Savannah

Savannah, Georgia. I was lost but was driving on pretty streets lined with huge oak trees draped with Spanish moss. They gave the place an air of casual elegance. The trees seemed to politely overlook my frantic demeanor. I was desperately trying to find the public parking so I would not be late. Finally, I found parking and walked down a hill and then some steps until I could see the water, just not the water’s edge for which I was aiming. So I ran. All’s well that ends well. I found the dock and boarded the riverboat for an hour excursion. At the time, it seemed the quintessential activity while visiting Savannah.

What comes to mind next is lunch. I stopped at a no frills establishment along the dock. I had the fried oysters, and ordered the peach “special” mixed drink of the day to go with it. The drink was stiff to perfection and I got a whole canning jar of it! It was a wonderful spot to watch the people strolling along the riverside too. After that, instead of climbing the steps and hill, I decided to take a long walk and stumbled upon the former home of Juliette Gordon, the founder of the Girl Scouts. I took the guided tour. It all seemed very formal compared to my memories of being a Girl Scout. (So much so that the tone restrained me from asking how many badges Juliette had on her sash.) After the house tour, I felt ready to drive again. But first I had to find my car!

Do visit the historic Tybee Lighthouse and swim in the warm ocean. Along the shore, the seashells were plentiful and different from the common New England shells. I pulled out the shell I had taken for a souvenir and meditated over it while awaiting my basket of fish at the Crab Shack. Even as a likely immigrant to the Georgian shore, the seashell emanated a good sense of the place. You might also want to visit the Bonaventure Cemetery with the “Bird Girl” statue shown on the book cover of The Garden of Good and Evil; if you do, I recommend the local barbecue in that vicinity or rather, the one I came upon after driving about trying to relocate civilization. If you get lost (which is such a good prompter for exploration), you can always sing Georgia on My Mind. 

“Savannah is amazing with the town squares and the hanging moss and the French Colonial houses. It’s brutally romantic.”—David Morrissey

Tattoo—Journeys on My Mind by Tina Marie L. Lamb is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iBooks. Get an ebook or paper book now.