Day Two: Savannah Road Trip

Savannah, Georgia: The second day of our Savannah road trip got off to a very chilly start. After a breakfast provided by our hotel, we headed out to our frosted over rental car. Having relocated to Florida in 1998, I forgotten how miserable the cold and heavy frost can be. But once the ice melted off the windshield enough to see, we headed towards the city to enjoy our day.

We started our day with a trip to the Bonaventure Cemetery. Since we got their after it closed yesterday, we made sure to get there first thing in the morning. It is a short drive outside historic district and is definitely worth the trip. At 160 acres, it is the larges cemetery in Savannah. It is the final resting place for many prominent citizens. A good deal of time can be spent wondering the sprawling ground and looking at the intricate details of the headstones. From magnificent sculptures to heart-felt condolences, all can be seen here. We spend about an hour viewing some of the notable areas before heading back into town.

Once we got into town, we headed over to Old Savannah Tours to purchase our hop on/off tour tickets. As many of you who follow our travels, I love taking guided tours. Not only does it provide a good background of the city, the hop on/off privileges is a great way to navigate the city. In the planning phase of the trip, we chose Old Town since their package seemed to be above and beyond just a tour. Plus on our way into Georgia, we stopped at the visitor’s center where there was a $5 off coupon for the tour. But our research into the tour proved to be accurate as Old Savannah Tours really was above the rest. They added historical interpreters into the tour packages to really help bring the city to life. While we were really hoping to see their Forrest Gump interpreter, we did see four other great interpreters on our tours.

To start of the tour, we took one complete lap around the city. The complete circuit, even with St Patrick’s Day modifications, took about an hour and a half to complete. But the tour route had to be modified as the city prepared for Monday’s parade and celebration which is the second largest in the nation. On the tour we were introduced to two historical interpreters, Johnny Mercer and Florence Martus, Savannah's Waving Lady.

After we completed our ride around the city, we decided to explore on foot. While initially we planned on getting off at each stop and walking around, that did not happened. As we started walking, we were so intrigued by the city we just kept going and going and going. Before we knew it, we had covered from stop two at Chippewa Square all the way to stop four at Forsyth Park. Then we decided to zig-zag the city square until reaching stop ten in the City Market. In all we encompassed almost seven miles on foot without even noticing it.

By the time we reached the City Market, hunger really set it and just in time because we were forty-five minutes away from our reservations at The Lady and Son’s, Paula Deen’s restaurant near the Riverfront. We were seated on the third floor of the three story restaurant owned by the Food Network star. My wife and son had the buffet which was filled with all kinds of southern comfort foods. I on the other hand ordered from the menu and had the Chicken Pot Pie. All the food was amazing and well worth the stop. Some times the food icon restaurants can be a bit over hyped but this one did not disappoint.

With full stomach’s we headed back to the streets and to continue exploring the city. We headed down to the Riverfront to see what it had to offer. Not wanted to end the trip early with a fall down the extremely steep stairs, we opted for the public elevator. I think I would have rather taken the stairs, the elevator was on the verge of breakdown as it creaked down to the river bank.

Once we got down there, we noticed the ferry at the dock so we hopped aboard the free ferry. The ferry provides service from Savannah to nearby Hutchinson Island. But for us, it just provided a short waterfront sightseeing tour. As we cruised the river we got to see the ships in the port, the USS Hue City in town for the holiday and the riverboats docked along the pier just waiting for their excursions.

When the ferry docked we headed to tour stop fourteen at the Cotton Exchange for a lift to our next adventure. But since we had already covered much of the city on foot, we decided there really wasn’t much more we wanted to see up-close. So we decided to take one more lap around the city on the trolley just hoping to see Forrest, but still no luck.

After the tour concluded we decided to head out to Fort Pulaski and Tybee Island. But time got away from us and by the time we got out there, it was past five and everything was closed. But we did get to see both the fort and the lighthouse from the street even though they were closed and couldn’t be toured. We were going to head out to the beach and catch a glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean, but time was not in our favor as we had a ghost tour scheduled back downtown.

Our final adventure of the day was a night-time ghost tour of the Sorrell-Weed House. The Sorrell-Weed House is believed to be one of the most haunted places in the city and has been investigated by the Ghosthunters. The house has a storied past including it’s owner who was believed to have been cursed for abandoning his roots. He was later caught having an affair with his servant and in a rage, his wife threw herself of the upstairs balcony, dying on impact with the courtyard below. Later the servant was found hanging in the carriage house. It is believed that these spirits and more continue to haunt the Sorrell-Weed House.

On our tour, we experienced several orbs in photographs, one apparent shadow figure in a mirror and two personal experiences. My wife saw what appeared to be a woman wearing white walking outside the window on the second floor, but after going outside, there was no balcony for there to be a person walking. Then in the basement, she was had a dark man standing next to her in the corner. She relayed this to the host who said that the corner is a hot bed of activity and people report the same experiences that she had.

Once we completed the tour of the house and carriage house, we hit the streets of Savannah for our guided tour. This part of the experience was a bit of a let down. The house tour was amazing but the walking tour was much to be desired. It only lasted a couple blocks and was not really that informative nor was it delivered in an entertaining fashion. I feel the books sold in the gift shops would have been more informative then the walking portion of the tour. Plus a warning to those who are not familiar with the city, be prepared to be abandoned at the completion of the tour. The tour does NOT end where it started. Our guide simply took us to the Colonial Cemetery and said this is where the tour end, thanks for visiting. Leaving us stranded at night, about ten blocks from where we started.

When the walking tour completed. We headed back to the hotel to rest up from a long 19-hour day of exploration. Continue to check back for more from our trip to Savannah.

Below is a slide show of photos from day two of our trip.