Okay, so technically those first photos are from Charleston, but they made more sense to put in this post. It's not a long drive from Charleston to Savannah, but we took our time. We started the morning with an early visit to Angel Oak. Oh my goodness. I think K and I both had spiritual epiphanies there, and not just because we saw a snow white squirrel (!!!). We were the first people there and the gate wasn't even open, so we quietly communed with the tree for a while before anyone else arrived. I'm telling you, there is something about it that just seems magical... ancient and wise :)
From there we continued on to Hilton Head, where we had the opposite experience. The island was a weird pay-to-enter gated community that felt like a shopping mall version of a yacht club. We did stop to see the Stoney Baynard ruins, which were pretty cool. We were pretty hungry but nothing seemed appealing around where we were, so we started heading off the island and wound up having lunch at a place called Roast Fish and Cornbread on the way out. That night we just crashed at our creepy Super 8 hotel so we could get an early start in Savannah the next morning.
The day started out relatively sunny, though it was threatening rain and sprinkled a bit after we finished our pastries and iced coffee in the park. We wandered down to the waterfront and explored the old industrial district, which we loved, and then decided the best way to see the rest of downtown was to walk straight through all of the garden squares that ran like a seam through the center of the city. So we did! Savannah really is a perfectly planned metropolitan area. The further we walked away from the water the more elaborate the parks became, and eventually it really did feel like we were wandering through a magnificent garden. However, the closer we got to Forsyth Park (our final destination) the darker the clouds got, and we basically ended up racing against the storm, which finally hit with impeccable timing right after we reached Forsyth and took a few photos of the fountain. And then it really rained, monsoon-style. We ended up having to hide out on somebody's front porch (thanks for the shelter, whoever you are!) until the rain let up enough for us to bolt toward the nearest bus station, hop back in our car, and head to our hotel to wait out the storm.
The day started out relatively sunny, though it was threatening rain and sprinkled a bit after we finished our pastries and iced coffee in the park. We wandered down to the waterfront and explored the old industrial district, which we loved, and then decided the best way to see the rest of downtown was to walk straight through all of the garden squares that ran like a seam through the center of the city. So we did! Savannah really is a perfectly planned metropolitan area. The further we walked away from the water the more elaborate the parks became, and eventually it really did feel like we were wandering through a magnificent garden. However, the closer we got to Forsyth Park (our final destination) the darker the clouds got, and we basically ended up racing against the storm, which finally hit with impeccable timing right after we reached Forsyth and took a few photos of the fountain. And then it really rained, monsoon-style. We ended up having to hide out on somebody's front porch (thanks for the shelter, whoever you are!) until the rain let up enough for us to bolt toward the nearest bus station, hop back in our car, and head to our hotel to wait out the storm.
Oh gosh Savannah is probably my favorite place I've ever been to. It's like my soul city. The parks, the architecture, how completely perfect it is for strolling. Perfection.
ReplyDeleteAngel Oak is so intense!
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