Carol took this picture.  I guess he must feel that way sometimes.

This is a very beautiful bridge.  The strands of steel running from the center post to the bridge are hard to see.  This bridge connects Georgia to South Carolina.

This fountain was very beautiful.  The original layout of Savannah was in squares.  Nearly every square has a fountain or statue to honor someone or something.    There are over 25 squares.   This fountain was in one of the squares called Forsyth Square.

Another of the squares displayed these two cannons which were given to Savannah by George Washington after the American Revelation War.

There are several beautiful, large churches in the downtown area  This one is St John the Baptist Catholic Church.

It is famous for its twin spirals.

The beautiful pipe organ.  I am sure some powerful sounds comes from these pipes.

One of the best things about Savannah is the many old colonial homes.  

This house had cast iron fish at the end of its downspouts.

Savannah avoided being burned to the ground like Atlanta at the end of the Civil War when Sherman was marching his troops to the sea.  The Southern Troops stationed in Savannah knew they could not defend Savannah so they left the city in cover of darkness leaving the city unprotected.  When Sherman came into the city, he liked what he saw and decided to make it his headquarters for the rest of the war.

We enjoyed touring Savannah.  It was different from St. Augustine.  St. Augustine was settled by Spain and Savannah was settled by the English.  The styles of the architecture reflect the differences.  Savannah was a planned city with squares and streets laid out before settlement.  St. Augustine was built as needed.

Tomorrow we have a short driving day to Charleston, South Carolina.  It will be interesting to see what type of city it is.

We got back to camp around 3:30 and decided to use the fire pit and patio.  Carol built a fire and we had foil packets of chicken and vegetables cooked over the fire.  Dessert was smores.  We sat outside enjoying the fire until almost 7:30.  We don't usually have fires unless we are camped in a state park but tonight we did.  Sandy was able to be outside with us without being teetered on a tie-out.

Last year Carol's knee caused him to limit his hiking.  The last few days, his back has been bothering him.  It is no fun getting old.  I am glad tomorrow is a short-driving day so his back can rest.