Isle of Hope / Savannah

[Hilde's log]

400 year old oak

A month in the Savannah area has seen winter finally grumble away and spring rush in with warm weather, the scent of Carolina and Confederate jasmine in the air, cool breezes, and morning saunters along the Skidaway River. When we first came in, the sun was shining, but the wind was still arctic. After we returned from Portland, balmy was the order of the day, and what a gorgeous change that has been!

View of the lovely Skidaway River.

Isle of Hope Marina is on the Skidaway River, one of a number of rivers that wind their way through this part of the world. The tides here are quite high at 9 feet, so the ramp to the shore can be almost level or almost vertical, depending on the time of day. It’s a lovely place to park, allowing boaters to wander along tree-lined boulevards and past elegant homes (and a few mansions) all decked out in their party best of white paint, Spanish moss, towering oak trees, and colorful flowers. The marina supplies free coffee, and a stroll down the river walk to one of several benches the locals have placed on the banks for tourists is a lovely way to spend the morning.

I do a lot of fantasizing about living in one of these homes. The grounds are just elegant.

The "river walk" by our marina, dripping with Spanish moss. Turns out Spanish moss is not moss, but an air plant distantly related to the pineapple. The tour guide insisted that the moss hosts chiggers, which I find an odd idea. What would they bite? Maybe it's a rumor to keep  tourists from taking it home.

Two of the homes along our walk offer benches for sightseers. Isn't that hospitable?

The marina has loaner cars, which are a godsend for errands, but we have splurged a couple of times for weekend special rental cars in order to see the sights. It’s a beautiful city, surrounded by unspoiled wetlands and barrier islands. We’ve met so many friendly people, which is amazing since this is high tourist season and the historic downtown is bursting at the seams with visitors. We’ve attended the oldest church in Georgia (established 1733), at which John Wesley was once the rector, and a “newer” church that didn’t get its start until 1832. Its “parish hall” is the Green House, once owned by a prominent Savannah resident who lent the home to Sherman and his occupying forces at the end of the Civil War, no doubt to keep it from being burned to the ground. 

Wormsloe Historic Site is the site of a plantation started at the time of the first founding of Georgia as a colony (1733 again). The entrance is familiar to anyone who watched “Forrest Gump” and the rest of the grounds host buildings that illustrate the place’s history and gorgeous jungle-like grounds where old cedar trees, oaks, Spanish moss, magnolias, and palm trees share the landscape.

A close up of "wattle and daub" construction. The houses were one room and tiny.

A twisted cedar lying along the marshes at the edge of Wormsloe.

The live oak drive made famous in "Forrest Gump."

Historic tours by bus, open coach, or carriage ride are available to provide visitors with an overview of the city, a pinch of history, a pitch for all the dining establishments, and a sampling of the Historic District’s 22 “squares” which are urban parks surrounded by beautiful townhouses. It’s a great way to see things without having to negotiate small streets in a rent car. 

Savannah is a port city, and big container ships routinely sail up the Savannah River past the old downtown district. The cobblestone streets and old quays of the city now teem with tourists and tourist shops, including souvenirs, candy, ice cream, bus tours, clothing, etc., housed in what were Savannah's huge cotton warehouses.

Downtown Savannah by the river.

One of the restaurants along the downtown river district.

One of our favorite visits was to the Bonaventure Cemetery, made famous in the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The cemetery is enormous, quiet, and lush.

Family plots hold everything from mausoleums, to Celtic crosses, to monuments.

This section of the cemetery was home to beautiful markers engraved in Hebrew.

The grounds are peaceful and green.

Many markers have stones balancing on the top or scattered over the ground around the marker. I'm guessing it's a commemorative gesture of some sort, but no one could tell me about the custom.

If you take Highway 80 out of town, you can visit Fort Pulaski, built in the military build-up following the War of 1812 and used all the way through the end of the Civil War, and Tybee Island, the local beach mecca for all ages where you can enjoy some bracing sea air and goggle at the wide variety of folks who go there to swim, fly kites, build sand castles, chase toddlers, and eat sandy picnic lunches. Or there’s a restaurant where you can listen to live music in the open air. It’s not Great Guana Cay, but it’s a lot closer.

Tybee Island