Barbara and Jeri's trip to St. Augustine, Charleston, and Savannah
Oct 18th, 2011, 09:47 AM
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FROM MT. PLEASANT TO BOONE HALL….and beyond
Our revised plan: upon leaving Best Western Patriot’s Point we would go out to Boone Hall to see it all-- the house, the plantation, and the gardens. And after that, it would be onward to Beaufort……
When we had finally decided that we would be in Mt. Pleasant for only the one night, we turned to Jeri’s I-Pad to see what accommodations we could arrange for in Beaufort to take the place of the 2nd night we were to have stayed in Mt. Pleasant.
It’s sometimes a challenge to book a lodging at a decent rate close to one’s arrival date, but it worked out for us. Hampton Inn-Beaufort had great reviews on several booking sites including Tripadvisor, and when we called them, they were able to accommodate us. Calling the hotel directly, our room turned out to be $108.89, taxes included.
So our plan would be to go to Boone Hall; drive to Beaufort; check into the hotel; and then see what the rest of the day would bring.
Our Boone Hall experience was a great one. It was among my favorite activities this trip. It’s located less than 10 miles from Mt. Pleasant proper, 8 miles from Charleston, off Hwy 17 on Long Point Road. The entrance fee is not prohibitive; senior travelers like us--$15 each.
We got there a little before 10:00 AM. The entry leading to the house was so lovely—a ¾ mile long avenue lined on both sides with beautiful old oak trees dripping with Spanish moss. At the end of the entry, we turned off to the right to a parking area. And we were just in time to get on a tram tour which would give us an overview of the whole plantation.
It was good timing to get the tram tour first because it gave context to the whole visit. Among other things it clearly showed that Boone Hall is still very much a working plantation. Instead of producing cotton and pecans as it did some 320 years ago, though, it is now producing peaches, strawberries, tomatoes, pumpkins, and other fruits and vegetables, some in “pick-it-yourself” fields.
Although the house itself is a reproduction (colonial revival) dating back only to 1936, there are nine original slave cabins still standing. Each of these cabins is open for visitation and together they form a self-guided tour detailing a different period in black history. So interesting and informative, as was the live presentation, “Exploring the Gullah Culture”.
http://boonehallplantation.com/
It was at Boone Hall that I got the one souvenir I brought home from the trip—a small sweetgrass basket. I became aware of this coiled basketry art, which is unique to this area, when researching the trip. We had several opportunities to see artists sewing ( I’m inclined to say “ weaving”, but somewhere I heard it was “sewing”) their baskets and such at the market in Charleston and on the street in the Four Corners of Law area near the Mills House, and finally at Boone Hall in one of the slave cabins where a lady named Nancy White was busy at her craft. It was from Nancy that I got my basket-- a small one, small but sweet and beautiful. I was able to get it without breaking the bank, but the larger ones, if the craftsmanship is good, can run several hundred dollars. The process is so labor intensive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NYwO...eature=related
Click on the above for insights into this art.
About 2:00 we were saying good-bye to Charleston and environs and were back on the highway. Destination: Beaufort, South Carolina. About half way between Charleston and Savannah.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g...Vacations.html
This was basically just an overnight stop for us, but we could see that if one had time to settle in, there are a number of b&bs as well as conventional hotels/motels, good restaurants, a little historic district to explore, as well as outdoor activities to enjoy on Hunting Island. As I mentioned earlier, we had done a last minute booking at the Hampton Inn and were happy with it.
It was raining almost continuously from the time we left Boone Hall until we got to the turn-off to Beaufort, the same turn-off, by the way, that we took before on the way to see the Sheldon church ruins. If I remember correctly, Beaufort is about 16 miles beyond the little road leading to those ruins.
We were generally pretty fortunate with the rain. It had been raining off and on throughout our whole trip, but in general it held off during the time we were actually outside touring. Can you ask for better than that?
By the time we actually got into town there was a respite in the rain. After checking into our hotel, we got back in the car and did a quick pass through the Beaufort historic district. I have to admit that we didn’t pursue exploring there. We needed a little break from house tours and such. What we did was go directly to Hunting Island State Park to take advantage of the light that remained before dusk. Admission: about $5.00 each person.
What a nice change of pace. Very tropical in feel. Hiking trails. A beautiful old lighthouse. Great beach which has a very different feel from those we’re used to here in Los Angeles—a bit more wild with tall clumps of grasses here and there, picket type fences which serve---what? As a barrier against shifting sand? At any rate, very picturesque and a great place to breath clean air and stretch our legs and all. Ah, and dog friendly. There was a couple walking 2 dogs. Good to see and pet the dogs. I was missing my own three.
We were able to spend about an hour and a half there before it began to get dark.
Dinner. We had had in mind to go to Gullah Grub. We forwent our opportunity to try Gullah food at the well recommended Gullah Cuisine restaurant in Mt. Pleasant when we left there early, but here was an opportunity near Beaufort. But the best laid plans…..and all that. We were there on a Saturday, and it was closed! Closed on Saturdays. Another Oh, Well.
http://www.gullahgrubs.com/Home.html
Plums had been recommended on the Fodor boards, so that was a possibility, but in the end we decided to try for someplace close to water. We had picked up some information when we checked into our hotel, and one of the brochures was from 11th Street Dockside Restaurant in Port Royal, a few miles away from Beaufort. The brochure said, “…located on Battery Creek, which provides great views, atmosphere and spectacular sunsets.” Sounds good, but when we got there we found that it was not so atmospheric. It was a huge place, very crowded, and there was a wait time of about 20 minutes….but we were there and decided to stay.
We were finally seated on the screened porch where supposedly you get a good view, but at the time of night we got there, there was really no view. Not the restaurants fault, except for maybe the advertising. No lights on the water or anything. Everything was black.
The food wasn’t bad. And our waitress was attentive. And while this was not really the relaxing experience that we had been wanting, it was OK.
www.11thStreetDockside.com
To Be Continued with the Savannah segment of the trip report.
Our revised plan: upon leaving Best Western Patriot’s Point we would go out to Boone Hall to see it all-- the house, the plantation, and the gardens. And after that, it would be onward to Beaufort……
When we had finally decided that we would be in Mt. Pleasant for only the one night, we turned to Jeri’s I-Pad to see what accommodations we could arrange for in Beaufort to take the place of the 2nd night we were to have stayed in Mt. Pleasant.
It’s sometimes a challenge to book a lodging at a decent rate close to one’s arrival date, but it worked out for us. Hampton Inn-Beaufort had great reviews on several booking sites including Tripadvisor, and when we called them, they were able to accommodate us. Calling the hotel directly, our room turned out to be $108.89, taxes included.
So our plan would be to go to Boone Hall; drive to Beaufort; check into the hotel; and then see what the rest of the day would bring.
Our Boone Hall experience was a great one. It was among my favorite activities this trip. It’s located less than 10 miles from Mt. Pleasant proper, 8 miles from Charleston, off Hwy 17 on Long Point Road. The entrance fee is not prohibitive; senior travelers like us--$15 each.
We got there a little before 10:00 AM. The entry leading to the house was so lovely—a ¾ mile long avenue lined on both sides with beautiful old oak trees dripping with Spanish moss. At the end of the entry, we turned off to the right to a parking area. And we were just in time to get on a tram tour which would give us an overview of the whole plantation.
It was good timing to get the tram tour first because it gave context to the whole visit. Among other things it clearly showed that Boone Hall is still very much a working plantation. Instead of producing cotton and pecans as it did some 320 years ago, though, it is now producing peaches, strawberries, tomatoes, pumpkins, and other fruits and vegetables, some in “pick-it-yourself” fields.
Although the house itself is a reproduction (colonial revival) dating back only to 1936, there are nine original slave cabins still standing. Each of these cabins is open for visitation and together they form a self-guided tour detailing a different period in black history. So interesting and informative, as was the live presentation, “Exploring the Gullah Culture”.
http://boonehallplantation.com/
It was at Boone Hall that I got the one souvenir I brought home from the trip—a small sweetgrass basket. I became aware of this coiled basketry art, which is unique to this area, when researching the trip. We had several opportunities to see artists sewing ( I’m inclined to say “ weaving”, but somewhere I heard it was “sewing”) their baskets and such at the market in Charleston and on the street in the Four Corners of Law area near the Mills House, and finally at Boone Hall in one of the slave cabins where a lady named Nancy White was busy at her craft. It was from Nancy that I got my basket-- a small one, small but sweet and beautiful. I was able to get it without breaking the bank, but the larger ones, if the craftsmanship is good, can run several hundred dollars. The process is so labor intensive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NYwO...eature=related
Click on the above for insights into this art.
About 2:00 we were saying good-bye to Charleston and environs and were back on the highway. Destination: Beaufort, South Carolina. About half way between Charleston and Savannah.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g...Vacations.html
This was basically just an overnight stop for us, but we could see that if one had time to settle in, there are a number of b&bs as well as conventional hotels/motels, good restaurants, a little historic district to explore, as well as outdoor activities to enjoy on Hunting Island. As I mentioned earlier, we had done a last minute booking at the Hampton Inn and were happy with it.
It was raining almost continuously from the time we left Boone Hall until we got to the turn-off to Beaufort, the same turn-off, by the way, that we took before on the way to see the Sheldon church ruins. If I remember correctly, Beaufort is about 16 miles beyond the little road leading to those ruins.
We were generally pretty fortunate with the rain. It had been raining off and on throughout our whole trip, but in general it held off during the time we were actually outside touring. Can you ask for better than that?
By the time we actually got into town there was a respite in the rain. After checking into our hotel, we got back in the car and did a quick pass through the Beaufort historic district. I have to admit that we didn’t pursue exploring there. We needed a little break from house tours and such. What we did was go directly to Hunting Island State Park to take advantage of the light that remained before dusk. Admission: about $5.00 each person.
What a nice change of pace. Very tropical in feel. Hiking trails. A beautiful old lighthouse. Great beach which has a very different feel from those we’re used to here in Los Angeles—a bit more wild with tall clumps of grasses here and there, picket type fences which serve---what? As a barrier against shifting sand? At any rate, very picturesque and a great place to breath clean air and stretch our legs and all. Ah, and dog friendly. There was a couple walking 2 dogs. Good to see and pet the dogs. I was missing my own three.
We were able to spend about an hour and a half there before it began to get dark.
Dinner. We had had in mind to go to Gullah Grub. We forwent our opportunity to try Gullah food at the well recommended Gullah Cuisine restaurant in Mt. Pleasant when we left there early, but here was an opportunity near Beaufort. But the best laid plans…..and all that. We were there on a Saturday, and it was closed! Closed on Saturdays. Another Oh, Well.
http://www.gullahgrubs.com/Home.html
Plums had been recommended on the Fodor boards, so that was a possibility, but in the end we decided to try for someplace close to water. We had picked up some information when we checked into our hotel, and one of the brochures was from 11th Street Dockside Restaurant in Port Royal, a few miles away from Beaufort. The brochure said, “…located on Battery Creek, which provides great views, atmosphere and spectacular sunsets.” Sounds good, but when we got there we found that it was not so atmospheric. It was a huge place, very crowded, and there was a wait time of about 20 minutes….but we were there and decided to stay.
We were finally seated on the screened porch where supposedly you get a good view, but at the time of night we got there, there was really no view. Not the restaurants fault, except for maybe the advertising. No lights on the water or anything. Everything was black.
The food wasn’t bad. And our waitress was attentive. And while this was not really the relaxing experience that we had been wanting, it was OK.
www.11thStreetDockside.com
To Be Continued with the Savannah segment of the trip report.
Oct 19th, 2011, 03:57 AM
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Looking forward to your Savannah segment.
We leave Saturday, starting with 3 nights in Savannah, and 4 nights in Charleston. We'll be flying into Myrtle Beach as we got good airfares on Spirit out of Atlantic City.
Trying to decide which plantation to visit in Charleston. I know they each have their pros. We are not especially into history, but would like a place with beautiful grounds and that gives a fairly good representation of plantation life.
Now have to decide on what to pack. Looks like a cold front is headed eastward. And depending on what forecast we look at one has temps in the 70's during the day, the other has a high of low to mid 60's with rain. Sheesh, makes it difficult.
Looking forward to the rest of your report.
KathyH
We leave Saturday, starting with 3 nights in Savannah, and 4 nights in Charleston. We'll be flying into Myrtle Beach as we got good airfares on Spirit out of Atlantic City.
Trying to decide which plantation to visit in Charleston. I know they each have their pros. We are not especially into history, but would like a place with beautiful grounds and that gives a fairly good representation of plantation life.
Now have to decide on what to pack. Looks like a cold front is headed eastward. And depending on what forecast we look at one has temps in the 70's during the day, the other has a high of low to mid 60's with rain. Sheesh, makes it difficult.
Looking forward to the rest of your report.
KathyH
Oct 19th, 2011, 11:29 AM
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KathyH,
Don't feel bad. I'm currently in Germany for work. I had to actually purchase a coat since I don't own one! Just take some layers. You'll be fine.
You have a limited time in the lowcountry. If you're not really into history a plantation might be a waste of time for you. That's ALL it's about. The time to visit for the gardens is spring. Later in December the camellias will bloom, but nothing now.
Don't feel bad. I'm currently in Germany for work. I had to actually purchase a coat since I don't own one! Just take some layers. You'll be fine.
You have a limited time in the lowcountry. If you're not really into history a plantation might be a waste of time for you. That's ALL it's about. The time to visit for the gardens is spring. Later in December the camellias will bloom, but nothing now.
Oct 20th, 2011, 08:53 PM
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ON THE WAY FROM BEAUFORT TO SAVANNAH
It’s only a little over an hour’s drive from Beaufort to Savannah, but we had two stops to make along the way before we would be checking into our Savannah hotel.
The first stop was Tybee Island. There’s been so much positive coverage on the boards and elsewhere about it that we wanted to see what the attraction is.
I’m not sure what we expected to find when we arrived there, but we were surprised that, at least on this Sunday at about noon, it was quiet. Not a whole lot going on.
We did a drive around the area, and we saw very nice houses along with B&Bs in some areas, most in what appeared to be high rent areas. And there were hotels, too. And also a lighthouse. Still not sure, though, what the big attraction is except maybe for the nice beach.
This must be a place, then, where you come to spend a few days, or maybe even one day, just relaxing on the beach or enjoying the many water activities available—boat tours, kayaking, fishing, even parasailing, that sort of thing. Or maybe Tybee is alive when there are certain festivals or other events. For us, though, as two ladies just passing through, it held no special magic.
We did have lunch there. Not having a clue, we asked a local, a lady employee of one of the souvenir shops on the main street, where she would recommend, and she said Spankies. She said that everyone in the town loved it.
We took her advice, looking forward to something local because that’s where good food finds often are. My advice--
Ooooh. Don’t. Our salads with grilled chicken, weren’t awful, but truly weren’t good.
The Tripadvisor ratings are interesting. Some people love the place; others think it’s yuck. We’re somewhere near the yuck category.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...a.html#REVIEWS
We did get a very important thing at one of the shops along main street, though. A corkscrew!! We planned to use it later on that afternoon.
FROM TYBEE ISLAND TO…BONAVENTURE CEMETARY, SAVANNAH
Ah, yes. This is where our corkscrew, the one we got on Tybee Island, got put to good use. At the Bonaventure Cemetary.
We had become aware of a sweet tradition when we read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. In one of the first chapters, a longtime Savannah resident, a lady, led the author through a special experience.. She had prepared a picnic basket, as I remember it, the main thing being a shaker of martinis, and directed the author to take them to the Bonaventure Cemetery, just on the outskirts of Savannah.
There they sat in a tranquil place amid graves, but on a bench where they could take a breath and enjoy looking at the river which was just ahead in their view. There was some give and take between the author and the lady, but it was finally revealed that what they were sitting on was a bench over the grave of Conrad Aiken. And it was his nod to the living that life should go on. Or, somewhere I read that it should be, “Let the Party Go On”.
Whatever. Jeri and I planned to visit this cemetery and have the traditional drink. Martinis, though? That would have been hard to do. What we did instead was get that corkscrew on Tybee and use it on that good bottle of red wine that Gundy had sent with us as we left Palm Coast. She had also sent wine glasses, so we were in style as we sat on Conrad Aiken’s bench, sipping and sipping and enjoying the river view. It’s said that a bottle of wine is equal to 4 glasses. Did we each have 2 glasses as we sat on the bench and then later, walked among the graves? Evidently we did.
The other graves? Of course, there were many. And among those there was Johnny Mercer’s (composr of Moon River and more) family plot to visit and so many other graves whose headstones revealed so much history of grief, pride or heartache in just a few words . This was a very interesting experience for us.
There are many internet sites for the Bonaventure Cemetery. Here’s just one:
http://www.asylumeclectica.com/asylu...annah/bona.htm
What special memories we had as left the Bonaventure and drove into Savannah proper to begin our adventure there.
SAVANNAH—Next segment
It’s only a little over an hour’s drive from Beaufort to Savannah, but we had two stops to make along the way before we would be checking into our Savannah hotel.
The first stop was Tybee Island. There’s been so much positive coverage on the boards and elsewhere about it that we wanted to see what the attraction is.
I’m not sure what we expected to find when we arrived there, but we were surprised that, at least on this Sunday at about noon, it was quiet. Not a whole lot going on.
We did a drive around the area, and we saw very nice houses along with B&Bs in some areas, most in what appeared to be high rent areas. And there were hotels, too. And also a lighthouse. Still not sure, though, what the big attraction is except maybe for the nice beach.
This must be a place, then, where you come to spend a few days, or maybe even one day, just relaxing on the beach or enjoying the many water activities available—boat tours, kayaking, fishing, even parasailing, that sort of thing. Or maybe Tybee is alive when there are certain festivals or other events. For us, though, as two ladies just passing through, it held no special magic.
We did have lunch there. Not having a clue, we asked a local, a lady employee of one of the souvenir shops on the main street, where she would recommend, and she said Spankies. She said that everyone in the town loved it.
We took her advice, looking forward to something local because that’s where good food finds often are. My advice--
Ooooh. Don’t. Our salads with grilled chicken, weren’t awful, but truly weren’t good.
The Tripadvisor ratings are interesting. Some people love the place; others think it’s yuck. We’re somewhere near the yuck category.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...a.html#REVIEWS
We did get a very important thing at one of the shops along main street, though. A corkscrew!! We planned to use it later on that afternoon.
FROM TYBEE ISLAND TO…BONAVENTURE CEMETARY, SAVANNAH
Ah, yes. This is where our corkscrew, the one we got on Tybee Island, got put to good use. At the Bonaventure Cemetary.
We had become aware of a sweet tradition when we read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. In one of the first chapters, a longtime Savannah resident, a lady, led the author through a special experience.. She had prepared a picnic basket, as I remember it, the main thing being a shaker of martinis, and directed the author to take them to the Bonaventure Cemetery, just on the outskirts of Savannah.
There they sat in a tranquil place amid graves, but on a bench where they could take a breath and enjoy looking at the river which was just ahead in their view. There was some give and take between the author and the lady, but it was finally revealed that what they were sitting on was a bench over the grave of Conrad Aiken. And it was his nod to the living that life should go on. Or, somewhere I read that it should be, “Let the Party Go On”.
Whatever. Jeri and I planned to visit this cemetery and have the traditional drink. Martinis, though? That would have been hard to do. What we did instead was get that corkscrew on Tybee and use it on that good bottle of red wine that Gundy had sent with us as we left Palm Coast. She had also sent wine glasses, so we were in style as we sat on Conrad Aiken’s bench, sipping and sipping and enjoying the river view. It’s said that a bottle of wine is equal to 4 glasses. Did we each have 2 glasses as we sat on the bench and then later, walked among the graves? Evidently we did.
The other graves? Of course, there were many. And among those there was Johnny Mercer’s (composr of Moon River and more) family plot to visit and so many other graves whose headstones revealed so much history of grief, pride or heartache in just a few words . This was a very interesting experience for us.
There are many internet sites for the Bonaventure Cemetery. Here’s just one:
http://www.asylumeclectica.com/asylu...annah/bona.htm
What special memories we had as left the Bonaventure and drove into Savannah proper to begin our adventure there.
SAVANNAH—Next segment
Oct 21st, 2011, 09:05 PM
#45
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We arrived at our Savannah hotel, The Planters Inn, about 4:30 in the afternoon. For those who might have had concerns that we’d each had two glasses of wine at the Bonaventure Cemetery before driving into Savannah….well, we’d taken our time there at the cemetery, sitting a while on the Aiken bench while enjoying the view, then following a number of paths which separated blocks of graves, reading headstones, all those things, and, of course, all this just after our lunch on Tybee Island-- (plenty of protein because of the big chicken salads we’d each eaten; yes, they were not great, but we did eat them). What? We were hungry.
At any rate, we didn’t get back on the road until it was clear that there was no impairment.
Back to the Planters Inn.
http://www.plantersinnsavannah.com/?...FQxmhwodyCHMnQ
We felt that our rate was a great bargain--$97.30 a night (Expedia); $440.88 plus tax for 3 nights.
We loved everything about Planters Inn--the hotel itself for the great location on Reynolds Square, but especially for the room. Four poster very comfortable beds with crisp bed linens; a bright very clean room; very nice, very clean tiled bathroom. Also there was wonderful front desk support and a very good breakfast.
Several comments on the Fodor boards have indicated disappointment that the windows on many of the rooms look out over a parking structure. Our room’s windows did, too, but the structure is across the street, not in one’s face, and unless you just need a view, there’s no problem.
As for parking—valet service in connection with the hotel--$14 a day. Very good rate and not worth trying to find anything less expensive in our opinion—especially since Jeri and I were dividing all costs, $7.00 a day for each, not counting tips which didn’t amount to much since we didn’t take our car out until we checked out of the hotel at the end of our stay.
Once we settled into our room, we took time to figure out what to do for the evening. Bottom line, we were very tired and just wanted to have a good but no hassle dinner Then come back to the room and read or watch TV or just wind down until we went to sleep. It had been a long, though fulfilling, day, but we just needed to recharge.
Dinner—what to do? Something close to our hotel. We’d been happily having so much sea food that we were both in the mood for meat, but where?
We decided to just start walking and see what was out there.
This is going to make the Foodies out there throw up their hands. As we walked down a couple of streets we came upon The Outback. That was quick. And there was meat. And without hesitation we went in. And btw our steaks were very good.
It was early evening when we returned to our hotel after dinner. And as was our goal we did get a good night’s sleep. That was good because we had something special to look forward to the next morning and wanted to be alert for it—our meeting at 8:00 AM with Dirk Hardison (Savannah Rambles) who would be giving us a 2 hour architectural walking tour through many of the principal sites which make Savannah the wonderfully unique city that it is.
[email protected]
Thank you so much, Starrs and others, for giving us this recommendation for Dirk. He was amazing; we learned so much from him. More about this in the next segment.
Next segment: SAVANNAH—OUR FIRST FULL DAY
At any rate, we didn’t get back on the road until it was clear that there was no impairment.
Back to the Planters Inn.
http://www.plantersinnsavannah.com/?...FQxmhwodyCHMnQ
We felt that our rate was a great bargain--$97.30 a night (Expedia); $440.88 plus tax for 3 nights.
We loved everything about Planters Inn--the hotel itself for the great location on Reynolds Square, but especially for the room. Four poster very comfortable beds with crisp bed linens; a bright very clean room; very nice, very clean tiled bathroom. Also there was wonderful front desk support and a very good breakfast.
Several comments on the Fodor boards have indicated disappointment that the windows on many of the rooms look out over a parking structure. Our room’s windows did, too, but the structure is across the street, not in one’s face, and unless you just need a view, there’s no problem.
As for parking—valet service in connection with the hotel--$14 a day. Very good rate and not worth trying to find anything less expensive in our opinion—especially since Jeri and I were dividing all costs, $7.00 a day for each, not counting tips which didn’t amount to much since we didn’t take our car out until we checked out of the hotel at the end of our stay.
Once we settled into our room, we took time to figure out what to do for the evening. Bottom line, we were very tired and just wanted to have a good but no hassle dinner Then come back to the room and read or watch TV or just wind down until we went to sleep. It had been a long, though fulfilling, day, but we just needed to recharge.
Dinner—what to do? Something close to our hotel. We’d been happily having so much sea food that we were both in the mood for meat, but where?
We decided to just start walking and see what was out there.
This is going to make the Foodies out there throw up their hands. As we walked down a couple of streets we came upon The Outback. That was quick. And there was meat. And without hesitation we went in. And btw our steaks were very good.
It was early evening when we returned to our hotel after dinner. And as was our goal we did get a good night’s sleep. That was good because we had something special to look forward to the next morning and wanted to be alert for it—our meeting at 8:00 AM with Dirk Hardison (Savannah Rambles) who would be giving us a 2 hour architectural walking tour through many of the principal sites which make Savannah the wonderfully unique city that it is.
[email protected]
Thank you so much, Starrs and others, for giving us this recommendation for Dirk. He was amazing; we learned so much from him. More about this in the next segment.
Next segment: SAVANNAH—OUR FIRST FULL DAY
Oct 21st, 2011, 09:19 PM
#46
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Ooops.
Sorry. The link I just posted for Dirk (Savannah Rambles) was his email address. Please use it if you want to contact him about a booking or any questions you might have. Otherwise, if you want to get to his website, it's: savannahrambles.com
Sorry. The link I just posted for Dirk (Savannah Rambles) was his email address. Please use it if you want to contact him about a booking or any questions you might have. Otherwise, if you want to get to his website, it's: savannahrambles.com
Oct 23rd, 2011, 02:25 PM
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We can’t say enough about Dirk Hardison’s Savannah Rambles Walking Tour. It was the best $20/ 2-hour time investment we could have made. And it was good planning that we met Dirk at 8:00 AM on our first full day in Savannah, for the ramble he took us on provided us insight not only into the physical layout of the city but also into the its historical background, all of which enhanced the rest of our stay there.
Dirk is an amazing person to lead an architectural tour. Not only is he is an architect himself, but he has deep appreciation for the history of this city he calls his own. Because of his love of discovery, he is engaged in ongoing research, intent on uncovering historical or cultural gems regarding the meshing of architecture and history, much of which he shares with his ramblers.
We were really fortunate, too, to have had Dirk to ourselves; it was just the three of us that morning, and it felt as if we were keeping company with a friend.
Click on the Savannah Rambles link above for detailed information regarding the tour.
Along with Dirk’s website, below are two more links which are interesting and helpful in understanding the history and layout of the city.
http://www.visit-historic-savannah.c...h-squares.html
http://www.asce.org/People-and-Proje...n-of-Savannah/
For those planning, there is also a $6.00 guidebook, The Savannah Walking Tour & Guidebook, which is readily available at souvenir shops and other places throughout the city. Maps, photographs, illustrations, and text make it a very nice little guide.
In addition to the several squares and the many historic houses our walking tour covered over a distance of 1.2 miles, we visited the very impressive Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, had our attention drawn to one of the oldest fire departments in the city, and passed by the Colonial Park Cemetery which has an extremely rich history.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...h_Georgia.html
What a great morning this proved to be. We had a fantastic learning experience with Dirk, and as we said good-bye to him at the end of our tour, we found ourselves just a couple of blocks away from Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House where we planned to have lunch.
Mrs. Wilkes opens at 11:00 AM, and since there are no reservations taken, people begin lining up well before that. When we got to the line at about 10:40, it was still fairly short, and it was not a miserable wait because we were on a tree-lined street where there was plenty of shade. Further, there was a little bond which began to develop among those who were waiting, especially since we were all curious about the false teeth someone had left on a bench next to our line. Yep. False teeth, There has to be some kind of story behind that.
At any rate, Jeri and I were close enough to the front of the line to be admitted for the first sitting. Guests are seated at tables of 10 or 12, and what appears on the table family style is amazing. Fried chicken, fresh bread, local vegetables, sweet tea, and I could go on. This was not only a fun experience, but it was our chance to taste great traditional low country cooking.
http://www.mrswilkes.com
It had been such a good morning, and the afternoon proved to be likewise. Maggie and Frank, my son-in-law Danny’s mom and dad, drove in from their home near Macon to spend the afternoon with us and most of the next day.
It was great to see them again, and it was especially nice that even with a late booking they were able to get a room at our same hotel.
Maggie and Frank know Savannah well, and they gave us their own tour of the city with emphasis on some of their favorite squares one of which was Wright Square where there is a monument to Tomochichi, a Creek Indian who had become a trusted friend to James Oglethorpe, founder of the Savannah colony.
Below is a Wikipedia link to the squares, this in addition to the 2 city layout links previously cited. Maybe a bit of overkill, but.... See the information on Wright Square regarding Tomochichi’s history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squares...#Wright_Square
After our mini tour with Frank and Maggie, we returned to the hotel to catch a breath and enjoy some wine and cheese which is set out about 5:00 each evening. After that Frank had the car brought around (Let it be known that he had had no wine; just us women did), and he drove us through parts of the city that we hadn’t seen yet, ending up by the River Walk where there are numerous restaurants, souvenir shops, and candy stores.
We also stopped at a little park beyond the shops and very close to the river to see the statue of the Waving Girl, one of the most recognizable Savannah attractions. It is said by some that this statue of a girl waving as ships pass by is the symbol of Southern Hospitality, but the backstory is that it is in memory of a young woman who had fallen in love with a sailor who had had to ship out, but who told her he would return to her. So….for 44 years she waited, greeting every ship coming into Savannah’s harbor by waving a cloth, hoping that her loved one was aboard. (silly girl!)
At that point it was time for dinner. Maggie’s choice. The Pirates’ House. Not for the food, necessarily, Maggie said, but for the history. Well, we’d read about the Pirate’s House, and the reviews were all over the chart. The consensus, though, is that it is basically a tourist restaurant, so we weren’t expecting much.
Actually we were pleasantly surprised. We were seated in one of the smaller rooms so there was some feeling of intimacy. Our waitress gave us good attention, and our meal was really ok. I had the mango glazed chili salmon. Can’t remember what the rest had, but nobody was disappointed.
http://www.thepirateshouse.com/menus/03.htm --for the history and the menu
To be continued
Dirk is an amazing person to lead an architectural tour. Not only is he is an architect himself, but he has deep appreciation for the history of this city he calls his own. Because of his love of discovery, he is engaged in ongoing research, intent on uncovering historical or cultural gems regarding the meshing of architecture and history, much of which he shares with his ramblers.
We were really fortunate, too, to have had Dirk to ourselves; it was just the three of us that morning, and it felt as if we were keeping company with a friend.
Click on the Savannah Rambles link above for detailed information regarding the tour.
Along with Dirk’s website, below are two more links which are interesting and helpful in understanding the history and layout of the city.
http://www.visit-historic-savannah.c...h-squares.html
http://www.asce.org/People-and-Proje...n-of-Savannah/
For those planning, there is also a $6.00 guidebook, The Savannah Walking Tour & Guidebook, which is readily available at souvenir shops and other places throughout the city. Maps, photographs, illustrations, and text make it a very nice little guide.
In addition to the several squares and the many historic houses our walking tour covered over a distance of 1.2 miles, we visited the very impressive Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, had our attention drawn to one of the oldest fire departments in the city, and passed by the Colonial Park Cemetery which has an extremely rich history.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...h_Georgia.html
What a great morning this proved to be. We had a fantastic learning experience with Dirk, and as we said good-bye to him at the end of our tour, we found ourselves just a couple of blocks away from Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House where we planned to have lunch.
Mrs. Wilkes opens at 11:00 AM, and since there are no reservations taken, people begin lining up well before that. When we got to the line at about 10:40, it was still fairly short, and it was not a miserable wait because we were on a tree-lined street where there was plenty of shade. Further, there was a little bond which began to develop among those who were waiting, especially since we were all curious about the false teeth someone had left on a bench next to our line. Yep. False teeth, There has to be some kind of story behind that.
At any rate, Jeri and I were close enough to the front of the line to be admitted for the first sitting. Guests are seated at tables of 10 or 12, and what appears on the table family style is amazing. Fried chicken, fresh bread, local vegetables, sweet tea, and I could go on. This was not only a fun experience, but it was our chance to taste great traditional low country cooking.
http://www.mrswilkes.com
It had been such a good morning, and the afternoon proved to be likewise. Maggie and Frank, my son-in-law Danny’s mom and dad, drove in from their home near Macon to spend the afternoon with us and most of the next day.
It was great to see them again, and it was especially nice that even with a late booking they were able to get a room at our same hotel.
Maggie and Frank know Savannah well, and they gave us their own tour of the city with emphasis on some of their favorite squares one of which was Wright Square where there is a monument to Tomochichi, a Creek Indian who had become a trusted friend to James Oglethorpe, founder of the Savannah colony.
Below is a Wikipedia link to the squares, this in addition to the 2 city layout links previously cited. Maybe a bit of overkill, but.... See the information on Wright Square regarding Tomochichi’s history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squares...#Wright_Square
After our mini tour with Frank and Maggie, we returned to the hotel to catch a breath and enjoy some wine and cheese which is set out about 5:00 each evening. After that Frank had the car brought around (Let it be known that he had had no wine; just us women did), and he drove us through parts of the city that we hadn’t seen yet, ending up by the River Walk where there are numerous restaurants, souvenir shops, and candy stores.
We also stopped at a little park beyond the shops and very close to the river to see the statue of the Waving Girl, one of the most recognizable Savannah attractions. It is said by some that this statue of a girl waving as ships pass by is the symbol of Southern Hospitality, but the backstory is that it is in memory of a young woman who had fallen in love with a sailor who had had to ship out, but who told her he would return to her. So….for 44 years she waited, greeting every ship coming into Savannah’s harbor by waving a cloth, hoping that her loved one was aboard. (silly girl!)
At that point it was time for dinner. Maggie’s choice. The Pirates’ House. Not for the food, necessarily, Maggie said, but for the history. Well, we’d read about the Pirate’s House, and the reviews were all over the chart. The consensus, though, is that it is basically a tourist restaurant, so we weren’t expecting much.
Actually we were pleasantly surprised. We were seated in one of the smaller rooms so there was some feeling of intimacy. Our waitress gave us good attention, and our meal was really ok. I had the mango glazed chili salmon. Can’t remember what the rest had, but nobody was disappointed.
http://www.thepirateshouse.com/menus/03.htm --for the history and the menu
To be continued
Oct 24th, 2011, 07:10 AM
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It sounds like your Savannah experience mirrored mine pretty closely!
I did the Savannah Rambles tour with Dirk the first evening I was in Savannah. Originally, it was just me signed up for the tour, and he was game for doing the tour with only one, so don't let that stop anyone from making a reservation with him. It turned out that two others joined us, but it's nice that he doesn't have minimum requirements. His tour is very informative, and as you said, it's nice to do it right away as it is a great intro to Savannah. Interestingly, when I went to tour the Davenport House the next day, Dirk was also the guide through that house. He had been one of the preservation architects working on the when the house when it was restored, so he knew the house very well.
I wonder if we were at Mrs. Wilkes the same morning? I was there on Monday the 26th of September, and there were false teeth sitting on a bench outside! Everyone should have their teeth with them, as Mrs. Wilkes' is a great dining experience, and one I highly recommend. It was fun to sit with people from all over, and every dish tasted homemade and wonderful. And for $16, it's hard to beat!
I also had dinner one night at the Pirate's House, for the history of it. I thought the food was good, and the Pirate's Pleasure drink was even better!
One thing I wanted to add for people using this report in prep for a Savannah visit: I had read about the King-Tisdell Cottage, a museum of black history on Huntingdon Street, and had that on my list of houses to tour. I got all the info on where it was, admission cost, etc., from a current website, and then on my Sunday there I hiked over to this place in the rain. When I got there, I couldn't find it, so asked someone on the street where it was. He pointed to a cottage, but said it had been closed for over a year! So just a heads up if anyone else tries to find the place. Maybe ask at a visitors information center before you go, because the website won't tell you that it's closed!
Great trip report, Barbara. Looking forward to the rest of it.
I did the Savannah Rambles tour with Dirk the first evening I was in Savannah. Originally, it was just me signed up for the tour, and he was game for doing the tour with only one, so don't let that stop anyone from making a reservation with him. It turned out that two others joined us, but it's nice that he doesn't have minimum requirements. His tour is very informative, and as you said, it's nice to do it right away as it is a great intro to Savannah. Interestingly, when I went to tour the Davenport House the next day, Dirk was also the guide through that house. He had been one of the preservation architects working on the when the house when it was restored, so he knew the house very well.
I wonder if we were at Mrs. Wilkes the same morning? I was there on Monday the 26th of September, and there were false teeth sitting on a bench outside! Everyone should have their teeth with them, as Mrs. Wilkes' is a great dining experience, and one I highly recommend. It was fun to sit with people from all over, and every dish tasted homemade and wonderful. And for $16, it's hard to beat!
I also had dinner one night at the Pirate's House, for the history of it. I thought the food was good, and the Pirate's Pleasure drink was even better!
One thing I wanted to add for people using this report in prep for a Savannah visit: I had read about the King-Tisdell Cottage, a museum of black history on Huntingdon Street, and had that on my list of houses to tour. I got all the info on where it was, admission cost, etc., from a current website, and then on my Sunday there I hiked over to this place in the rain. When I got there, I couldn't find it, so asked someone on the street where it was. He pointed to a cottage, but said it had been closed for over a year! So just a heads up if anyone else tries to find the place. Maybe ask at a visitors information center before you go, because the website won't tell you that it's closed!
Great trip report, Barbara. Looking forward to the rest of it.
Oct 24th, 2011, 07:00 PM
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@EspritLibra--Isn't that funny about those false teeth? It kind of looked like a retainer with a few teeth attached, didn't it? I'm wondering if some kid just got tired of wearing it and took it off. If so, the poor parents' pocketbook.
Regarding the docent at the Davenport House--our lady was wonderful, but it would have been so interesting to see how Dirk handled the tour. Bottom line, though, wasn't the tour a worthwhile experience?
Also, I hope anyone wanting to visit the King-Tisdel Cottage will read your reference to the fact that it has been closed for over a year. That will save disappointment and time.
@flygirl--do contact Dirk for your walking tour. You will not be disappointed.
Regarding the docent at the Davenport House--our lady was wonderful, but it would have been so interesting to see how Dirk handled the tour. Bottom line, though, wasn't the tour a worthwhile experience?
Also, I hope anyone wanting to visit the King-Tisdel Cottage will read your reference to the fact that it has been closed for over a year. That will save disappointment and time.
@flygirl--do contact Dirk for your walking tour. You will not be disappointed.
Oct 24th, 2011, 07:25 PM
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SECOND FULL DAY IN CHARLESTON
Maggie and Frank were still going to be with us for most of the day before starting back for Macon, and we had a lot of exploration planned. Our first activity was to drive down to the visitors’ center where we parked and boarded the Old Town Trolley. This is a comfortable and very well run on-and-off trolley system; friendly drivers; good narration; fifteen stops at strategic points so by the end of the circuit most of the important Savannah tourist points of interest are covered.
http://www.trolleytours.com/savannah...ors-center.asp
Part of our trolley time was spent just sightseeing and listening to the narration, but we did stop several times to visit specific things. One of our first stops was #7 (see trolley map by clicking on the link above) which put us by the Davenport House. This house was built by the wealthy merchant Isaiah Davenport for his family around 1820, and today, through restoration efforts, it is furnished and decorated with items, including wallpaper and flooring, specific to the period. This house is especially significant because it is the first project that the Historic Savannah Foundation undertook in its mission to save buildings of historical importance from the wrecking ball.
http://www.davenporthousemuseum.org/
As we entered the house we were able to buy a multi-house entry ticket for $18. This includes admittance not only to the Davenport House, but also to the Andrew Low House and the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace Home. This gave us a savings of $6 each, and the good thing about this pass is that, unlike the Charleston passport, there is no time limit during which all three houses need to be visited.
After completing our tour of the Davenport House and Gardens, we visited the second of the three homes—The Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace. Juliette Low is probably best known as being the founder of Girl Scouts, but there is so much more to this tour than has to do with Girl Scouts. As is often the case, at least for this trip, I looked at the Trip Advisor review of the tour after our visit rather than before (got to start doing this the other way around!), and I feel the same as many reviewers who were not too excited about visiting what they thought would basically be a Girl Scout shrine. It turned out to be a lovely tour of a beautiful home, and we learned many things about this fascinating woman.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...h_Georgia.html
Regarding CrazyKs Aug. 25 review on Trip Advisor—the very things that she had been disappointed in were the very things that made me love this tour. To each her own…..
Time for lunch, and we were open to just seeing what was in the neighborhood. We walked a bit and then came upon a couple of locals who pointed us toward Laurie’s Restaurant. The name on the awning outside cracked us up. It read: Debi’s Restaurant, but the “Debi’s” was crossed out and “Laurie’s” was written in front of it. That did it. Whatever the food, we were going in. Who would not want to patronize a place whose owner had such a sense of humor? And it did turn out to be a good choice. Simple fare, but good.
There was a strange situation which took place just before we entered the restaurant. We were almost at the entrance when we passed a Haagen Dazs ice cream delivery man rolling a pallet of ice cream into a neighboring establishment. Now it was really hot, mind you, and Maggie said, “Oh! I want some of that.” At which time the delivery man reached down to the containers on his pallet and gave her three half gallon containers of raisin rum ice cream. Nothing to do, after thanking him, of course, but to take them with us into the restaurant. Our waitress was very funny and got right to the point.
It went something like this:
“Whadda ya’ll have there?”
“Raisin rum ice cream. Why don’t you take one of these half gallons and put it in the freezer and enjoy it later.”
“I don’t like raisins, but the rum is probly ok. Did ya’ll pay for it?”
“No. The delivery man gave it to us”.
“Good job!”
So we ate our dessert first while waiting for our order. Rum raisin isn’t exactly our favorite, either, but, hey!, it was Haggen Dazs!
After lunch we walked over to the Telfair House just a couple of blocks away. What a beautiful little museum. Originally a private home, completed in 1819, it retains some of the original rooms with period furniture and décor, but the remainder of the house has been turned into art galleries. On one of the Telfair brochures, it describes house this way: 125 years/art+history+architecture.
This was a perfect art museum for me. There were not so many paintings and sculptures that it was overwhelming; I could maintain focus throughout the time I was there. And it’s one of Maggie’s favorite art museums because she never tires of seeing a very moving painting, The Black Prince at Crecy.
http://telfair.org/visit/telfair-academy/overview/
The Number 2 stop on the trolley circuit is very close to the Telfair, so upon leaving the museum, we walked over to catch it, and we stayed on to complete the whole circuit, at the end of which we found ourselves back at the visitors center where we had begun our day.
We had just about an hour to visit the little museum there before it closed, and we made full use of that time looking at transportation exhibits, the bench that Tom Hanks sat on in the movie Forrest Gump, the statue of the Bird Girl pictured on the cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil which had been moved to the museum from the Bonaventure Cemetery, crafts, tools, all kinds of things.
At 5:00 PM, the center closed, and it was time for Maggie and Frank to be on their way back to their home near Macon. We had hoped that they would wait until we all had dinner, but it was going to be a three hour drive, so it was time…. So we all went back to the hotel so they could pick up their bags. Big hugs. Safe trip. Glad we were all able to be together even though it had been for just a short while.
Dinner that night for Jeri and me was a quickie. Moon River Brewing Company was very close to our hotel, so that was our choice. Not a fan of warm beer, but the food was fine.
FINAL SEGMENT TO FOLLOW
Maggie and Frank were still going to be with us for most of the day before starting back for Macon, and we had a lot of exploration planned. Our first activity was to drive down to the visitors’ center where we parked and boarded the Old Town Trolley. This is a comfortable and very well run on-and-off trolley system; friendly drivers; good narration; fifteen stops at strategic points so by the end of the circuit most of the important Savannah tourist points of interest are covered.
http://www.trolleytours.com/savannah...ors-center.asp
Part of our trolley time was spent just sightseeing and listening to the narration, but we did stop several times to visit specific things. One of our first stops was #7 (see trolley map by clicking on the link above) which put us by the Davenport House. This house was built by the wealthy merchant Isaiah Davenport for his family around 1820, and today, through restoration efforts, it is furnished and decorated with items, including wallpaper and flooring, specific to the period. This house is especially significant because it is the first project that the Historic Savannah Foundation undertook in its mission to save buildings of historical importance from the wrecking ball.
http://www.davenporthousemuseum.org/
As we entered the house we were able to buy a multi-house entry ticket for $18. This includes admittance not only to the Davenport House, but also to the Andrew Low House and the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace Home. This gave us a savings of $6 each, and the good thing about this pass is that, unlike the Charleston passport, there is no time limit during which all three houses need to be visited.
After completing our tour of the Davenport House and Gardens, we visited the second of the three homes—The Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace. Juliette Low is probably best known as being the founder of Girl Scouts, but there is so much more to this tour than has to do with Girl Scouts. As is often the case, at least for this trip, I looked at the Trip Advisor review of the tour after our visit rather than before (got to start doing this the other way around!), and I feel the same as many reviewers who were not too excited about visiting what they thought would basically be a Girl Scout shrine. It turned out to be a lovely tour of a beautiful home, and we learned many things about this fascinating woman.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...h_Georgia.html
Regarding CrazyKs Aug. 25 review on Trip Advisor—the very things that she had been disappointed in were the very things that made me love this tour. To each her own…..
Time for lunch, and we were open to just seeing what was in the neighborhood. We walked a bit and then came upon a couple of locals who pointed us toward Laurie’s Restaurant. The name on the awning outside cracked us up. It read: Debi’s Restaurant, but the “Debi’s” was crossed out and “Laurie’s” was written in front of it. That did it. Whatever the food, we were going in. Who would not want to patronize a place whose owner had such a sense of humor? And it did turn out to be a good choice. Simple fare, but good.
There was a strange situation which took place just before we entered the restaurant. We were almost at the entrance when we passed a Haagen Dazs ice cream delivery man rolling a pallet of ice cream into a neighboring establishment. Now it was really hot, mind you, and Maggie said, “Oh! I want some of that.” At which time the delivery man reached down to the containers on his pallet and gave her three half gallon containers of raisin rum ice cream. Nothing to do, after thanking him, of course, but to take them with us into the restaurant. Our waitress was very funny and got right to the point.
It went something like this:
“Whadda ya’ll have there?”
“Raisin rum ice cream. Why don’t you take one of these half gallons and put it in the freezer and enjoy it later.”
“I don’t like raisins, but the rum is probly ok. Did ya’ll pay for it?”
“No. The delivery man gave it to us”.
“Good job!”
So we ate our dessert first while waiting for our order. Rum raisin isn’t exactly our favorite, either, but, hey!, it was Haggen Dazs!
After lunch we walked over to the Telfair House just a couple of blocks away. What a beautiful little museum. Originally a private home, completed in 1819, it retains some of the original rooms with period furniture and décor, but the remainder of the house has been turned into art galleries. On one of the Telfair brochures, it describes house this way: 125 years/art+history+architecture.
This was a perfect art museum for me. There were not so many paintings and sculptures that it was overwhelming; I could maintain focus throughout the time I was there. And it’s one of Maggie’s favorite art museums because she never tires of seeing a very moving painting, The Black Prince at Crecy.
http://telfair.org/visit/telfair-academy/overview/
The Number 2 stop on the trolley circuit is very close to the Telfair, so upon leaving the museum, we walked over to catch it, and we stayed on to complete the whole circuit, at the end of which we found ourselves back at the visitors center where we had begun our day.
We had just about an hour to visit the little museum there before it closed, and we made full use of that time looking at transportation exhibits, the bench that Tom Hanks sat on in the movie Forrest Gump, the statue of the Bird Girl pictured on the cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil which had been moved to the museum from the Bonaventure Cemetery, crafts, tools, all kinds of things.
At 5:00 PM, the center closed, and it was time for Maggie and Frank to be on their way back to their home near Macon. We had hoped that they would wait until we all had dinner, but it was going to be a three hour drive, so it was time…. So we all went back to the hotel so they could pick up their bags. Big hugs. Safe trip. Glad we were all able to be together even though it had been for just a short while.
Dinner that night for Jeri and me was a quickie. Moon River Brewing Company was very close to our hotel, so that was our choice. Not a fan of warm beer, but the food was fine.
FINAL SEGMENT TO FOLLOW
Oct 26th, 2011, 09:49 AM
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The pace of our final day in Savannah, which was also the final day of our trip, was a leisurely one. We made specific plans for the morning and for the evening, but for the rest, we decided to just see what the day would bring.
Our morning activity was to visit the Andrew Low House, the home of Juliette Low’s father. This was the third of the three houses for which we had paid admission when we entered the Davenport House the day before, and we put this on our agenda since we had visited only the Davenport House and the Juliette Low Birthplace.
A nice thing for Maggie and Frank, this admission ticket doesn’t expire, so they can present the unused portion of their ticket to visit this house the next time they visit Savannah.
As much as I enjoyed our tour of the Birthplace house, I enjoyed the Andrew Low House even more. (I started to write “we” instead of “I”, but I have to remember that this is my report and that I’m not speaking for Jeri. I’m know she enjoyed it, though.)
Just an aside. I write reports; Jeri does not. But when she reads mine…..well, we’re always on the same trip, but we don’t always take the same trip. If you know what I mean.
http://andrewlowhouse.com
When we left the Andrew Low house, we found ourselves right by the dot bus stop, and we decided to board and do a full circuit to see if there were areas of interest we might want to explore.
The dot bus system is similar to the DASH in Charleston. It is free, and as is expressed in its mission statement, it is “a service of Savannah Mobility Management, Inc., a public/private partnership created to develop and implement Savannah’s Visitor Mobility Plan. A primary purpose of the plan is to enhance the Savannah Experience for both visitors and residents by reducing traffic and parking congestion.”
http://connectonthedot.com/
If you don’t take the Old Town Trolley, or even if you do, take advantage of the dot circuit. The circuit is not as extensive, but the drivers are great and they give great narration.
For lunch we totally immersed ourselves in nostalgia and comfort food. We got off at a dot stop very close to our hotel and went to Leopold’s, which is reminiscent of those soda fountains we used to eat at in our youth. Leopold’s has tables, not a counter, but still it brought back memories of when I used to go with my mom and sit at the counter of Woolworths or wherever and have a tuna sandwiche and potato chips and a malt. Well, this time we had ice cream instead of the malt, but the feelings were the same.
http://www.leopoldsicecream.com/
It wasn’t too far from Leopold’s to the Riverfront, and since we had only made a quick pass through with Frank and Maggie, we decided to walk down there to look into some of the shops. This is a very colorful area running along the bank of the Savannah River, very busy with tourist traffic, but I was not especially drawn to the shops, most of which were selling souvenir type things, t-shirts, and such. And as we had just eaten, the restaurants were not a draw for us. It was an interesting historical venue, however.
The cobblestone streets were made from the rocks that had served as ballast for empty ships returning after delivering their loads of cotton to England. And the buildings housing the shops and restaurants were also those dating back to the days of King Cotton. The stroll along the river was also pleasant, but after an hour down there we had seen enough.
We returned to the hotel about 3:00 to take respite from the heat and humidity and also to pack, or rather re-pack our bags, in preparation for our departure for JAX early the next morning. Our trip was almost over, but we still had one special thing to look forward to. We had reservations for that evening at one of the Savannah restaurants which consistently receives high marks on the message boards, the Olde Pink House, which btw is located next to the Planters Inn.
What a way to celebrate this richly textured trip which was now coming to an end. We fully indulged ourselves with an appetizer (fried green tomato with applewood bacon and sweet corn cream), she crab soup, delicious entrees (Jeri, filet mignon; I, red snapper), a great bottle of red wine, and dessert (ice cream in a praline basket). We totally blew out our calorie allotment and our budget, and it was worth it.
http://www.plantersinnsavannah.com/savannah-dining.htm (This is a Planters Inn site, but contains information on the Olde Pink House. Click on the Olde Pink House’s Menu to see offerings.)
Well, this does it for the trip report. While it was written in part for me to have a record of things we saw and did, it was also written in the spirit of Pay It Forward. We had so much help from fellow Fodorites as we were planning, it is my hope that some of the things and links in this report will prove helpful to others as they plan their own trips.
As soon as I can get it together, I will post a few photos.
Our morning activity was to visit the Andrew Low House, the home of Juliette Low’s father. This was the third of the three houses for which we had paid admission when we entered the Davenport House the day before, and we put this on our agenda since we had visited only the Davenport House and the Juliette Low Birthplace.
A nice thing for Maggie and Frank, this admission ticket doesn’t expire, so they can present the unused portion of their ticket to visit this house the next time they visit Savannah.
As much as I enjoyed our tour of the Birthplace house, I enjoyed the Andrew Low House even more. (I started to write “we” instead of “I”, but I have to remember that this is my report and that I’m not speaking for Jeri. I’m know she enjoyed it, though.)
Just an aside. I write reports; Jeri does not. But when she reads mine…..well, we’re always on the same trip, but we don’t always take the same trip. If you know what I mean.
http://andrewlowhouse.com
When we left the Andrew Low house, we found ourselves right by the dot bus stop, and we decided to board and do a full circuit to see if there were areas of interest we might want to explore.
The dot bus system is similar to the DASH in Charleston. It is free, and as is expressed in its mission statement, it is “a service of Savannah Mobility Management, Inc., a public/private partnership created to develop and implement Savannah’s Visitor Mobility Plan. A primary purpose of the plan is to enhance the Savannah Experience for both visitors and residents by reducing traffic and parking congestion.”
http://connectonthedot.com/
If you don’t take the Old Town Trolley, or even if you do, take advantage of the dot circuit. The circuit is not as extensive, but the drivers are great and they give great narration.
For lunch we totally immersed ourselves in nostalgia and comfort food. We got off at a dot stop very close to our hotel and went to Leopold’s, which is reminiscent of those soda fountains we used to eat at in our youth. Leopold’s has tables, not a counter, but still it brought back memories of when I used to go with my mom and sit at the counter of Woolworths or wherever and have a tuna sandwiche and potato chips and a malt. Well, this time we had ice cream instead of the malt, but the feelings were the same.
http://www.leopoldsicecream.com/
It wasn’t too far from Leopold’s to the Riverfront, and since we had only made a quick pass through with Frank and Maggie, we decided to walk down there to look into some of the shops. This is a very colorful area running along the bank of the Savannah River, very busy with tourist traffic, but I was not especially drawn to the shops, most of which were selling souvenir type things, t-shirts, and such. And as we had just eaten, the restaurants were not a draw for us. It was an interesting historical venue, however.
The cobblestone streets were made from the rocks that had served as ballast for empty ships returning after delivering their loads of cotton to England. And the buildings housing the shops and restaurants were also those dating back to the days of King Cotton. The stroll along the river was also pleasant, but after an hour down there we had seen enough.
We returned to the hotel about 3:00 to take respite from the heat and humidity and also to pack, or rather re-pack our bags, in preparation for our departure for JAX early the next morning. Our trip was almost over, but we still had one special thing to look forward to. We had reservations for that evening at one of the Savannah restaurants which consistently receives high marks on the message boards, the Olde Pink House, which btw is located next to the Planters Inn.
What a way to celebrate this richly textured trip which was now coming to an end. We fully indulged ourselves with an appetizer (fried green tomato with applewood bacon and sweet corn cream), she crab soup, delicious entrees (Jeri, filet mignon; I, red snapper), a great bottle of red wine, and dessert (ice cream in a praline basket). We totally blew out our calorie allotment and our budget, and it was worth it.
http://www.plantersinnsavannah.com/savannah-dining.htm (This is a Planters Inn site, but contains information on the Olde Pink House. Click on the Olde Pink House’s Menu to see offerings.)
Well, this does it for the trip report. While it was written in part for me to have a record of things we saw and did, it was also written in the spirit of Pay It Forward. We had so much help from fellow Fodorites as we were planning, it is my hope that some of the things and links in this report will prove helpful to others as they plan their own trips.
As soon as I can get it together, I will post a few photos.
