Another day/night without wifi. Except tonight I'm in a hotel (due to thunderstorms forecast this morning that are nowhere in sight tonight), and so should have wifi but of course it's down while I'm here. Ugh. Wanted to post, but can't be bothered on the phone. Sorry folks! I'll find a Starbucks or someplace with some guaranteed Internet tomorrow morning.

Bugs, Gators, and Wifiless

So, I'm posting this from my phone. Not sure how long it will end up being, as iPhone typing can easily get annoying. I would type and then post from my computer once I have wifi tomorrow (along with about 3 other things I wrote during the day), but my campsite is super buggy since it's tucked away in the trees. I'm sitting now on the docks, watching a spider wrap up some type of insect. I think she knew I was talking about her, she just froze.
I forgot about bugs. I used to rarely get bitten, but I don't know if it's from the unfortunate lack of nature in my life the last year and a half, or because these are Georgia bugs and therefore loving my northern taste, but I am no longer unattractive to them. They swarmed my face and hands as I tried to write. Once I walk back, it'll be time to hide away in my little, hopefully bug-free, orange tent
Being in Georgia, and right alongside a pond/swamp area, I think it was pretty normal for me to worry about alligators or crocodiles creeping out of the water while I was sleeping and deciding that a Kat was the perfect midnight snack (speaking of snacks, the spider just ate the fly). I hesitated between three different campsites, debating between being closer to the bathroom, distancing myself from people, or finding myself in a gator gullet. In the end, I talked to this lady who was the park "host" (all the rangers leave after 5 and there is just this couple who volunteers). She reassured me in her comforting southern drawl that I had nothing to fear, she had never seen a gator in this here park. My fear alleviated (for at least the time being) I picked the perfect site: not directly next to anyone else, but not too far from the bathroom for middle of the night trips, but therefore closer to the swamp. We'll see if I'm alive in the morning!

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!