Savannah Wanderings, Part One

You know, if it’s not one thing, it’s another. Do you remember that I my windshield caught a rock on the way into Charleston? I spent a couple days getting that resolved.

On my way into Savannah, the light on my trailer brake controller in the cab of my truck started acting up. I got several odd signals and then it went out. So, I made an appointment to take the truck into a Dodge dealership. I described the issue and they cleaned out the seven-way plug and check things out. They said that should fix it.

If only that were the case, but more about that in a later post.

After my time at the repair shop, I set out to explore Savannah.

I stopped in the tourism office and picked up a map of the downtown area. As you can see, it is laid out very geometrically, with nicely distributed squares throughout the town.

My first stop was lunch. I decided to dine at The Lady and Sons, which is Paula Dean’s restaurant. I called and asked if I needed a reservation, and they said they had plenty of seats – come on down.

The host greeted me and directed me to an elevator and told me to take it to the second floor where I was greeted by a second host who seated me.  I was followed immediately by a guy with a plate of interesting breads.

Apparently they have done this a time or two.

I had a choice of ordering from the menu or getting the buffet.

I don’t generally opt for the buffet option as I usually can’t eat enough to make it worth while. I end up eating a bite of this and a bite of that and it’s rather unsatisfying. I opted for a salad.

I’m not sure that this was exactly a healthier choice. Fried onion rings, fried chicken, bleu cheese and dressing, and that along with the stack of interesting breads.

Sufficiently fortified, I set out to explore. I headed toward the river.

I came upon another set of those historic steps.

That’s still a long way down!

This time, I ended up not trekking down the stairs. On the map, I saw that there was an elevator. I like elevators!

I headed toward City Hall, past the horse drawn carriage, ready for tourists,

and past the pedi cabs, waiting for tourists. I like the fact that they are reading actual books.

There was the elevator! That was much more satisfying than trying to get safely down the historic steps to the riverside.

By the edge of the river was the African American Family Monument, which was dedicated in 2002.

The bronze statue is standing on a granite base that is inscribed with poignant artwork on one side.

One another side is an inscription written by Maya Angelou.

In case you are having a hard time reading the text on the photo, here is a transcript:

“We were stolen, sold and bought together from the African continent. We got on the slave ships together. We lay back to belly in the holds of the slave ships in each others excrement and urine together, sometimes died together, and our lifeless bodies thrown overboard together. Today, we are standing up together, with faith and even some joy.”

After studying the monument, I turned my attention to the Savannah River. I am fascinated by working ports. One of these days, I am going to get to watch ships being loaded and unloaded.

I loved this little tugboat chugging down the river.

It reminded me of this sweet little Golden Book we had when we were little.

There was a river boat docked a ways up the river from me.

After a bit, it got underway and headed down the river.

It reminded me of an elaborate wedding cake.

The Georgia Queen is a stern wheeler.

A container ship came steaming into port. It would be cool to watch it unload. Before you know it, those containers will be on trucks and heading down the Interstates.

I could sit and watch the river traffic all day, but I had to keep moving. I take my tourism duties seriously!

Shipping sure as changed over the years. I had always heard that they used cobblestones as ballast, but I kind of thought they just threw them in the bottom of the hold. This diagram makes it clear how they were used to stabilize the cargo. Many of the streets in the historic district are cobblestone that came over on the ships.

This building caught my attention. Actually, what caught my eye was the Masonic symbol on the balcony.

Toward the end of my walk along the river, I came upon the statue of The Waving Girl.

Florence Martus was born in 1868. Beginning in 1887, she took it upon herself to greet all the ships that entered or left the Port of Savannah. By day, she waved a handkerchief and at night, she used a lantern. According to legend, she did not miss a ship in her forty-four years on watch.

This statue is the Olympic Cauldron from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The sailing and yachting events were held in the Savannah River.

This was my last stop on my walk along the river. I’ll share the rest of my Savannah exploration in my next post.

As P.T. Barnum said…

or was it Walt Disney?

“Always leave them wanting more.”