St. Augustine and Savannah

March 6, 2018

“Unexpected Happenings Bring Unexpected Surprises”

It is always a lesson in flexibility and a challenge to one’s sanity when trying to travel out of New England during the winter, within the constraints of school holidays. Of course, this winter has proven no different. Jenny and I were scheduled to leave for Jacksonville (our gateway to Savannah) on Wednesday afternoon after the school day was over. She was to miss a half day of school on Thursday and that was it. Well, Monday morning we woke up to the news freaking out about the newest nor’easter that would be arriving, dumping up to a foot of snow with the heaviest arriving at, you guessed it, our scheduled departure time. With the apartment already paid for, Mimi scheduled to join us, no other weekends in the foreseeable future to reschedule to, and Southwest basically saying we should reschedule, we did. Unfortunately, the afternoon flight on Tuesday was not available and so it left us with little option than to either cancel on Mimi with no idea when we would see her again and forfeit all our prepaid expenses (I always buy travel insurance for our international trips but hadn’t even thought to do so for this one) or to gamble that the weatherman was actually correct and Jenny would have no school on Wednesday or Thursday due to the snow, leaving her with only one day missed. I took the gamble as even if Essex didn’t get the snow hyped, Hartford was pretty much certain too which would leave us without our flight to Savannah. So far, gamble paid off…snow day Wednesday

I had little time to try and rebook flights, cancel and rebook car reservations, airport hotels, try to add a night to our airbnb and figure out an itinerary for our new found extra day and a half. Once I completed rebooking most of the aforementioned, we set off for Florida, leaving our house at 5:50 in the morning. We landed in Jacksonville at 1:20 and headed for the rental car counter. After having been forced to choose a minivan in my last minute rebooking, we were happy to talk the counter agent into letting us choose a different model for our trip; a sleek Nissan Sentra (or something similar-I don’t really know). We exited the airport and made a beeline for I-95 South (yes south, the opposite direction of Savannah) towards Ormond Beach, our first stop for the day.

Why Ormond Beach you ask, when our trip was to see the sights of Savannah? Well, last month I unexpectedly received an email from a gentleman who is a journalist at the Daytona Beach News-Journal. He found me through my ancestry.com family tree, after looking up my second great grandfather, Florian Alexander Mann,. Florian was the founder of the Halifax Journal, the newspaper that was the precursor to the present day Daytona Beach N-J. The journalist, aka Mark was wondering if he could use the pictures of Florian I had posted and asked if I would consider contacting him. After lengthy discussions with him and subsequently the Halifax Historical Society, scanning and then sending additional photos I had of Ormond Beach taken in the late 1800s, the area had been on my mind.

Ormond is just north of Daytona, sitting along the intercostal waterway, a part of the Halifax River at that point; 75 miles to the south of Jacksonville. Our initial stop was Pinecrest Cemetery, just north of Daytona. The recent discussions and reviewing of my ancestry table had reminded me that I had relatives buried there. We pulled into town and thought perhaps it was a bit of a rough neighborhood as we passed lots of bikers and loads of bars. It wasn’t until we turned down Main Street that we figured out that there was a Harley Davidson rally taking place. Luck was on our side today (both the good and the bad); the good-there was a parking spot right in front of the cemetery entrance, the only parking spot we saw; the bad luck-it was a spot about two feet longer than the length of our car, with a stack of barricades to the front of it and a row of about 20 highly-coveted Harelys lined up behind it AND the owners of all those Harleys were seated directly across the street on the outside patios, drinking beer and looking directly at me. No pressure! Confident in my abilities of parallel parking (I grew up in LA after all),  I put the car in reverse as Jenny hashed out the escape plan should all this motorcycles fall like dominoes. It was a good one but something tells me, we would not have made it very far! Mission accomplished; I turned to the bars and saw that literally everyone had stopped and watched me park. I opened the door, stood up and gave big thumbs up and a smile to match to everybody watching, only to receive slight nods in return-come on guys how about a little something for the effort or at least the balls it took trying!

The row of Harley’s behind me!

Pinecrest Cemetery is the oldest burial ground in Ormond. I am sure It was lovely at one time with its enormous live oaks and palms, but everything was a little dried up and there was quite a bit of rubbish lying around (it turned out that this was a bit of a derelict area).

Once in the cemetery, I realized there was no information office to help in locating the gravesites we were looking for. The good news was the cemetery wasn’t really that big so we systematically made our way around until Eureka! (of course it was almost towards the very end). There were the graves of my 2nd and 3rd great grandmothers, two  2nd great aunts along with their husbands and children. Just this summer, I found a photo of my 3rd great grandmother and now I was standing at her final resting place, though it really isn’t very restful along the edge of the fence with all the cars zooming past.

Thirty five minutes later, we hopped into the car-I waved goodbye to my new found friends, they simply nodded in return, I wished I had had the gumption to peel out just to have a good laugh, but alas, I was not that brave!

Our next stop was a drive through Tomoka State Park, along the Halifax River. Back at the airport in Hartford, I emailed Mark and asked him if he could tell me where he thought some of those 1880s photos were taken. He suggested that they looked as though they were near to present day Tomoka State Park along the Halifax River.

Along the drive, Jenny and I marveled at the changing landscape and just how beautiful and almost mysterious like it was. We marveled how driving down I95, which was only about 2 miles to the west, one would never know that this sort of landscape was actually in Florida. It was truly beautiful with all of the palmettos, palms, and live oaks with their draping Spanish Moss forming thick walls on either side of the road and a heavy canopy overhead.

The word Tomoka had been resonating in my mind since I read Mark’s email; for some reason I knew that word had some association with one of my second great aunts (Florian’s daughters). When we pulled up to the gate at Tomoka State Park, the ranger told us where to go and said at the end of the road there was a statue of Chief Tomokie where we could park and walk. We were running short on time (daylight hours really), so I told Jenny we would just drive through the park, but as we were driving the word statue kept coming into play with the the word Tomoka in my head. The drive through the park, along the white sandy roads and the same mysterious flora was beautiful, Jenny kept hoping we would see an armadillo, while I was hoping for a bear. We arrived at the ridiculously large statue and I noticed there was a plaque so I told Jenny to hang on while I went and read it because I was sure that was the connection I was trying to establish. Alas, no mention on it of any family members, just the name of the artist and the donors. Still, I was certain that there was something there.

Statue-for perspective the fence around the base is about four feet tall.

Jenny and I decided to take the scenic drive back up to St. Augustine, where I had decided we would stay for the night and so we followed the route suggested by Mark. It was extraordinary lovely, winding through marshes and along river ways, following the Ormond Scenic Bird Watching Route (shout out to you Dickie-you should do it sometime). watching people fish and kayak and just enjoying the beautiful day.  The road eventually ended up following the coastal route along the rugged Atlantic coast right up through various small beach oriented towns eventually ending up in the heart of St Augustine’s historical district. It was at this point that I decided that maybe we should figure out where we would be sleeping for the night (up to this point I had not had an opportunity to secure a room for us for this evening). I asked Jenny to check Trip Advisor and when a room showed up at the Marriott, I gave them a call and was able to book us in at a somewhat discounted, last-minute rate-phew! Sleeping in a minivan would have been one thing, but the Nissan Sentra…I don’t think so!

Upon entering St Augustine we were taken by the sudden transition of funky beachy encapments to a compact urban area, dominated by Spanish style architecture. Heading down the main road into town, standing before us was a beautiful sprawling edifice built in what one, today, would consider the old Hollywood style (but really I think Hollywood copied it from this). It was built in a manner that pointed to you, beckoning you to investigate its origins and purpose. Even in the fading light, we could make out the burnt orange stucco exterior, Spanish tile roof, towering spires, formal gardens, and looming bell towers. Jenny immediately recognized it as Flagler College and after quickly agreeing with her we both stated aloud how absolutely remarkable it was!

I couldn’t get the car parked and us checked in quick enough to start exploring this intriguing area. Both were quick and easy and upon checkin were offered a free appetizer in the bar. Gladly aking them up on their offer, Jenny was tickled to death to see they had beef carpaccio as an option and I was tickled to death to see that they offered a Provencal rosè!

Dinner, we decide would be less formal and so I left it up to Jenny to find us a place. After a quick scouring of Yelp, she suggested a place called Prohibition Kitchen that was currently receiving rave reviews. We headed out from the hotel into the now darkened streets and commented on how quaint the area seemed. We reached the intersection of St George Street, and were just about to turn when a sign and then its accompanying building caught my eye; Trinity Episcopal Church. I stood staring at it for a minute, wracking my brain trying to place it, when I finally recalled that my great uncle had been married in this church and I had recently (in searching through photos for Mark) had come across a picture he had sent to his parents with the wedding inscription on the back.

After snapping a few photos, Jenny and I continued on to the restaurant where we proceeded to have a delicious dinner, in a warehouse style space whose character was oozing from its floorboards, accompanied by a wonderful folksy trio playing on stage and fantastic food…que bueno! (remember St Augustine was founded by the Spaniards after all!). While we lingered over a decadent cookies in cream milkshake for dessert, Jenny suggested that we should take a tour of the college campus tomorrow-a prospective student one versus one designed for those merely interested in its history and architecture. A great idea I thought, especially to use for comparison sake to the four other colleges we have already toured.

Upon returning to the hotel, I still could not shake the feeling I had concerning one of my second great aunts and Tomoka. I pulled out my computer and starting Googling the names of my aunts and Tomoka until BINGO, I got the hit I was looking for. One of my 2nd great aunts had written a book entitled, “Florida Under Four Flags,” apparently it was part of the inspiration for  the artist’s massive sculpural undertaking. Thank God for Google, otherwise I would have hardly slept a wink!

For a totally unplanned and unexpected day, Jenny and I had a lot of fun. Billy had decided earlier on that he was not going to join us on this trip and with all the changes and hassles, it probably worked out for the best that he didn’t, though we once again missed him on one of our adventures. As of this writing, he is home with our four-legged girls riding out the nor’easter, and once again (only four days later) without power!

March 7, 2018

“Ticks Can Actually Be a Good Thing”

With a 9:15 college tour start time, Jenny and I were up and out the door by 8:00, headed to a breakfast place Jenny had found on line. Breakfast is Jenny’s favorite meal to eat out, so she always likes finding restaurants that are highly rated. Maple Street Biscuit Company was just a few doors down from our starting location and directly across the street from Flagler. As one could imagine from the name, the menu is heavily centered on biscuits, in fact all of their menu items come on top of their homemade flaky disks. Jenny ordered one with pecan smoked bacon, cheese and egg with a side of sausage gravy and I had one with a fried goat cheese medallion, and chicken smothered in a house made pepper jelly-both knock your socks off delicious! One thing we loved about the restaurant was the way they let you know your order was up. Each day, they have a new question they ask and your answer is what they holler out to let you know your order is ready. Today’s question was, “What one thing would you take with you if you were stranded on a desert island?” Not realizing I was answering for both of us, I responded quickly with, “A bottle of wine.” Needless to say Jenny was not amused, but the others diners certainly were when the kitchen called out, “Order up for a bottle of wine!” Hey, I certainly thought it was better than the other answers we heard called out-“Biscuits” (OK kiss asses) and “Computer” (really?).

Last night when we pulled in and Jenny immediately recognized the building as Flagler College I wasn’t surprised by that (though Billy said he had never even heard of it before). Flagler is consistently rated as one of the top three most beautiful college campuses in the world by various publications. High on Jenny’s priority list for where she will attend college is that it must be aesthetically pleasing, so she had seen it many times before during her searches for the most beautiful college campuses. However, she had never considered it because it was below the Mason-Dixon Line (and that is really more the defining line of the extreme heat she wants to avoid, more than anything else).

We met with the admissions counselor who went over the basics with Jenny, via a slide show presentation; and so the boxes began being ticked: average incoming freshman GPA and SAT scores-tick, 20% of the student body volunteers in the community (many with local animal shelters)-tick, international studies majors are required to do a study abroad program-tick, gap years are recognized-tick, time should be enjoyed going to the beach and surfing, versus trying to overload yourself with academics-tick! After about a half hour with the admissions counselor, we met up with our student tour ambassador, Dominique (ironic right), to start the tour of the campus.

Flagler College began its life as the Ponce de Leon Hotel, really a resort, built in the Spanish Renaissance style in 1885 by Henry Flagler, a railroad magnate. Since it began its life as a resort, it was built to the finest standards and luxuries so one can imagine how lovely it must be on the inside, however we were not prepared.

As we walked from the meeting place to the back side of the main campus building, we came into the area where the students hang out the most. A beautiful outside area with seating and courtyards, grassy areas and a beautiful gazebo with tall palm trees and flower gardens-tick. Dominique was telling us that this is where they do the de-stressing days before exam week-they set up bounce houses, bring in therapy dogs, have yoga activities, etc-tick! We looked in on the art studios, science labs, mailroom, medical clinic, etc. Dominique told us how the professors are awesome, that they all want you to succeed, their doors are mandated to be open for at least two hours every day for students to call on them, many usually give out their numbers so you can contact them if you are having a hard time with material and most give you bonuses on assignments for going to the Student Resource Center to have your work checked and get some extra help before turning in your assignments-tick, tick, tick!

We then headed into the building that houses the freshman girls dorms and the dining hall-as I said, we were not prepared. The doors open up onto a four story rotunda, marble floors, and mural painted ceilings by known artists. There was a grand central staircase that lead to a landing with another set of staircases going off to either side leading up to the dorms. Straight ahead was the dining hall a room straight out of a Harry Potter set with its Tiffany windows, soaring ceiling and selection of foods that seems to satisfy every craving. Oh and you can dine there without any limits-tick, tick and tick again! It was truly spectacular!

The last area we saw was where they have beach volleyball, the swimming pool (strictly for recreational use), gym and the student center with its Chick-fil-a and Starbucks-tick, tick tick! Oh and Dominique thinks they have a sailing club but if not, no problem, you only need six people to start a club-tick!

It was a highly unexpected and very successful tour. I think it could be a top contender…Mason-Dixon Line be damned!

After our tour, we walked around the town some more to get a better feeling for it. The one concern Jenny has, is that it is very touristy, but it is charming and there are fabulous restaurants, great music venues, and cute shops. For being the oldest town in America, it has held up just fine. We stopped in the college store to get a sweatshirt-I told Jenny she has to get a piece of clothing from each college we visit that she thinks may have potential, and after hearing back from the colleges and she makes her decision, she has to let us know by coming downstairs wearing the clothing from the college she chooses. The girl working there was so nice, a student at Flagler, and added great tidbits of information to what we had already learned. If everyone is as nice as the people we have met today, it is one more box-tick!

Lunch was at a restaurant suggested by the counselor and he did all right by us. The food was awesome. Jenny said it was the best salad she has ever eaten, a cornbread panzanella, while my jar of pickled Florida shrimp was equally as tasty! Over lunch Jenny mentioned how odd it was that had we not changed our plans for the snowstorm, we would not have come to St. Augustine and she would never have toured Flagler because it was off her radar. Things happen for a reason, I told her.

Before leaving town, I wanted to stop by the Cathedral to light a candle for my father and stop by the little Episcopal church we saw last night because in thinking about it last evening, I came to remember that not only was my 2nd great Uncle married there, but my great grandparents were too in 1900!

(Top two photos are the cathedral, the bottom is the inside of the little church)

Our drive up to Savannah was pretty uneventful. I had originally planned on driving to Jekyll Island and Sea Island to show Jenny where we had spent some time with Billy’s grandmother Bru, for two lovely March vacations but we didn’t have time.

We pulled into Savannah, unloaded, and moved in to the airbnb that would be our home for the next four nights. I had had a few concerns about it just from the photos that were on line but more from the lack of reviews it had, but it turned out to be fantastic. It is located in the old YWCA building, with the original basketball court floors. It is an awesome two bedroom two bathroom apartment, charmingly decorated with old lockers as a nod to its previous life, and a completely modern kitchen. A true find and a steal for what we would have paid for a hotel room. We really love it!

As Mimi had gotten up very early to catch her flight here and Jenny and I had had a full day, we opted for something quick and totally casual for dinner-The Flying Monk Noodle Bar. Dinner was a score as all of our meals were excellent-pho and a fresh coconut to drink for Jenny, Vietnamese spicy lemongrass beef over noodles for me, and a duck noodle soup for Mimi.

Of course no evening dining out would be complete without having dessert. Jenny found the place, FreezN, an ice cream parlor that starts with fresh cream, you choose the additions and then it is frozen on the spot with liquid nitrogen. The ice cream man removed his twenty or so rings before beginning the process, “just in case” he said!

It’s so fun to be having a girl’s getaway weekend with Mimi. We are looking forward to tomorrow, to walk, explore and enjoy the city, and spending time in each other’s company.

And just an update for those who have been asking. The linemen came and cleared the trees on other side of our driveway, opening the road and assuring that the lines were now dead. Billy can now get out of the house. They did not do anything to restore the power as of yet. Some power has begun to be restored in our town and the neighboring towns but they are saying to expect it to be at least a few more days!

And I guess you can assume, the flight Jenny and I were originally scheduled to take on Wednesday afternoon was cancelled. There was no school Wednesday or Thursday, so it looks like my gamble paid off; now let’s just hope that she is not going to be in school until the end of June!

March 8, 2018

“Ticks Can Be Good, Chiggers Are Not”

We started off late this morning because I thought it best to let Jenny catch up on some sleep and figured Michelle would wake up when it felt right for her, that meant we weren’t out the door until almost 10:00. Walking outside was a bit of a surprise as it was cold and very blustery (I find it hard to complain too much considering what the weather is like back home and knowing my poor husband is sitting in a house with no heat-and I hope to God not burst pipes too).

I was thankful that I had the right clothes for it as we walked along and watched the tour group kids shivering in their shorts. Last night Jenny had seen a donut shop across the street from where we had dinner, so we headed there in hopes of finding feathery pillows of deliciousness. Instead, the donuts were just ok, not bad but nothing I would rush back for and blow my caloric limit on.

We decided since it was so windy that we would walk in the opposite direction of the river, towards Forsyth Park to see the squares and admire the historic homes, that Savannah is famous for. Savannah has 22 squares, each one named for a historical person or event and many containing monuments or plaques to such. The first four squares were created in 1733 by John Oglethorpe, the same year he founded Savannah and the Georgia colony. The squares are all lovely with their monolithic live oaks, whose branches reach out to the farthest corners of the square, all dripping with greenish grey Spanish moss, rhododendrons bursting in pinks, whites, fuchsias and reds, white dogwoods in full bloom, and American pink buds with their oh so dainty flowers. Add in the dappled sunlight and it all makes for a surreal scene that exudes elegance.

I had wanted to do a house tour and the first one we came upon was the Green-Meldrim House. It was absolutely lovely on the outside, with its formal English style gardens, large front covered piazza, and wrought iron work. It is considered one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture in the South. It was constructed in the 1850s for Charles Green, a cotton merchant and ship builder. Upon entering, it was really what you would have expected to see in a house of that time-simply lovely. One of the most interesting features of the house we thought was its entry way and its three sets of doors. The outside front doors opened inward and folded into a recession to create two closets. one on either side. There were then two pairs of pocket doors, one set glass the other louvres that could be pulled out depending on the time of year-really very ingenious!

The tour guide for downstairs was a rather snippy older woman with a wandering left eye, who threatened to flush Jenny’s phone down the “commode” if it made a noise (Jenny was merely holding it in her hand because she had no purse or pockets) and when I asked about whether the furnishing were original, I was told to not jump ahead of the tour, alrighty then, is this the Southern charm I keep hearing so much about?!? The tour guide for upstairs was a cute older woman who was very much interested in the furniture of the home. The one really cool thing we did get to see and look at (it was only us on the tour) was a stereoptican It came with the viewing glasses and various cards that would make the pictures jump out in 3D (basically the original View Master toy). It was quite fun to see that as the view master was one of my favorite toys when I was a child.

The tour was really just ok, run by parishioners of the church next door that now owns the home and uses it for various functions, including weddings and funeral receptions. It missed the majority of the history of the people who lived there, both the owners and the servants. The one interesting fact that was relayed was that during the Civil War, Mr. Green, afraid of having his house burned to the ground during Sherman’s March to the Sea, invited him to come and use the house as his headquarters. It was in this house that Sherman wrote and sent a telegram to Lincoln offering him all of the guns, ammunition and cotton in Savannah, as well as the city itself, as a Christmas gift.

After the tour we decided to grab some lunch and went for a place I had read about on various forums and blogs, that everyone seemed to love. It was not really the sort of place we usually enjoy (Jenny laughed because she said Robert Irvine from “Restaurant Impossible” would have been all over them for having carpeting on their floors-I agree-yuck!) and the food was only mediocre at best, even my fried green tomatoes were really ho-hum. We decided that Jenny does a much better job at finding restaurants than I do so I have put her in charge of our meals!

Following lunch, we walked down to the famed Forsyth Park, a sprawling park at the bottom of the historic district. Similar to many of the squares, but with an enormous fountain as you enter, it was a nice break where we relaxed and enjoyed the sunshine.

At one point, I pulled some Spanish moss from one of the trees and clowning around I draped it like hair over my head. I then placed it on Jenny’s head and was busy snapping photos when something in the back of my head dawned on me that we shouldn’t be doing that. Was the stuff poisonous? No that’s mistletoe. But what? At that moment a college age kid was walking by looking at us. I stopped him and asked, “We shouldn’t be doing that should we?” He looked at me, took his ear buds out and said, “I’m sorry what?” I repeated my question to which he answered, “Oh yeah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you, there’s chiggers in the moss.” Jenny swung her head around and looked at me and adamantly asked me, “What are chiggers?” I sheepishly replied, “They are little bugs.” and the kid, he replied, “Yep, and they itch like hell!” I probably do not need to describe what followed, but we had a good laugh, in between itching our heads (oh the power of suggestion)!

We wound our back toward the river, zig zagging up and down quiet residential streets whose homes were lined up in perfect symmetry, each mirroring its neighbor in design and architecture, their American flags proudly displayed in unison. Overhead the canopy of live oaks was so thick that so little sun shown on the streets that the flickering lights of that replica gas light sconces on either side of the front doors, were visible as though it were evening.

We eventually came upon Lafayette Square and the adjacent Cathedral of St John the Baptist, done in French Gothic style with twin soaring spires that Jenny said were almost cartoonish in appearance. The cathedral was rebuilt in 1900, after a fire swept through the original 1870 church. Upon entering the first thing you come upon is the 8,000 pound, octagonal baptismal font, with small fountains flowing from each angle and a green and gold Celtic knot tiled on the floor of it, a nod to Savannah’s large Irish population. The cathedral wss very impressive and after lighting a candle for my dad, we headed out.

We returned to the apartment for showers and an hours rest before we were going to head out for dinner. I had reservations at one of Savannah’s best restaurants, the Olde Pink House, but I think we were all a bit tired and no one felt like having a more formal meal. We decided that dinner last night was so delicious, that we would go back for another round of noodles.

Dinner was delicious again and of course Jenny had another place in mind for dessert, another ice cream place but this time they pour the cream onto a frozen slab, cut in the additional ingredients and then use what looks like a wide putty knife to scrape it off of the slabs into cigar rolls of ice cream-unique and delicious! We enjoyed our walk back to the apartment, happily munching on our ice cream amidst the lights of the truly beautiful city of Savannah.

March 9, 2018

“Our Kind of Day”

This morning we decided that we needed a breakfast with a little more sustenance in it then a donut. We have walked past a restaurant two blocks from our apartment a few times that looked charming so we decided to go there. The menu at Collin’s Corner was exactly what we were looking for, with varied dishes and a long list of morning beverages. The place was packed and clearly a favorite of locals and tourists alike. Michelle ordered avocado toast and a vanilla latte, Jenny and I decided to split avocado toast and eggs benedict, her having a turmeric and ginger latte and me a matcha latte. All were fabulous-I actually completely cleaned my plate!

In reading up about things to do and see in Savannah, I came across the historic Harper-Fowlkes House which is now the headquarters of the Society of the Cincinnati in the state of Georgia, an organization that Billy is a member of. Mimi and Jenny were game to join me on another tour and since it was only a few blocks from the apartment, we headed over there. First impressions were how strikingly large, the Greek Revival style home was, with immense double-story columns and a curved staircase to the front door. Upon entering, we were escorted to the backyard to wait for the next tour begin. It was a lovely bricked yard with a fountain that had the Society’s eagle as it’s centerpiece. We had a nice chat with another couple from Connecticut and enjoyed the warmth of the sun on another chilly morning.

Our tour guide met us a short time later and began explaining how after the depression so many of Savannah’s old homes were neglected and then torn down, and how afterwards the beginnings of “progress” happened and such things as putting parking structures up over the squares began to take place until a few women banded together to put it a stop to it-thank goodness.

Inside the house, the main entry hall has one of the highlights and most unique features of the home, an elliptical opening that runs up three floors where a cupola was eventually added that brings light down through it. Our tour guide was an older gentleman who has an interest in history and did a wonderful job bringing the families that lived there to life. The story of the families, but most importantly the lady who would eventually donate the home to the Society, were fascinating. Alida Harper-Fowlkes was an early pioneer in the preservation of some of Savannah’s most important homes. She was a visionary before anyone else; saving ten homes from the “progress” that was happening at the time. She never had any children and upon her death left her home and everything in it to the Society with the stipulation that it may never be sold. We all thoroughly enjoyed the tour and felt like he we learned some additional things about Savannah.

After leaving the Harper-Folkes House we headed towards the Savannah River and the area we hadn’t covered yet. Walking along the streets we enjoyed all of the new squares we passed, the boutiques, restaurants and colorful characters along the way. We stopped at the famous Byrd cookie company, having been doing business in Savannah since 1924, but we weren’t overly taken by the half dollar size too-crunchy cookies.

As we neared the river, we could see that Savannah actually lies above the river on a bluff, sort of like the city of Santa Monica. The riverfront below is still with cobblestone streets and trolley tracks and the huge warehouses that have been converted into shops and restaurants. The steps down were marked as historic, and we were advised to use them at our own risk (they were incredibly steep). Jenny and I remarked on how different the Savannah River looked than the Mississippi as far as color, it wasn’t the same chocolate milk color however the amount of industry on it was impressive. We are so lucky and thankful that the Connecticut River, as large as it is, has no industrialization on it.

The walk along the riverfront promenade was enjoyable, especially as the sun was out warming us and offsetting the chilly wind that was blowing. We laughed as we came upon a fountain whose waters had been dyed green in honor of the upcoming St. Patrick’s day celebration. Have I mentioned that Savannah has a huge Irish population? It finally made sense all the Irish flags that we have seen!

Climbing back up the steps, and turning back towards the apartment, we came upon the Old Pink House restaurant, the restaurant we had cancelled dinner at last night. This morning during our tour, we learned that the Old Pink House, was not only one of the buildings but also one of the businesses, Alida Harper-Fowles had actually saved and operated. Curiosity got the better of us so we decided to go in and see if we could sit and get a cup of coffee. We were shown to the tavern where we enjoyed a rest and a refreshment before continuing on our way. Both he building and restaurant, by the way, were elegant.

Yesterday, we missed a few stores that I had meant to stop at when we were in the south end of the historic district, places I knew Jenny would want to see, so we decided we would go back there. It took a little extra effort since we had already covered this ground previously, but we were enjoying each other’s company, the sunshine, and the beautiful scenery along the way. As we were walking along, Jenny all of a sudden stops and in a voice of pure surprise says, “Oh my goodness.“ When I ask her what it is she is talking about she says, “Look down.” There at her feet, inscribed in the concrete was the word CHEECH, my nickname for her…

Our first missed stop was the SCAD store (SCAD stands for Savannah College of Art and Design). This is a shop that sells pieces from all fields of art of current students and alumni. There were some very unique pieces and both Michelle and I bought a little something, but the store I knew for sure that Jenny would love was V and J antiques, a store dedicated to antique prints and maps. Located in the basement of one of the beautiful brick homes, it was a small store but oh wow, was it packed! The maps were divided up into cities, states, regions, countries, etc, thankfully, so it was easier searching for specific ones that Jenny was after. She and I had a ball and Mimi seemed to enjoy it as well, helping us in our search for specific places. Really we could have spent hours in there-it was that awesome, but we spent maybe an hour and left with a small collection.

Happy with our newly acquired bounty, we turned around and headed back to the apartment to clean up before dinner. Our breakfasts were so good this morning that we decided on having dinner there tonight. Our meals were a solid good, Mimi and I both having duck and Jenny having roast chicken-clearly their strong point is breakfast/brunch but nonetheless we once again, enjoyed our evening together laughing and taking about all the places in the world, and in our own country, we still want to go. It is so nice that Mimi fits in so well with Jenny and I. It is always easy with her, never contrived.

A day filled with delicious food, beautiful scenery, interesting history, good friends, perfect weather, belly aching laughs, and a treasure trove of maps-WOW! What more could you ask for. Today was our kind of day!

March 10, 2018

“Two Wise Men”

Perhaps we were lacking originality or perhaps we felt our breakfast yesterday was so darn delicious, but we ended up at the same place again for breakfast but this time there was a short wait when we arrived, so we gave the hostess my cell number and walked over to Wright Square to await a text from the restaurant.

As we entered the square, I heard a man singing, in a deep deep bass voice, singing something that sounded like a church hymn. While Jenny and Mimi went and sat on a bench, I walked over to hear where the voice was coming from and there sitting on a bench, under one of the sprawling oak trees was a rather heavy set African-American man, missing a few of his teeth, burning incenses, weaving blades of sweetgrass into roses and singing his heart our for all to enjoy. He asked me where I came from, wanted to know why I had come to Savannah, how long I was staying and then he introduced himself. He told me his name was James, and he showed me the lanyard around his neck that was a license from the city to be a vendor, though it had expired at the end of last year. I read his name and announced back to him, “James Pringle, nice to meet you.” He responded by saying I said his name just like his teacher used to call it. He demonstrated to me how he weaved the roses, proud as a peacock that he could do it without even looking. He told me how he had learned from his mother and his grandmother, he was raised by them, because his father had left him when he was a boy and how he had cried so many times when he saw other boys in the neighborhood with their fathers, but he made it because he had two strong ladies. That his grandmother had always told him that if you do the right thing, good things will come to you. He also told me that he would like me to have the rose, no charge, but a small donation would be appreciated if I’d like, because that’s the way he easts and sleeps. He told me, “You see you can do anything you want to if you put your mind to it, you don’t need to get a gun and rob nobody. God gave us a mind.” I looked in his basket and saw only change plus one, one dollar bill. I took out a $5 and gave it to him. The text came through that our table was ready and so I told him I had to go and I went and got Jenny and Mimi but just as we were getting ready to cross the street, I quickly turned back around and ran back up to Mr. Pringle to say, “Thank you.”

Mr. Pringle reminded me of Ms. Betty Manigault, the lady we encountered weaving baskets on the street in Charleston. Both wise in ways that those born into privilege seldom can be, both having obviously lived lives that have been filled with hardship and pain, but both having the cheeriest attitudes and warmest demeanors I have yet to encounter in a stranger. It is meeting these people and the happenstance exchanges with them, that are truly the gifts of travel.

We had decided that today we were going to go outside of the city to get a better feel for the sea islands and the area and history encompassing them. Our first stop was Wormsloe State Historic Site, about 10 miles outside Savannah. Wormsloe was an estate built by Noble Jones, a man of varying occupations who arrived with James Oglethorpe in 1733. Today, the tabby walls (a type of concrete made with oyster shells), are all that is left of his original estate, and are the oldest standing structures in the Savannah area. The entry into the estate grounds is a site to behold, with over 400 live oaks lining the drive on either side. As Mimi said, the branches, outstretched from one side to the other look as though they are reaching to hold hands and in doing so, form a perfectly domed ceiling over the drive.

From there our next stop was going to be a cultural one of a different kind, Pin Point Heritage Museum. I had read numerous reviews on different sites about this place and had decided early on that we should see it. Pin Point is located on a marsh along the Moon River. It was founded in the 1890s by former slaves who had mostly come from Georgia’s Sea Islands. Since the area along the marshes were considered less desirable for development, freedmen were able to purchase property here at a fairly reasonable price. Today Pin Point is part of the congressionally designated Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, meant to help recognize and preserve the cultures and traditions of the Gullah/Geechee people, descendants of African slaves brought to the coast of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

Pin Point had remained an outpost African American community, with one road in and one road out until 1926 when A.S. Varn built a crab and oyster processing plant there. Almost everyone in the community worked at the factory, in some form or another. Men harvested (oysters in the winter, blue crabs in the summer), women picked and processed, and even children did odd jobs. The work was tough but according to the employees, “Old man Varn was a good man.” The factory sustained the community for 65 years until it closed in 1985, leaving many unemployed for the first time in their lives, and with a deep sense of loss. Since then the community has struggled to retain its identity as it is the last community of slave descendants left living on a slice of Georgia coastline, all the other islands and coastal areas have been bought up by the wealthy and those historical communities have all but disappeared.

A tour of Pin Point can be done on your own or with a guide and with or without the 35 minute introductory documentary film. We decided to watch the documentary and then tour the buildings on our own reading the various placards and interactive displays.

The documentary was very enlightening, narrated by many current and former members of the community, including Chief Justice Clarence Thomas, who was born there and whose mother picked crab at the factory. The film explained how the Pin Point factory worked, and what the lives of the community members were like, as well as it touched on aspects of the Gullah/Geechee culture. It opened with a very memorable line from an elder community member, “Not knowing one’s own history is like trying to grow a tree without roots.” A wise man who understands that history, on so many different levels, is important…lest we forget.

Following the documentary, we toured the outbuildings including the crab boiling pavilion, pickling and cooling house, oyster factory and the deviled crab house.

The entire experience was as educational as I hoped it would be-for instance, do you know how much the shell of an oyster contributes to its weight? 80%. Do you know what the gullah word chillun means? children. Do you know what the name for the flat bottom boats are that they would use to harvest the crabs and oysters? bateaux.

We all really enjoyed this stop and it accomplished everything I hoped it would, and it certainly left us thinking…

We left from Pin Point to go and have some lunch and explore one of the nearby sea islands, Skidaway. It was not what I was expecting as the entire island is basically one gated community after another, pretty ironic after listening to the documentary about  the Pin Point community trying to hang on while the wealthy buy up all the coastline…

Private dock

We were very hungry by this time so we decided to grab some snacks from the grocery store and picnic in the only public place on the island, the Skidaway State Park. We paid our entrance fee, parked and began walking on the trail that the ranger said would be the best and most beautiful. It was one mile to the picnic tables where, she said, we would enjoy a riverside position seeing a multitude of shorebirds and dolphins. Well, I think she was a bit mistaken because the only thing we encountered were swarms of gnats which made eating rather difficult. The walk through the park, on the other hand, along the boardwalks and over the waterways was lovely and was worth the trek in.

We returned to the apartment with time to shower and decide on our restaurant for the evening. I had made reservations ahead of time at a very nice restaurant, but more recent reviews have said that the service was really lacking and dinners were taking forever to complete. With Mimi having a very early wake up call tomorrow and the fact she would be losing an hour of sleep, I thought we should skip it in favor of something that might suit our needs better. Mimi and I looked over a few menus on line and settled on a restaurant we had passed a few times and whose menu had something for all of us.

Chive was very swanky inside, a cross between a 70s nightclub and an ultra modern hipster hotel. We were all very excited with the menu and settled on our meals: for Jenny carpaccio (shocking, right?), tuna ceviche, and an arugula salad, mussels and crab salad for me and steamed clams and sashimi for Mimi. We had a good laugh about our meals though because five of the seven dishes, including the sashimi, incorporated grapes and strawberries (and they were never listed anywhere as any of the ingredients)-we decided there must have been a discount for buying them in bulk that week. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our meals and while I do not think we got back to the apartment any earlier than we would have if we had kept our original reservation, I know for sure that we enjoyed our meals more than we would have at the more formal place.

On the walk back to the apartment, Mimi said she was sad to be leaving us tomorrow, we couldn’t have agreed more. We always love spending time with her and we miss not seeing her as much as we used to. We all agreed that maybe this should be the beginning of a new tradition; we should do a girl’s weekend get away more often.

On a side note, it was difficult to remain having such a good time, knowing Billy and the dogs were home still with no power and freezing their butts off…sorry honey!