Savannah

Mike and I got back at 1 a.m. this morning from two nights/three days in Savannah. It's been years since we took off somewhere like that, and we both had a lovely time. We spent one night at Tybee Island and got an oceanfront room after Mike talked the desk clerk down $40! It's easy to do that these days.

Tybee is different than SC islands - not much, but a little. We walked the south side, where one of the rivers runs into the ocean, and saw some clusters of shorebirds we hadn't seen in a long time. The dunes are much wider on Tybee, which means that not many of the houses or hotels have true ocean views. But it's a low-key island, good for middle aged people like we are - not a lot of teenage bustle like Myrtle Beach. The most interesting thing to us was seeing the ships coming from the Savannah River and going out to sea. It was beautiful to look out of the glass doors in the middle of the night and see the ship lights twinkling as they start off to ports probably halfway around the world.

The second day we went back in to Savannah - a fascinating city. It's well worth the price of a tour bus ticket to get all the history of the city as you ride around. Sherman did not burn Savannah because the Confederate soldiers had retreated before he got there - so he told Lincoln he was giving him the city of Savannah as a Christmas present. A little bittersweet story there. We saw the building where Sherman had headquartered during his time in the city. But hundreds and hundreds of 1700s and 1800s buildings are still standing and being used. They're full of ironworks decorations, interesting roofs, and historical stories. The city is laid out around a system of squares which make it very orderly and beautiful. There are live-oak trees and Spanish moss everywhere.

The riverfront is really interesting also. There are many shops and restaurants open in the old cotton warehouse buildings that front the Savannah River. You can walk up and down, sit in the plaza facing the river, and watch the huge cargo ships go past on their way to the port of Savannah. There is just no end to the interesting things to look at.

We priced several hotels by phone - then walked into the Hyatt and asked their price, not expecting much - and then found out it was cheaper than the others which were located further back! And we got a room with an outstanding view of the riverfront and the river. We were very thankful to have gotten two great rooms for just two nights in the area.

Yesterday we drove to Mike's old college roommate's house about an hour inland; then left there at about 9:30 last night. Part of the trip was through a terrific storm. It was good to see our house early this morning.