|
Written by Dorsey Thompson
|
Well let me tell you about my Savannah trip. To sum it up in a one word phrase's. . . Wow, Cool, Neato, Fantasy. This was my first Savannah trip and that was true for several of us. Okie held a meeting the Monday before our weekend to us about Savannah. Shauna had said at the meeting that Tuesday night she would be having a movie party at her house. The movie was 'In the Garden of Good and Evil'. This movie was filmed in Savannah and Okie pointed out several landmarks in the flick that we would be seeing. Now let me tell you what made the trip so wow, cool neato and fantasy. I drove up with two great car mates. . . Sue and Shauna, thanks ladies. As we all know being in the automobile for five hours with great company makes a long trip seem shorter. We left my house at 7:15 a.m. Okie said it was best to get to Savannah by lunch time to take advantage of lunch at Mrs Wilks. We arrived around 11:30 at the Bed and Breakfast and took our luggage to the rooms. We then took the time to check out each others room. Jeff and I were roommates in a single room with double beds. Sue and Shauna's place was like an apartment with living room, kitchen and bedroom it also had a balcony with no railing. Others had a cottage style with living room and bedroom upstairs. Okie had told everyone at the pre-meeting that once you parked your automobile you wouldn't need it anymore. After getting settled in the girls and I walked to Mrs. Wilkes just a couple blocks away. I had never experienced a restaurant like this. The place has eight large tables which seat ten. Bt the time we got there there were other TB's waiting outside. The temperature during the day was in the low 50's with the evening in the low 40's. We had to wait outside about ten minutes till a full table cleared and inside we went. Warmer in there also. The table was already filled with food. Several platers were full of fried chicken and there must have been twelve different kinds of vegetables in bowls. So just like at the family dinner table you started putting food on your plate and then passed the bowl or platter along to the next person. This keep up for the longest time before everyone got everything. My only complaint is our plates weren't big enough so I just started placing items on items. What a great idea. After that the girls and I decided to walk off lunch and walked to River Road. Shauna had been to Savannah before so she was our leader. You wouldn't believe how fast these two girls walked so I was always bring up the rear. River Road is 16 blocks from the B & B so you had better have the right walking shoes on. All total we walked it eight times. On the walk there you go through many squares which are like parks with a statue in each one dealing with the history of Savannah. There are lots of huge oak trees in each square and a big fountain in one. You know where there are oak trees there is also lots of moss hanging from their branches that is except in one square. In this square of all the big oak trees there was not a bit of moss to be found. It's said that yellow fever had something to do with it. River Road has a cobble stone road with rail tracks running down the middle for the trolley. The road had shops on one side and river on the other really beautiful to see. We walked from one end of the street to the other enjoying the shops and scenery. After spending several hours there we walked back to the B & B. In the main building is where folks got together to met and greet. TB's were coming in at different hours to get their room keys and this gave everyone a chance to see who was there. I believe that there was around forty of us. That evening a lot of us walked back into town to hear some music and get a bit to eat. Even though we were all bundled up it was only in clothes that fit the central Florida weather. I bought a pair of gloves when I got back home for my next Savanna trip. Shauna had called about the Pub Crawl Ghost Tour which about fifteen of us signed up for. It was a two hour tour. . . I know what you're thinking where was Gilligan and the Skipper. . . Our tour guide was really entertaining and very knowledgeable. He took us to four bars where it was said to be occupied by a ghost, and yes people have seen them, unfortunately or fortunately we didn't. There was one room upstairs in one of the bars which was an unfinished room that has been that way since 1997 because no contractor will work there anymore. It seems after a work day they would return the next morning and find all there equipment was in different places then how they had left it the day before and it kept happing over and over. . .BOO!! After the tour it was getting late and colder so back to the B & B to warm and chit chat. Saturday morning we arose to go into the main room for a cup of coffee and a great breakfast server to us by a very nice staff. Okie had scheduled his walking tour of all the squares that morning and pointed out some famous houses. In fact Okie and a bunch had done a house tour the day before. When you get a chance to do an Okie tour no matter what town your in do it because he makes being there more interesting. After his tour the girls and I walked back to River Road and this time went in every shop we passed. That afternoon a bunch of us got together to take the ferry across the river, about a ten minute trip, to see the ginger bread houses that school kids had made. It was located in the hotel across the river. There must have been fifty ginger bread house of all sizes. They weren't made from ginger bread but were decorated with all kinds of candy. That night five of us went to the Pirate House for dinner. Nice place. It also had a pirate person roaming the rooms joking with the customers. When we were finished with dinner the pirate ask if we would like to take a tour of the place so off we went from room to room with the pirate telling us interesting facts about the Pirate House. The restaurant has two of the oldest rooms in Savannah. At the bar in the seventeen hundreds is where the bartender would put knock out drops in some of the customers drink and when they passed out he would put them in a secret compartment behind the bar and wait to sell them to pirates. Our guide showed us pictures of orbs which are like ghost and he also showed us photos that customers had taken of other folks and in the photos there was seen full face ghost figures. I took a picture of the pirate and when I got the photo developed there was an orb right next to his face. Earlier in the day Shauna had taken a picture of Sue and me in my room and when that photo was developed there was an orb above our head. Spooky yes? I don't agree with the line in the movie 'Ghost Busters' where they say "I ain't afraid of no ghost", I got lots of respect for them myself. After dinner and that great ghost tour we headed to a bar called Smile's that Sue and Shauna had heard about. We had looked for it earlier in the day so we would know where to go. We talked with a lady at the bar and she said they opened at eight and it was best to get there early because they packed up as the evening went on. The big draw was dueling pianos. On stage there were two grand pianos butted up against each other and two guys playing that kept the audience singing and clapping all night. In fact these pianos players put so much energy into their playing that every half hour two new players would take over then switch again later. On the wall to the side of the pianos were two large mirrors tilted down so from the audience you could see their fingers on the key board going lighting fast. Jerry Lee Lewis would have been proud. We stayed for a couple hours and when we left there was a long line outside waiting to get in. Earlier that day Sue and Shauna had said that at midnight they would be having a board game party in their suite. After such a long day and night they weren't sure how many folks would show but come midnight there were fifteen of us in attendance to play Apples to Apples. I, like some others, had never played the game before but the rules were very simple and we all had a great time playing, drinking and snacking. I finally had to leave at two in the morning but later heard that Paula finally won around two thirty. Good for you Paula. Sunday morning it was back down stairs for another good breakfast then back to the rooms to pack up for our return. Okie had suggested to all of us to stop by two different cemeteries on the way out of town so thats what Sue, Shauna and I did. The first was kinda so so but the second one covered 100 acres or more. We talked to the lady in the main building and she directed us to the older section where lots of the grave stones were huge. One grave had a statue of a little girl who it was rumored that when she was alive she had healing powers. Well the cemetery finally had to put an iron fence around her grave site because people were rubbing the statue so much and we were told that there is oil in ones hands that deteriorates the statue stone. It was all very interesting. Well folks thats my story and I'm sticking to it. This like I said was my first trip to Savanna but it will not be my last. Thanks Okie for a great weekend and thanks to all the TB's on the trip who made it special.
Dorsey Thompson
|
