My Scrap Corner: Savannah Trip Days 1 & 2- September 18 and 19

I spent most of September 18th traveling to get to Savannah, which was smooth and uneventful. I arrived at the airport a little before 5P, and Mark was there waiting to greet me. It turned out that his partner on the project he was presenting at the IONS conference the next day was on the same plane, so he was actually meeting us both ;) After dropping my luggage off at the hotel we met Mike at a restaurant called The River House and had some wonderful seafood. Mark and I then headed for a walk down the riverfront and took a ferry ride across the river to the convention center and back again.

The convention center

The next morning, Mark had to be at the convention center early for the presenter's breakfast so I was on my own for most of the day. I finally headed out of the hotel about 10:30 and armed with the Fromer's guidebook I had brought with me, I set out on one of the walking tours they suggested to see the historic district of Savannah. I took my time strolling around, stopping to study anything that caught my eye. I have to say that the live oaks, magnolias and other large trees dripping with Spanish Moss fascinated me- it's not like anything I have ever seen before and I thought it was really pretty. I'm sure it would be even more gorgeous if the magnolia trees had been in bloom, but alas it just wasn't the season for that. The lamp posts and house lanterns that were on constantly also caught my eye, and camera, quite frequently. The many squares that dot the historic district are charming and make walking very pleasant as they offer a cool respite from the hot sun every few blocks.

Quite a few of the lamps and lanterns are gas flames, like this one below, though some have been converted to electric.

The fountain in Forsyth Park. I traded camera shots with another couple there sight-seeing.

A series of photos from the beautiful houses along Gordon and Abercorn streets north of Forsythe Park.

The fountain in Lafayette square.

The Hamilton-Turner Inn off of Lafayette square.

Part of the base of the astrolabe in Troup square.

in some areas of the historic district, the businesses and houses seem to flow right into each other. This beautiful doorway was in a business block, though I think it was a house.

I did find one magnolia tree with a couple of blossoms on it in Colonial Park Cemetery.

The entrance gate to Colonial Park Cemetery.

Quite a few houses have wrought iron gates leading into the side yards, and it was fun to peek through them into the often beautiful gardens. This gate is at the Owens-Thomas house and Museum which is off Oglethorpe square.

I came to the end of the first walking tour and noticed that it was near one of the end of the second walking tour of the book which was along the river district so I just jumped into the middle of that one to explore that part of town too. Some of the houses in this area have a more 'seaside cottage' feel to them. The photo below is of the front of the restaurant "The Pirate's House." I was hoping we might be able to eat there one night, but we ran out of evenings before the end of the trip.

A humorous statue I saw sitting in one of the riverfront shops that sold wine.

The house lamp at the front door of our hotel.

The lobby of our hotel.

I spent about 6 hours walking around Savannah that day. Mark had told me that he spent about 3 hours touring the historic district on Tuesday, so I spent about twice as long out there just admiring the architecture and details and soaking up the atmosphere. Mark returned from the conference at about 6, and we met Mike in our hotel lobby and headed out for dinner. We went for a little more casual dining this evening and ended up at the Six Pence Pub on Bull St. It was the site of a scene in the movie "Something to Talk About" with Julia Robers and Dennis Quaid, though none of us have seen it.