Morning time in Savannah
A city waking up might potentially be my favorite time to spend in one. I arrived in Savannah around 8 am this morning. I know that a lot of the city had probably been awake for hours and on their way to work and such. This was evident in the traffic I found myself in; I ended up circling the Visitor’s Center three times before I was finally able to get into the parking lot. Partly that was due to traffic, partly due to my inability to follow directions and find turns. But I found it eventually, and parked.
I decided rather than trying to find parking at all of the different places I wanted to go, that I would just park there and walk around. From what I heard, Savannah was a walking city, and it most definitely is. Once I got out of the “metropolitan” area, the residential blocks were nice to walk through. Savannah is extremely gridded, making it pretty easy to walk around and not get lost (unless you're me and in a perpetual state of lostness). In between the blocks, there are these squares full of trees and sometimes fountains, or statues, or just benches to sit on. I’m not a tree expert, but it certainly looks like some are weeping willows. All of the trees are tall and I would love to climb up into their branches.
Anyways, as I’m walking through the city, you can tell it is still waking up. People heading to work, couples walking their dogs, stores still closed. Where I’m walking is away from the hustle bustle crowded traffic-filled streets. Things seem pretty quiet, until you listen. Birds chirping, construction somewhere, the buzz of traffic a few blocks over, people talking right around the corner. The place sounds alive.
The weather is so nice. You can feel the humidity coming, but at the moment the air feels fresh and crisp and clean. Temperature then felt in the high 60s. The sun is shining, there are white clouds in the sky, and it’s just such a beautiful morning.
And there is this smell. Some scent here reminds me of something from my past. I almost want to say it's the lilacs we had in my yard growing up, except that I haven’t seen one yet. When I was in SC, a waitress was telling her customers that they should be able to smell the jasmine; I wonder if that’s also the smell evident here. Whatever it is, it smells good, but also almost too strong for my nose. Now that I’m thinking about it, it kind of smells like laundry.
I’m not the only tourist taking in early morning Savannah sights. Elderly Couples are walking around, holding hands, a camera in his free hand, a Savannah visitors map in hers. They meander slowly, enjoying the sounds and smells and sights. There are also large tour groups of kids walking around. I keep seeing these large groups, mostly girls, in bright blue shirts; the shirts say something along the lines of Rockin’ Roadtrips Daniel Education Services or something like that. There are also what look like school groups; 20-30 children crossing the street in a giant mass. Of course, as teenagers are prone to do, they don’t get out of the way for other walkers, so I’ve started to avoid the streets they are on.
It’s now 10:09. I just came from breakfast at Clary’s Cafe. A delicious plate of homemade corned beef hash, scrambled egg whites, toast, and of course I just had to try some grits. I surprisingly ate the whole plate and feel somewhat uncomfortably stuffed at the moment. I’ll walk it off by lunchtime though.
I decide to relax in Madison Square while I waited for the few touristy things I’m doing today to open. The Visitors Center wasn’t even open when I parked. I’m only going to spend a few hours in this beautiful city, as I really do need to start heading westward. As a lifetime Girl Scout, and a counselor at a Girl Scout camp, I feel as though it is only appropriate I go to the original GS headquarters, as well as the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low (the founder). The headquarters opened at 10; Juliette Gordon Low’s opens at 11. I’ll then end my time in Savannah with a small lunch at Moon River Brewery. Need to try a local beer!
The First Few Days
I'm a few days into the heading south portion of this trip. My boyfriend James has joined me for the first week as we head to South Carolina, visiting friends along the way. So far, we've relaxed in Saratoga Springs with my grandmother, compared Geno's versus Pat's famous Philly cheesesteaks (Pat's won by far) with Heather, and drank possibly one too many beers in the Bier Baron in Washington, DC with a group of friends, both old and new.
Yesterday was a day spent recovering with some delicious brunch at the Founding Farmer's in West Potomac, MD, and then exploring the National Mall with our hosts for the day Matt and Leigh.
I've been to Washington a few times, but all I can really remember from those trips are seeing the Lincoln Monument up close, driving around in the pouring rain pointing to landmarks from the dry interior of the car, and spending many hours at the Smithsonian Museum. I believe I was about 10 years old. Maybe younger, maybe older. The point being it's all just a hazy memory.
WWII Memorial
We only had a few hours to walk around, but that was enough time for the amount of touristy site-seeing we wanted to do. Took the mandatory picture in front of the White House, examined the World War II and Vietnam War memorials, and walked along the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool (which is a much longer stroll than I expected). The crowds of people on the stairs up to Lincoln were a little much for our relaxing afternoon, so we just admired the building from below.
Matt and Leigh were super patient with us playing tourists. Even though they've only lived in city for a few years, they are definitely Washington-ites. I know that there were plenty of other things they'd rather do on a Saturday afternoon than be surrounded by crowds of people looking at old buildings, but I was grateful to have such good friends who would take time out of their day.
After some pizza at Pi Pizzeria, it was time to head to our next destination, Richmond, VA to stay with our friend Shannon. Today's Cinco de Mayo, so I'm sure we'll find some fun!