Savannah

The last time we were in Savannah was when we were looking at colleges for Lainey back in the fall of 2011.  We toured SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design)  which is in downtown Savannah.  After the tour, we had to leave to go to another college visit so we missed out on the richness of Savannah. 

We decided to take the boat from Isle of Hope to Savannah and dock at the Hyatt.  We had planned to stay at the city docks, but these have been closed.  The Hyatt docks are fine, but expensive, with very few amenities for the price.  However,  it is a great location from which to tour this beautiful historic city. 

Storms followed us to Savannah--of course it rains when we have to go under the bridge and I have to lower the antennae!

 

 

 

 

 

One of many massive cargo ships passing us

Bulbous Bow on a Freighter

It doesn't look like it's going to make it under the bridge, but it does. 

Cracked Earth-A World Apart---WWII Monument on River Street

A monument to “Liberty” the first American Naval vessel. She sailed from the Savannah port in 1775.

View of another freighter passing through the river--we are looking down from the street.

Piper by Johnny Mercer who wrote Moon River...

Piper meets Marilyn

Haitian American Memorial

Velvet Elvis Lounge--love the name

Piper at Paula Deen's store!

I know Washington enjoyed his visit to Savannah!

John Wesley Memorial

John Wesley the founder of Methodism spent most of his life in England but undertook a mission to Savannah (1735–1738), during which time he founded the first Sunday School in America. The statue was installed in 1969 on the spot where Wesley's home is believed to have stood. The statue is intended to show Wesley preaching out-of-doors as he did when leading services for Native Americans, a practice which angered church elders who believed that the Gospel  should only be preached inside the church building.

Isaiah Davenport House built in 1820

PIRATES!!!!

 

 

Savannah's most intriquing restaurant welcoming visitors since 1753.

The first experimental garden in America

Following Steve and Piper down these curvy steps

Piper and the Waving Girl Statue

Florence Martus,  whose father was an ordnance sergeant at Fort Pulaski  is known as the Waving Girl  who took it upon herself to be the unofficial greeter of all ships that entered and left the port of Savannah between 1887 and 1931. A few years after she began waving at passing sailors, she moved in with her brother, a lighthouse  keeper, at his small white cottage about 5 miles up the river from Fort Pulaski. Martus would wave a handkerchief by day and a lantern by night. According to legend, not a ship was missed in her forty-four years on watch. There are many legends about Florence--to answer the question as to why she was waving at passing ships.  One is that she had fallen in love with a sailor and wanted to make sure he found her upon his return.  Another is so that sailors would bring her gifts.

We loved our walking tour of Savannah.  It is filled with small parks and monuments telling the history of the city.

joy

Bonaventure Cemetery

While reading a list of "what to do" while in Savannah, I discovered that a visit to Bonaventure Cemetery is a sight seeing must while in this historic town.  While we don't usually visit cemeteries on our trips, Steve conceded to a visit after we checked out every marina nearby.

Bonaventure Cemetery was made famous by the novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil  written by John Berendt set in Savannah in the 1980's. The cover photograph for the novel was taken by John Leigh is of the "Bird Girl" sculpture.  The sculpture had been in the cemetery for nearly 50 years and gone unnoticed until this photograph.  The sculpture has since been moved to the Telfair Museum of Art because there were so many visitors disrupting funerals to see the sculpture.  The film starring Kevin Spacey and John Cusak, directed by Clint Eastwood came out in 1997. 

Located at 330 Bonaventure Road in Savannah, the 160 acre cemetery sits along the Wilmington River.  It features both Christian and Jewish entrances and is the eternal home to many famous individuals. 

We could see the cemetery from the Wilmington River when we traveled to Savannah by boat!

We noticed while walking around that many graves had stones placed on them.  Some people leave stones on the grave to mark a visit, some leave stones to keep the dearly departed soul weighted down, some leave stones as a type of altar. Some people leave stones as a symbolic gesture reminiscent of the days of early Jewish Shepherds.  Shepherds often had trouble counting all their sheep and remembering how many sheep were in their charge, so they would keep a stone for each sheep in a sling carried each day.  It is said that the visitor who leaves a stone at the grave is asking God to keep the departed soul in His flock  

Amazing what one can learn from a visit to the cemetery!

joy