In Old Savannah. I said Savannah...

When my husband’s great uncle asked what I most looked forward to experiencing in Georgia, my answer -without pause- was “Savannah”. 

In his long drawl, he replied: “Savann-uuuuuuhhhh is an unuuuuusuaaaaal place.”

“But Uncle Harley,  you see, I’m an unusual girl.”

I had been to Georgia before moving here, but there were priority tasks involved in each trip. Both times were centered around our army life; the first when my husband graduated basic training at Fort Benning and the second when we PCS-ed (moved) to Germany. 

We took advantage of a five day stay in Atlanta before shipping the car off and flying from ATL to Europe. Our stay in Atlanta was great, though we barely scratched the surface.

Throwback moment!

There have always been towns and cities in Georgia -or the south, in general- that I have been itching to visit my entire life. In fact, this is why I wanted to be stationed at Fort Gordon! It is within reach to so many possible day trips, weekend getaways, and my favorite part: the ocean.

 With a nice weekend forecast in sight, we decided to make Savannah happen on a day trip from Augusta. And let my opinion be known: Savannah is THEE most beautiful city in the United States I have ever laid eyes upon. It’s up there in my all-time favorite cities list, which includes some pretty tough to beat places in Europe; Paris, Edinburgh, London, Barcelona, Vienna, Rome, Florence, the list goes on and on.

I had read travel blogs and researched some must-see, iconic landmarks for years before being here in Georgia. I read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, not because of it’s Savannah ties, but because I’m into historical drama. I know much about Savannah’s dark history. But nothing prepared me for physically being there.

Tons of blogs and vlogs hand out the beaten path itinerary and over suggested suggestions. Instagram and other social apps emphasize the “perfect” photo worthy spots. But if you want to truly see Savannah for what she’s worth, make zero plans, throw out maps, and let her streets guide you.

And that’s pretty much what we did.

 **I should mention, once I see a map, it can’t be unseen in my head. It’s a curious gift. I am never lost, though I may have never visited. I always know which cardinal direction I am facing. And even if I don’t know exactly where I am heading, I somehow find where I needed to be without thinking. This ‘gift’ bothers my husband. I’ll explain later!**

Because of my ‘gift’, I did know the general vicinity of where things were, such as Forsyth Park, River Street, and St. John’s Basilica. Many of the famous homes in the area were also in my internal mind map. But once we exited out of the parking garage on foot, I was diseased with a case of rubbernecking EVERYTHING.

Seriously, Savannah’s streets deserve to be relished, and slowly. Maybe that’s part of why her nickname is Slow-vannah? If you are rushing to get through this city to hit all of the social media selfie spots, you are missing out on unique areas that beg attention.

We first found ourselves at Oglethorpe Square; one of the original six constructed in the city. It may not be the most iconic, but super charming, nonetheless. Because I know my directions, I decided to guide the family in the direction of Forsyth Park and see what we see getting there. We did not go out of our way to hit certain places, it organically occurred.

There’s something peaceful about leaving an itinerary list behind. You don’t feel time crunched, or rushed! But to be fair, I live two hours away. I can easily return a different day, unlike out-of-towners. If I had came from far away, I would have given myself more than a day, and yes, I would likely follow an itinerary.

Nestled in the city off of Abercorn Street is an odd, six-acre cemetery. Known as the Colonial Park Cemetery, it’s unlike any other I have been to. Not in a good or bad way, it’s just different in that it’s inviting, likely because of its location.

As Savannah’s oldest cemetery, there are an estimated 9,000 folks interred here, ranging from interment dates between 1750-1853. Apparently, it serves as the starting point for many of the night ghost tours, as it has a claim of being haunted by General Sherman’s army. On our bright and sunny Sunday, I just didn’t feel the spine tingles, though night could prove me wrong another time.

From Colonial Park, I followed the sky piercing spires of St. John’s Basilica. We did not go in, mainly because it was Sunday, and also because I have become sort of jaded by cathedral architecture after living abroad. Nothing tops La Sagrada Familia, nor Koln Cathedral. Sorry.

The façade of this basilica is still beautiful, don’t get me wrong!

From there, we continued toward Lafayette Square and marveled at the greenery around us once again. I do feel like each square we visited had its own vibe. This one in particular was super shaded, had a pretty little fountain, and not many folks around. I wasn’t mad.

Leaving Lafayette Square, we stumbled upon the Low House; where the founder of the Girl Scouts once lived. I was never in the Girl Scouts, so I really didn’t feel a reason to tour it, nor ogle over it. I will say I know a bit of Juliette Gordon Low’s history, and holy heck, what an incredibly inspiring woman, to say the least! If you are into the ghost tours, they do say that this place is pretty haunted, but then again, it’s in Savannah, so…everything is haunted?!? Maybe?

Down a few blocks from the Low House is Forsyth Park, which was a must for a first timer like myself. We lazily walked to it, taking in our surroundings. I don’t know what it is y’all, but the Spanish Moss hanging all over this city is what really grabs my heart. It’s just so very GAH! I don’t even have words to describe how I feel under the shade of an oak; twisted limbs, blanketed by Spanish Moss. It’s still surreal, even where I live in Augusta.

The famous Forsyth Fountain had one teeny, big issue that day. See if you notice what's missing in the photos!

 

ZERO PEOPLE AROUND IT! None! Nada!

I reserved it for that afternoon for my family to enjoy alone.

 

Yeah, right. I am totally kidding.

SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) was filming around the fountain, so police and security folks were politely pushing park patrons back. We were not able to enter the bricked ring around the fountain, but able to walk around the grassy perimeter. I honestly saw the positive in it being blocked for the day, as I was able to take some unobstructed photos! This is not typical of this fountain.

I did have one thing I had to do while in Savannah: Walk Bull Street.

Bull Street is sorta special to our family. One of the first homes I loved online before moving here was on Bull Street, in Augusta. I remember sharing my saved house list with my sister last June/July, and saying “I love this home, but I can imagine the jokes. Bull Street? More like Bull Shit.”

Skip ahead in time, we ended up buying our very first home on Bull Street in December! Who knew it’d work out that way?

Albeit Savannah is an entirely different city than Augusta, I wanted to find a cool Bull Street sign and photograph it for some house wall art. I found a couple!

The Bull Street and Gordon is specifically neato, just because we are stationed at Fort Gordon and happen to live on a Bull Street. I also liked another Bull sign off of Bay Street, just because of the urban feel.

We walked Bull Street all the way to River Street, stopping at a few places along the way. Chippewa Square (Forrest Gump’s famous bench scenes were filmed there) and grabbing some Ice Cream at Ben & Jerry’s. Once we hit Bay Street, we let the kids sit and eat their cones while I wandered the area. This area is very bizarre and kind of reminds me of Edinburgh, Scotland, where the buildings run deeper in ground than they appear from the street curbs. This is also where we first encountered “Historical Steps”.

I can understand why signs are posted. These stairs are everywhere and OLD AF. They are also very steep, and not all are well maintained. We encountered them in various areas between Bay St and River Street. There are other ways to get down, but be warned, we noticed the alternatives to steps all have cobblestone/uneven brick pavements sloping downward. I imagine there has to be another way for disabled folks.

Once on River Street, we roamed around, gazing at the storefronts that we saw the backsides of on Bay Street. There are also other random finds on River Street; The Georgia Queen riverboat, The cracked earth tribute for WWII veterans, the African-American Family statue, dedicated to the "invisible story of the transatlantic slave trade", an anchor monument, and the famous Waving Girl.

We also found the River Street Marketplace, but tbh, most of what I saw in there I have seen at my local flea markets.

This wall reminds me of a particular wall I saw in Venice, Italy!

We ended our River Street walk at East Broad Street and took the above pictured steps up to the surface level to begin our trek to the parking garage. I continued leading the family straight, and at some point, my 'gift' kicked in.

My husband, annoyed, said "I think we are way off from the car."

I just gave him 'the look' and said "two more blocks and we'll go right."

Two more blocks forward, he says it again.

I gave him 'the look' -again- and said "We're now on State Street, the same street we parked on. I think I'll take my chances with this right." And I went right, like a magnet to my car. 

Once again, my 'gift' irritates him. I don't need GPS, a map or a compass. I am the compass.

Saw this cute porch with the gas lamp burning. Gas lamps are pretty much everywhere here!

I found a rooftop access and took advantage! It's kind of crazy that you can look down upon Savannah from higher up, and the city seems...dare I say...dull. She's definitely a city whose best views and sites are on the ground, in the streets. But it was still neat to see some of the building tops.

I know we missed A LOT of Savannah sites, but we will most certainly be returning soon. Our day got started later than expected, so I did cut out Bonaventure Cemetery, though I knew I'd regret it. 

We also first drove to Tybee Island, not Savannah, that day. I wanted to check out the differences in the beach areas for myself, just to have a better idea of where we may have future beach days. I *think* I have it figured out. 

Quiet beach day near a lighthouse: North Beach. 

Shops, eats, louder crowd, more civilization around, and harder to find parking: South Beach.

I couldn't even find parking that morning at South Beach, so I gave up and went to Savannah from there!

The next time we go to Savannah, I may just book a one night stay. I'd like to give myself time at Bonaventure, do a ghost tour and possibly a riverboat dinner cruise. But really, I'd love nothing more to stroll the streets at dusk and when the sun goes down.

Next stop? Probably Atlanta, but that'll be a boring Ikea trip. Nothing to write home about. However, we have a huge summer family vacation coming up soon, and I am SUPER excited about it! I am more than ready after having gone through two Covid summers and two deployment summers since our last big family vacation. It's overdue.