Day 220 – 221
Late Sunday morning, 04/18/21, we took an Uber from Thunderbolt Marina into historic Savannah, GA, to catch a Red Trolley tour. Historic Savannah is stunning and a haven for someone who loves gardens and old, restored homes and buildings. Savannah is the oldest city in Georgia, and was originally designed and established in 1733, by General James Edward Oglethorpe. Savannah’s downtown area, which includes the Savannah Historic District, the Savannah Victorian Historic District, and (22) park-like squares, is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the United States. Downtown Savannah largely retains the original town plan (squares of housing and/or shops surrounding centralized parks), known as the Oglethorpe Plan. At the time of the Civil War, Savannah, a prosperous seaport throughout the nineteenth century, was the Confederacy’s sixth most populous city and the prime objective of Union General William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea. Early on December 21, 1864, local authorities negotiated a peaceful surrender to save Savannah from destruction, and Union troops marched into the city at dawn. It is also believed that General Sherman found Savannah to be far too lovely a city to burn and pillage. Naturally, we didn’t have enough time to explore all (22) of Savannah’s squares, so quickly realized we should’ve planned to spend more days there. After our visit, I decided that Savannah would be the perfect destination for a girls’ trip!
Though our choices were endless, we ate a late lunch at the Cafe At City Market, where they serve some amazing Peach Sangria. The service was very good, despite the labor shortage that continues all over the country. Food was delicious, but the best part was the restaurant’s sound system played disco-era music during our entire meal, which was much to my delight, but to Steve’s dismay. Aww… After lunch, we walked around much of the historic district, with me constantly falling behind Steve, snapping my pictures.
On Monday, 04/19/21, the weather in Savannah was absolutely stellar, which only served to make the city that much more beautiful. We Ubered in again from the marina for haircuts and groceries. It is difficult to get Uber and Lyft rides here in Savannah, just like we’ve encountered in previous cities. Thankfully, we’re retired, so have ample time to spend waiting for drivers to become available.
Post errands, we continued exploring and it dawned on me that we’re progressing far enough north now that we can see the change in seasons. Over the past few months, we’ve been down in Florida, where the foliage is all pretty much the same, dark green color for most of the year. But here in Savannah, I was seeing the brilliant neon greens of springtime that I’m used to and love so much. We visited the highly-recommended Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist (Catholic church), which is most stunning, as well as spiritually-stirring.
We walked along Oglethorpe Boulevard to Savannah Seafood Shack for a late lunch, where I ate fried shrimp and Steve had a sizeable low country boil. After lunch, we walked to the Victorian District and then to a bar called Hitch for late afternoon beverages. I, of course, took tons more pictures. We both fell in love with historic Savannah and plan to return here again soon and spend more time.
We were surprised to see our friends, Scott and Shelley Johnson, aboard Mona Gee, arrive at Thunderbolt Marina on Monday evening. We hadn’t seen them since we crossed the gulf with them last summer. We tried to talk with them out on the dock, but the thick Noseeums eventually drove us all back inside our boats. The Johnsons were staying another day at Thunderbolt, but we were leaving first thing in the morning, so we didn’t have a chance to go for dinner or even do a dock-tails with them. Oh, well – hopefully we’d get a chance on down the line.
Position: N 32° 01.497, W 81° 02.827
Total marina nights: 198
Total nights at anchor: 22