Final Installment of our 2020 Fall Road Trip - Savannah

Savannah

The final major stop on our trip was in Savannah, GA.  We were here back many, many years ago with a senior adult group from our church, and have such dear memories of that trip.  We felt we wanted to do a repeat visit and experience this fascinating city one more time.

One of the things we most remembered and wanted to see again were the squares around which the city is built.

These squares are surrounded by some charming churches, historic homes, enchanting inns and museums and are all shaded by huge live oak trees draped with Spanish Moss. 

Again, we took a trolley tour ride for an overview of the city.  There is no way I can remember all the stories our guide shared and even if I did I couldn't tell them like he did.

Along the tour we had some real life imitators who got on the trolley to perform their impersonations of a renowned Savannahian.

This guy had a fake British brogue so bad we couldn't understand a single word he said, but I'm sure the story would have been interesting.  He sure looked the part.

This lovely "Indian" woman told how she had played a big role in the settlement of Savannah.  I can't find any reference to who she was, but perhaps was part of the Yamacraws, a friendly Native American tribe who greeted all the early European travelers and donated the land on which Savannah sits.

 

This was the best of the impersonators.  She told us about the creole language spoken by the Gullah people (also called "Geechees" within the community).  It was so similar to the Creole language and wordage that we hear here in Louisiana.

We did see some beautiful old buildings as we drove around the squares and city.

This house was memorable because our guide told us it is the largest and most expensive house in the city.  The owner has also made a huge investment in the business development of the city with boutique hotels and restaurants.

The rear of the home was as beautiful as the front.  We were told that the whole city street was closed down for months when the owner did a recent renovation of the house and grounds.  I doubt anyone spoke ill of the inconvenience.

I think this is supposed to be the most haunted houses in Savannah.  I can see where a spirit would hate to leave this pretty place.

The architectural details of this church were spectacular. 

There was something interesting about the circular stairs on this what is now a hotel.

If you look closely you will see a contraption made into the railings for cleaning boots.  I doubt it is being used for that purpose these days.

I found it funny that the driver of this carriage was wearing such a huge mask outside.

This museum was beautiful.  This and many of the other museums were all still closed.

The city market area is near the River and was an area we enjoyed walking through later on our own.

This ancient cobblestone street down to the river front was much steeper than it appears in this picture; however, it was every bit as rough as you think it might have been.  Sailing ships would use stones in the bottom of their ships for stability.  Once they were loaded with their cotton or cargo, they no longer needed the stones, so they were thrown out on the harbor shore.  These stones were then taken and used to build roads.  It was an amazing thought to think we were riding over stones that could have possibly come from all over the known world at that time.

This area of the city has a totally different feel than the upper residential and business sections.

Life isn't always easy.

There is an interesting story behind this "Waving Lady" statue.  The legend has it that a young woman would go to the riverbank to wait and welcome her sweetheart back from ocean voyages.  One day he didn't return and for 45 years she and her trusty dog never missed a day waiting and waving for her lost lover.

The architectural details on this building caught my eye.  I love Corinthian Columns.

When you see a sign this large on such an imposing building, you may need to take it seriously.

A spectacular architectural masterpiece, City Hall sits on what used to be called the Yamacraw Bluff, features a gold domed roof that rises 70 feet into the air.

Let's face it, Savannah is best enjoyed on foot.

We ended our trolley tour, in the downtown section in order to see some things we had missed.  After a while, we found our way to the Paula Dean & Son's restaurant.

The food was delicious and fit the advertised description of good ole' soul food.

Afterward we did a wee bit of shopping in her store.  After all those carbs, we walked around the open City Market, then walked lots of blocks back to the hotel.

The next morning we struck out early to spend the day walking around a few of the 22 squares we had seen the day before.

Christ Church, known as the Mother Church of Georgia was the first house of worship established with the founding of Georgia in 1733.  It is an Episcopal Church.  The cornerstone for the building was laid in 1744 and the 1819 Revere & Son bell is still in use today.

In another of the squares is this statue of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism.

After having a delicious lunch in an underground restaurant, we left to find it was pouring outside.  Needless to say we got drenched before finding a small store with an entire rain gear section.  We went for the clear plastic ponchos.

Shortly afterward, the rain stopped but not before we were soaked and I gave up on any semblance of a hair style.

The Independent Presbyterian Church is another historical house of worship on one of the squares.  It was organized in 1755 and this building was completed in 1891.  An interesting tidbit related to this church is that Ellen Louise Axson was born in the manse of this church in 1860 and married in 1885 here to Woodrow Wilson, who later became President of the US.  The things we can learn.

The First Baptist Church is Savannah's oldest standing house of worship and completed in 1833.  This church was one of the few southern churches to remain open throughout the Civil War and notoriously allowed Union soldiers to enter in their uniforms.  What a great thing for which to be remembered.

In the square across from the FBC, was this bench.  It was here, on another bench that is now memorialized in a museum, sat Forrest Gump.

One more interesting fact that makes visiting Savanah a fun place to be, is that back when this house was built, the more iron work one had on their home, the richer they appeared to be.  So this humble and non-proud home owner loaded his house and yard with the most ornate ironwork in the city.

I was impressed.  How 'bout you?

We loved our time in Savannah even though it lacked the personal aspects we had enjoyed in Charleston.  We will treasure these days spent together doing what we enjoy most - seeing God's beautiful world.

We got on the road early Thursday morning and headed through Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, where we spent the night.  We were ready by this time to see Louisiana. Thankfully, our nephew, Eric invited us and his parents for lunch at his lovely home out of Port Barre.  It was so good to spend time with him and my sister Gin and husband Thomas before ending our trip in Shreveport.

We never take safe travels for granted so thank our God for His protection and blessings as we traveled.

Thank you for following this lengthy installment of memories.

3rd Installment On Our 2020 Fall Road Trip

On Saturday morning we reluctantly left the cozy home and warm fellowship of our friends in Lancaster, SC and headed to Myrtle Beach.  We had never been there and wanted to say we had seen the beach.  Unfortunately, the press of humanity (most wearing masks outside?) kept us from seeing very much of the water.

The saving grace of our stop here was the variety show "One" at the Alabama Theater following a delicious dinner at the Flying Fish.

Sunday morning, we left our hotel with a bagged breakfast consisting of an orange, a small bottle of water and a packet of instant oatmeal.  Go figure!  How each hotel we stayed in handled the complimentary breakfast was interesting and we concluded some took the Covid restrictions as a cop-out.  But, we did not go hungry, I assure you, as breakfast is our favorite meal of the day.

Charleston, SC was our special destination and we used our time to see as much of the historical section as possible.

Our hotel was so conveniently located and once we parked the car, it didn't move it until we left.

After checking in, we enjoyed the view of this amazing engineering feat from our window.

  After getting settled we took a Grayline tour of the historic section so that we could get an overview and know where we wanted to spend the next day.

We love the classic Charleston architectural style with the side porches.

This one held some fun seasonal touches.  Can you find them?

I won't bore your with all the history behind these amazing old houses, but the wealth associated with them was astounding to us.

Monday morning, we got an early start by taking a trolley down to Broad Street where we had determined we wanted to start our walking tour.  It would eventually take us to the harbor.

This was a window in the old city Courthouse and I loved the American flag reflected there.

When we turned a corner across from this stately old church, the sun was hiding behind the steeple and sharing its rays with us.

The entry steps on this gorgeous three-story home naturally caught my attention.  It was the most spectacular arrangement we saw in the city.  I love the composition and colors.

How about these window baskets?  There were varieties of coleus, sweet vines, and grasses.

This post Civil War, Italianate Williams Mansion, is Charleston's largest private residence with over 24,000 sq ft.  It was constructed in 1878 at a cost of $200,000. It is also a museum but currently closed.

These huge three-story homes face the harbor and were part of some fascinating facts of history.

I couldn't keep from noticing the intricate gas-light chandeliers hanging on each of the porches and wondered the finery they might have witnessed entering those doors.

This house has the only cupula in the city and is owned by a millionariess whose son we learned is an actor.  Don't ask who, I couldn't tell you if I tried.

This little tiny house has an interesting history.  It was a project given to students by a professor many, many years ago, to see if they could build a residence on this narrow little lot amongst these mighty mansions. The winner of the project got to live there.  It has changed hands many times since then.

I said at the beginning of chronicling this journey that the most memorable experiences were those that involved interaction with people.

We met the man who lives across the street from the tiny house and struck up a conversation.  When he learned that we were from Louisiana and had once lived down in Houma, he claimed us as kin.  He invited us into his garden which was exactly what I had wanted to do.

As I walked around this small oasis among miles of concrete, he told us the story of how he and his wife had come to own this, the only coral house in the city.

It was a fascinating account but the amazing thing is, they only paid $300,000 for it years ago.  Unbelievable!

He told us the story behind this little frog.  He found it at an antique store many moons ago and knew he would one day use it in a water feature.  Many years and many dollars later, the frog holds the limelight of the garden.

In this picture, he is telling us about the orchid that grows attached to a tree, seen below.  Since Charleston is a tropical environment, these temperamental plants grow almost wild.

Needless to say, this was the highlight of our day and the memory of a friendly Charlestonion who had Louisiana roots will be a treasure.

The ferns hanging off this side porch were the largest I have ever seen.  The baskets themselves were massive but seemed thwarted by the immense size of the house.

The city of Charleston is known for its historic houses of worship.

The French Protestant (Huguenot) Church was undergoing extensive work and one of the workers asked if I would like to take his picture.  Who could pass up this cutie who was so eager to pose.

We can honestly say that Charleston has the friendliest people.  Folks who recognized us as tourists stopped and offered suggestions and interesting tidbits about the city.  We loved seeing this wonderful, beautiful, old city up close and personal.

Our hotel was near King St. which is the shopping and dining mecca of the historic section. We ate but we didn't shop.  What a lovely day, with more to come on the morrow.

We were leaving Charleston for Savannah this next day but before we left the city, I had arranged to meet a fellow blogger and artist for breakfast.

The Mash & Mercantile restaurant was within several blocks of our hotel so we decided to walk it.  We might not would do that again, but at least we got our steps in for the day.

It is in the old Cigar Factory down near the waterfront and has its own fascinating history.

I started following Kerry Steele's blog and Instagram several years ago, and found her paintings to be inspirational and so near the style I envisioned myself painting one day.  She was kind enough to meet us which provided me the opportunity to thank her for what her love for painting and interior design had meant to me through the years.

Yes, it is the personal interactions, the lives that touched yours that make memories so endearing and worthy holding on to for a while.

I have one more installment before finishing up this trip, so check back tomorrow for a glimpse of Savannah.

A Peaceful Hodgepodge

For many of us, there might not have been much sleep last night awaiting word on the election.  Thankfully the Hodgepodge isn't dependent on who wins or loses the election, although our mood may well be affected.  So hop on over and see how others have answered the following questions posed by Joyce.

Peace like a river....

1. How do you define peace? 

As in Middle East Peace or the peace of Jerusalem, or maybe even peace across our country between political parties, or even racial peace?  The easy and simple answer would be it is defined by the lack of conflict.  Someone else wrote:

"Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work.  It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart."  Unknown

Personally, Dick and I are dealing with the need for peace of mind regarding an upcoming decision as we seek God's direction and wisdom.

The Bible, which is my guide book speaks to this in several verses:

Paul in his letters speaks of peace mostly as being in unity with those around us.  Galations, says it is one of the fruits of the Spirit as we walk with Christ and live in the Spirit.  I believe that our personal peace can only come from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

2. November 3rd is Election Day in the US of A, but did you know it's also National Sandwich Day? Let's vote, shall we?

egg salad or tuna salad?  Tuna

chicken salad or grilled chicken on a bun?  Chicken Salad

peanut butter and jelly or a bagel with cream cheese?  Peanut & Jelly!!!

turkey and swiss or ham and cheddar?  Ham & cheddar

grilled cheese or pimento cheese?  Grilled cheese

roast beef-corned beef-or make mine veggie?  Corned beef as in a Reuben

3. When did you last say (or feel) 'no rest for the weary'? 

Again, I think this factors into the topic of peace.  Jesus said, "Come unto me all you who labor and I will give you rest."  I have seen so many who have labored over the election and as a result have found no rest or peace.  So, in essence, when I feel overloaded about a job to do, something to accomplish in a short period of time, or desiring to be in God's will, I seek to find His peace. I don't mean to sound holier than thou by any means, but this has become my goal.

4. This time last year, where were you? 

We were in Northern Arkansas following the wedding of a granddaughter.  Yes, we had weddings one year apart almost to the day.  On this particular day, we had driven over to War Eagle which is well known throughout the south for its massive arts and crafts festival each fall.  We then returned to Bentonville, and walked around the city square.

5. Share a favorite song, verse, or quote featuring the word 'peace'. 

"O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth.

O Lord, we praise Your name.

O Lord, we magnify Your name:

Prince of Peace, Mighty God, O Lord God Almighty!"

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

My closing and random thoughts on this election day are:

"When peace like a river attendeth my way.  When sorrows like sea billows roll.  Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, "It is well, it is well with my soul."

Oh Prince of Peace, Mighty God, O Lord God Almighty, please let Your Holy Spirit overflow and make His presence known across our hurting and confused nation in the days ahead.  Bring Your Peace in the conflict!

Amen!

This is one of my most favorite songs.