Tuesday 12/10 – Savannah
Christmas
A month ago Tina and I decided to have a short get away and
signed up for a four day trip to Savanah with a tour company. Another couple,
Irwin and Ming, decided to join us and twenty other couples for the trip. Irwin
is one of my poker buddies and Ming is a retired concert pianist. A fun
couple to spend time with.
Up at 4:30am to shower and get ready for our trip.
Everything was packed last night and arrangements made for Lenny (My Favorite
Pet Sitter) to visit the kids four times a day. Got Tina up at 5am and loaded
the car while she got ready. We were out of the house by 5:45am and made a stop
at Starbucks for coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Left Starbucks as the sun was
breaking in the east and drove to Village Walk to catch the bus for the eight
hour drive north to Savannah !
After loading our bags and parking the car we boarded the
bus where we met Rita, out tour director and Pete, our driver. We left promptly at 6:30am and drove to Bonita Beach to pick
up some more passengers, then on to Ft Myers for the rest of our tour group. By
7:30am we had everyone on board and returned to I-75on the first leg of our
trip. The first “comfort” stop was around 10:40am and then a lunch stop at a
food court in a mall around 12:15pm before we got back on the road headed
north.
As we neared Ocala our driver
“Pete” left I-75 for FL-301 towards Jacksonville ,
making another comfort stop near Westside. On the road again, with the wheels
on the bus going “round and round”, we arrived at our stop for the night, the
Comfort Inn in Brunswick just over the Georgia border.
The time was just 4:00pm, making it the longest bus ride I've taken since I
left the service and returned to Seattle
back in the 60's!
We had several texts from Lenny during the day letting us
know how the dogs were doing on their walks and eating. It seems they are quite
happy to see him when he comes to take them out of feed them their breakfast or
dinner. Looks like they are well taken care of!
After checking in everyone retired to their rooms for a
break and to get ready for dinner. At 6:00pm we all trouped back to the lobby
and boarded the bus for a half hour trip to St Simon Island and the Georgia Sea
Grill, a four star restaurant with an ambiance of casual elegance. Irwin and
Ming had secured a table for four and motioned us to join them. The food was
very good and the conversation lively. After a desert of Key Lime Pie
 |
| Mike, Ming and Irwin seated in the Tram |
The next morning we got up around 6am to pack, take our bags
down and grab some breakfast, then it was onto the bus for a trip to Jekyll Island
just south of Brunswick .
We boarded an open air tram for a 90 minute tour of the Historical District.
Our tram driver and guide gave us a well prepared history of the island. At first, it was the farm and home of John
Eugene duBignon. But, with the help of his brother-in-law Newton Finney, it
became what Munsey’s Magazine called “the richest, most inaccessible club in
the world”, the Jekyll Island Club.
Club members included notable names such as J.P. Morgan,
Joseph Pulitzer, William K. Vanderbilt, and Marshall Field, to name a few.
Members prized the island for its “sense of splendid isolation,” as well as its
beautiful landscape and moderate climate. At a time when the idea of a modern
seaside resort was a novelty, members experienced unsurpassed levels of luxury
and service that were remarkable, even by today’s standards.
 |
| Ready for a carriage ride! |
Members and their guests enjoyed hunting, horseback
riding, skeet shooting, golf, tennis, biking, croquet, lawn bowling, picnics,
and carriage rides. Several members built “cottages” which, though fully
elegant, were simple in comparison to their other home estates. Designed simply
yet with a regal touch, these winter retreat homes certainly met the comfort
levels to which Club members were accustomed. Today the island is owned by the
state and the clubhouse is an elegant hotel.
 |
| Gingerbread Show at the Westin |
After the tram ride we went to the museum and gift shop
before boarding the bus for our ride to Savannah
and the Westin Hotel to see the annual Gingerbread competition and stroll along
the riverside promenade. It was a bit chilly outside, maybe 56 but with a
breeze blowing we didn't stay outside long. Then it was back to the bus for the
drive to Paula Dean's restaurant, Lady and Sons” for lunch.
Tina already knew that Paula was doing a book signing so
we quickly got arm bands for the signing, bought some tea towels and a book to
be signed, then joined Ming and Irwin for lunch in the restaurant. After a
delicious meal, Tina and I went outside to join the lineup to meet Paula. We
got in line about 2:20pm and at 2:55pm I left Tina to join the bus for our
hotel, the Holiday Inn Express located on historic Bay Street just above the river. Actually
only about five blocks from the restaurant but I needed to get our stuff off
the bus and up to our room. With key in hand I made it to our room, got things
set up then walked back to the book signing where I joined Tina.
 |
| Mike & Tina with Paula's Family |
An hour later
we finally made it into the room where all her family, brother Bubba, husband
Michael, Paula and her two sons, Jaime and Bobby were all seated at a table
signing books. Finally, around 4:30pm we got to the table where we met with the
family, shared a few words in greeting, had our items signed, were photographed
and made our way outside for the walk to the hotel. After getting settled in our room we took a well deserved break before
venturing out for dinner.
After deciding we wanted a light meal and someplace close to the hotel, I did a google search and found the Cotton Exchange Tavern located down on the
river side. It was a short walk across Bay Street and down to the riverside quay.We were quickly seated and ordered a bowl of French Onion
soup for Tina, a bowl of Clam Chowder for me and some bacon wrapped shrimp
as an appetizer. Very good!
Leaving the Tavern after dinner, we made our way back to the
hotel to join our fellow travelers for a short bus ride to the Historic
Savannah Theater where we saw a production of their famous “Christmas
Tradition”, a series of musical and dance performances followed by an
arrangement of Charles Dickens, “Christmas Carol”. The entire performance was
extremely well done and was given several standing ovations. We thoroughly
enjoyed ourselves and by 10pm were back at the hotel where we tucked ourselves
in for the night!
Thursday morning and we decided to sleep in rather than take
the Savannah
tour as we did that a few years ago. After dressing and a cup of coffee, we went downstairs and let Rita and Pete
know so they wouldn't be looking for us. Then we headed up town to Henry's for
breakfast. A little chilly, maybe 48 degrees but we were dressed warmly and had
hats and gloves.
 |
| Colonial Park Cemetery |
After breakfast we did our own walking tour. Leaving Henry's we made our way up town. Our first stop was Colonial Park cemetery, one of Savannah’s most beautiful restorations, is the final resting place for many of Savannah's earliest citizens. Established about 1750, it was the original burial ground for the Christ Church Parish. We spent time just strolling the grounds looking at headstones and noting the dates. The cemetery was already closed to burials before the start of the Civil War and no Confederate soldiers are buried there. From there we continued South through many of the city parks.
Along the way we marveled at the many churches and architecture of buildings comprising both business and residential. One church, the Cathedral of St John the Baptist was exceptionally beautiful. Construction began in 1873 and was completed with the addition of the spires in 1896. Made of brick in the French Gothic style, the interior of the building has a light and airy feel.
 |
| Cathedral of St John the Baptist |
The city of Savannah was founded in 1733 by General James Oglethorpe. Although cherished by many today for their aesthetic beauty, the first squares were originally intended to provide colonists space for military exercises. The original plan resembles the layout of contemporary military camps, which were likely quite familiar to General Oglethorpe who laid out the plan for the city. A square was established for each ward of the new city. The first four were Johnson, Percival (now Wright), Ellis, and St. James (now Telfair) Squares, and themselves formed a larger square on the bluff overlooking the Savannah River. The original plan actually called for six squares, and as the city grew, the grid of wards and squares was extended so that 33 squares were eventually created. Two points on the grid were occupied by Colonial Park Cemetery, established in 1750, and four others—in the southern corners of the downtown area—were never developed with squares. When the city began to expand south of Gaston Street, the grid of squares was abandoned and Forsyth Park was allowed to serve as a single, centralized park for that area.
 |
| View of the river from Kevin Barry's Irish Pub |
Working our way back towards the river we ended up at the City Market
Shops. After checking out the shops, and since it was about 12:30, we decided to go
down to the river front and find a place for lunch ending up at Kevin
Barry's Irish Pub. Taking a seat on the balcony overlooking the river we ordered a light lunch, Corned Beef
on Rye and a
cup of Potato Leek soup. Delicious!!
By now it was near to 1:30pm so we made our way back to
the hotel to rest up before dinner. I spent a couple of hours catching up on
email and banking while Tina took a short nap. At 5:30pm we got ready and went
downstairs to visit with members of our tour while we waited for the bus. At
6pm we boarded the bus for the five minute drive to Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House
Restaurant. This is a famous Savannah
institution.
Started in the early 1900's as a boarding house for local
workers, it was purchased by Sema Wilkes in 1943 and boasted rooms for 11.
Since it was originally a boardinghouse, meals were communal and as time went
on, Mrs. Wilkes was convinced to open her dining facility as a restaurant.
Today it serves up dinner for 80 guests every night. Mrs. Wilkes' is noted for
its homestyle traditions, in which guests are escorted in shifts into the
dining room, where a variety of dishes are already on the table (no menu; items
are selected by the restaurant). The guests sit at the table and pass the
dishes around to one another. There are usually long lines waiting to get in.
Mrs. Wilkes died in 2002 but the restaurant is still run today by the forth
generation of the family.
We were ushered in to dinner about 6:30pm after a twenty
minute wait. We had four tables of ten diners each. As soon as we were seated
staff began bringing out bowles and dishes of food. From black eyed peas to
candied yams, mashed potatoes, pulled pork, lima beans, okra, beef stew, fried
chicken and more. We must've had 20 different choices. An hour later most
dishes had been nearly emptied but there was still a lot of food left. Finally we
were able to meet the grandson of Mrs Wilkes who thanked us for coming and
talked about how the restaurant got to be what its today. Then it was back to
the bus and off to the hotel for a post dinner cup of coffee before everyone
retired to their rooms.
Friday morning dawned early with the sun peeking in the
window around 6am. With packing done we took our bags downstairs and
grabbed some breakfast before the ten hour trip home. Long ride but got home
around 7:00pm to an excited pair of girls!! Nice homecoming to end a nice trip!
To see more of our photos click on:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski
