The Other Georgia

 Day 1- Arrival/ Savannah

 

Landed in Jacksonville at 2 PM

Elizabeth had driven from Gainesville, picked me up at the airport and 2 hours later we arrived at our Airbnb

Unloaded the car, unpacked a little, then set off on foot to the restaurant rated # 1 in town by TripAdvisor. Elizabeth had called them several weeks earlier to see if they were open on Thanksgiving, and was assured "Oh yes, we're always open!". 

On the way there, we had passed a Nepalese fusion restaurant that smelled really good. "ooOoo!" we said, thinking we could check it out later during our stay.

"Later" arrived sooner than anticipated, because our original destination was closed! 👿

We went back to Namaste, and were immediately seated at an outdoor table. 

Refreshing cocktails were ordered (Cucumber Cilantro and Gin for me, Iced Chai with Rum for her), and a toast was made to everything going smoothly. 

Walked home

El Cheapo convenience store, across the street from our apartment, became our indicator of "North"

 and did a little more unpacking, settling in and winding down.

 

 

 Day 2- Savannah

 

Got up around 5:30 and headed out for a short solo walk up and down Duffy Street. 

Had some chocolate pu-erh tea in the little sitting area out back.

Flaxcake breakfast, then around 8:30 we walked to the area with all of the nifty squares.

There's no such thing as Too Much Pink

Made our way through the squares, got a bit rained on, and a very kind Yemeni clothing shop owner let Elizabeth use the restroom. Walked a ways along the waterfront area (aka Suckers' Row) 

and headed home via Habersham (which had the best squares, in my superior opinion).

Elizabeth had brought lots of tasty food from home, and we had some her tuna salad for lunch.

Our next foray was Baldwin Park, which is really more of a promenade. There were only a couple of other people there, which was a pleasant relief from the very touristy historical district.

From there we aimed West, to do a little recon for future suppers, and see some of the residential areas and HWPs (Homes Without Placards).

Picked up some critical provisions (aka White Claw Ruby Red Grapefruit hard seltzer) at Kroger's and went home for a little feet-up time.

Supper was at Starland Yard

We got our eats from the Loki food truck.

Picked up some brandy at the Liquor Store That Looks Like A Funeral Home

then it was back home to sit in the back and enjoy the simple pleasure of being comfortably outdoors in late November.

Side note: This was the first time since 1985 that I didn't have to work on the day after Thanksgiving.

 

 Day 3- Savannah

Early morning solo walk started out in a pleasant light rain, but was truncated when it turned into a thunderstorm. Thank goodness for an Airbnb with a dryer!

Breakfast of pu-erh and flaxcake, then we took advantage of a short break in the rain to walk two blocks to the Forsyth Park Farmers' Market to buy some much-needed fresh vegetables.

Quick stop across the street to the Cuban Window Cafe to pick up two cafes con leche (sin azucar, por favor!) and a guava cheese pastelito to share.

Using our Putzing Superpowers, we somehow managed to fill the subsequent 5 hours until the rain stopped for good and we could safely walk down Henry Street

 to the Laurel Grove Cemetary.

Went home, got in the car and drove to a neighborhood on the other side of town for a quick walk just to see something different.

Back at home, got some broccoli started, then returned to the Shore Thing, a BBQ joint we had scoped out the day before to pick up some takeout.

    

Ribs, chicken and a side of shrimp potato salad

Managed to watch some fireworks somewhere North of us through my bedroom window.

Too damp and chilly to sit out back, so we had a nip of brandy and picked out a movie to watch the following night (more rain in the forecast).

Day 4- Savannah

 

This morning's walk covered the area just to the northeast of our apartment. The weather forecast had shifted from "Rain all day starting at 10 AM" to "Rain around 3-4 PM", so we had a leisurely breakfast and drove over to Bonaventure Cemetery around 10. 

"Scorned and despised in private"

Not sure if I want to know what "the ancient order of things" means

Why, yes! I would like my gravestone topped with kale!

I had forgotten how many iconic songs he had written until I looked at both sides of this bench.

We didn't go looking for the Johnny Mercer grave site, but we happened upon it, and I am so glad we did! All of his family members' stones had some of his lyrics inscribed.

Got back around 2, filled our tanks (the car's and our own), and kind of waited around to see what the rain was going to do (forecast said rain from 3-5). I had suggested taking the same route that I had walked in the morning, wanting to see what it looked like in daylight. 

Elizabeth had realized that if we waited until after the rain, it would be getting dark, so we just put on our raincoats and sallied forth. Good thing, too, because it was barely sprinkling and quite pleasant.

Swung by Kroger's again and then home. Moseyed across the street to the Cuban restaurant and they didn't seem to have as much food in the steam table. We had gotten there a few minutes after closing time, and they were out of a lot of stuff, but we ended up getting exactly what we wanted (two different kinds of pork and no starchy side dishes). Our kind counter server earned herself a generous tip :)

After supper, parked ourselves on the couch to watch My Octopus Teacher on the Netflix (remarkable!).

 

 Day 5- Bluffton, South Carolina/Savannah

It was raining buckets at 5:30 AM, so I skipped the morning walk. Usual breakfast, then at 8:30, inspired by our sister Elaine's FB post from April, 2019, we drove 18 miles to Bluffton, South Carolina to get lattes at Corner Perk.

Walked for about 2 hours, first in the town and then on a walking/biking path alongside a county road.

You've heard of a Pub Crawl? This was something of a Public Restroom Crawl, seeing as it was done post-latte. We availed ourselves of no fewer than 2 stops while at Corner Perk, 3 on the walk itself, and two more stops when we went back to Corner Perk for lunch. 

Thanks, El!

After our shrimp and grits, drove to Hilton Head and walked a few laps around Jarvis Creek Park fitness trail 

and had one more restroom stop (anyone who has ever traveled with me knows that I spend 74% of my waking hours looking for a place to pee 😉)

Got home around 4:30, then I headed west on Duffy Street to try to find the RBG cutout that I had seen on my very first morning walk.

Success!

Made a supper of leftover BBQ and served it with some caramelized zucchini.

We turned it into a quintessential Rush kitchen

After supper, watched the first half of Trevor Noah's Afraid of the Dark on Netflix.

 Day 6- Savannah

 

Between a 5:30 AM temperature of 38°F with a 15 mph wind, and a gentleman at a bus stop having a very animated conversation with no one in particular, I cut my morning walk a little short.

With our Savannah bingo card mostly full, we headed north again through the historic district to see the spots we hadn't gotten to yet. Searched for the Only Public Restrooms In Savannah, and found them at 9:53. They didn't open until 10 AM (WTF, Savannah?!?), but we managed to find relief at Bitty and Beau's, a sweet coffee shop with a really cool mission. 

Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist

I felt like a kid in a....store with lots of products for sale

River Street

Walked up and down the length of River Street

Three blocks before home, I couldn't resist popping in to the independant natural foods market that we had passed a few times before. Oh, how I love that smell!

Lunch and rest at home. I had one more hard seltzer in the fridge, but the weather was too cold for it to be consumed as intended, so I heated it up. Not bad! Reminded me of sake.

We were going to revisit Laurel Grove Cemetery, hoping to cover more ground since the grass wouldn't be as soggy as last time, but a Google search revealed that there was a Laurel Grove South Cemetery that hadn't shown up the first time, so we decided to go there instead.

Wow! I'm so glad we didn't miss it! So much more evocative, and made me want to learn more. There seemed to be so many untold stories.

We would have liked to linger and wander a little more, but the wind (15 mph, 47°F) was just too cold and distracting.

Supper was some coconut curry soup that Elizabeth had brought from home, fortified with the last of the broccoli and the Cuban leftovers. After some preliminary packing, we nestled in to finish watching the Trevor Noah special.

 

 

Day 7- Departure

 Got up extra early, skipped the morning walk (too cold, too dark), and started packing. Took advantage of the 6 AM opening time of the Cuban place across the street to get a couple of cafe con leches. Cranked up the dual OCD dial to do a final clean up and faucet polishing.

Packed up the car and got on the road by 8:20 AM. Got to JAX at 10:35, and off I went!

Frost on the windshield is proof that it really was that cold!

 

 FAQs

 

Why Savannah?

I had always been intrigued by and attracted to its distinct aesthetic (the architecture, squares, etc.). It seemed like a  unique place, and on a very short list of U.S. destinations that I'd be sorry to miss. Alas, Bhob never showed much of an interest.

Last year, Ellie posted on the facebook from South Carolina, and Elizabeth commented that it was not far from Savannah, a place she's always wanted to visit. Bingo! I gots me a travel partner!!

 

 Have you read  Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil?

No.

Did you at least get to see the wistful grave marker that is on the book cover?

Nope.
It now lives in a museum instead of the cemetery, and we wanted to spend as little time indoors as possible.

How were your flights?

MSP gates were super spacious. TSA was a breeze. 13 minutes. Everyone was masked. TSA now allows you to carry on board a 12 oz size of hand sanitizer.

ATL More crowded, but plenty of relatively empty nooks to get out of the slipstream, safely loiter and recharge my phone during the one hour before boarding. Saw maybe a half dozen defiant chin-diaper wearers.

JAX-ATL TSA took 5 minutes. It kind of reminded me of the checkout line at Aldi. The terminal was really empty.

Varying degrees of full mask compliance (97%?)

ATL-MSP Similarly empty airport and mask compliance.  

The corridors between concourses at ATL have gotten a lot more interesting since my days of flying back and forth to Miami every other week.

Between the spaciousness of the sitting area and the patience during disembarking, it was probably the most pleasant, relaxing air travel experience I've ever had. Apart from the whole deadly virus thing, I could really get used to it!

 What did you watch on the flights?

MSP-ATL Two and a half episodes of Chopped (not recommended for the nervous traveler; very suspenseful!).

ATL-JAX One more episode of Chopped

ATL-MSP  The Art of Self Defense. It filled the time, and I enjoyed it, but I don't know if I can recommend it.

 

 Was there a lot of talk about the senate runoff election?

A bit. Lots of lawn signs, none for the incumbents. Savannah seemed like a fairly blue area. I saw a few people out canvassing, going door to door to encourage people to vote.

 

Any concerns about the covid? Did it affect your activities?

Well, of course, although I think that people in my inner circle were more worried than I was. 

I think there was some misinterpretation of the CDC's advice. They were primarily advising people not to travel to attend Thanksgiving festivities with large groups of family or friends, get infected by someone in the group, and then return to infect their own bubble. Folks would see the words "don't travel" and "covid" and jump to conclusions. 

The danger was less with the traveling and more with the congregating.

I don't feel that what I did was in any way unsafe. I took a metric crap ton of immune supporting supplements, washed my hands, wore a mask, etc. Other than grocery shopping and picking up takeout, all of the time we spent indoors was in our spotless, sanitized Airbnb.

In the Corner Perk restroom. Yes, Dear Reader, I sang it.

What supplements did you take?

Daily:

Gut Connection Immune with EpiCor

MyCommunity caps

Wellness Formula

Multi vitamin

Enzyme Defense

Omega 3 fish oil

Fenugreek

Biosil

Calcium

Magnesium powder

Triphala

Saccharomyces boulardi

Dr. Ohhira probiotic

In transit:

MycoShield spray

MyCommunity caps

Zand Immune Fast with EpiCor, zinc and elderberry

 Did it seem like Savannah was doing a good job of following Covid safety protocols?

Yes! Masks were mandatory in all public places, inside and out. People did a good job with social distancing, and many places had hand sanitizer at the entrance. Locals and tourists all seemed on board (though I can't vouch for Suckers' Row during peak party hours).

 

 How was the weather?

Mixed! Overall, pretty nice. Mostly highs in the 60s and low 70s, down into the 50s at some points. A few patches of rain. The penultimate day was quite windy, and the temperature dropped gradually throughout the day. Departure day began with a temperature of 33°F.

 

How big is Savannah?

108.7 square miles (vs. 56.20 sq mi for St Paul). Population of the metro area is 393,353 (vs St Paul's 308,096). Even though it's bigger than St Paul, it somehow felt smaller, maybe because the blocks are shorter?

 

 How did you get around?

My sister drove up from Gainesville, FL, so we took her car everywhere that we didn't want to walk.

Is Savannah pedestrian/bicycle friendly?

By scale, yes. By sidewalk conditions, not so much. It would be challenging with a stroller or wheelchair. High curbs, but most intersections had cutouts (?).

Lots of arterial streets had designated bike lanes, but I probably wouldn't want to bike on the cobblestone streets in the historic district.

Any highlights?

Not really. It was all pretty great.

 

Any lowlights?

Hadn't counted on so much Christmas music so early 👿

Any surprises?      

Laurel Grove South Cemetery. As often happens on the last day of a trip, when I've "crossed off" everything on the "must do" list, I check out something that just shows up on the map or in a google search, and it turns out to be one of the best experiences of the visit. 

Complete lack of expectations sure doesn't hurt!

 

Who should go?

Anyone who likes humidity, cool old houses, Spanish moss, cobblestones and spooky cemeteries and doesn't mind being around a lot of other tourists.

What was it like traveling with your sister?

Great! It was so interesting to share a kitchen and discover so many similar idiosyncrasies (e.g. reusing paper towels, each subsequent task descending in dignity). 

Because she drove from her home, she brought along so many things that could (and turned out to) be useful. Traveling with a Virgo definitely has its perks!!

Neither of us had any big expectations about what we wanted to see or how we wanted to spend our time, so we had no set itinerary and were able to let each day unfold and go wherever it took us.

And of course the best thing was just having so much unstructured time to hang out and talk. Being in a neutral location meant that she didn't have to split her time between me and the rest of the family (as when she visits Minnesota), or be pulled by household chores and distractions if I were to visit her in Florida.

How much did it cost?

What I spent for 5 full days:

Groceries & booze $35.73

Coffee and treats. $19.96

Restaurants. $44.02

Gas $6.38 (Elizabeth has a Prius 😉)

Lodging $415.50

Airfare $268.80 

Total cost $790.39. Total cost per day $158.08 

"On the ground" cost was $104 per day. 

Who watched Stinkerbell while you were gone?

My primary conspirator and podmate, Bhob.