Between Charleston and Jacksonville, we stopped in for a day at Savannah, Georgia. We weren’t sure what to expect, but we found an artsy, progressive city in the process of appropriating its more . . . conservative past.
We spent most of our time in and around Forsyth Park. There, children played in a fountain near what used to be a fort. A gay couple snuggled in a hammock strung between two live oaks. An African American gentleman DJed for the public, throwing in his steel drum skills as he liked, only a few hundred yards from a Confederate memorial statue. Across the street from a Spanish-American War memorial sat a health food store that sources its products from all over the world.
The Sentient Bean, an indie cafe by the southern tip of Forsyth Park, offered shelter from the heat. A welcome bonus: their coffee was actually worth drinking–I can’t say the same for most other cafes on this trip. This place was so nice that I stayed there for a while to write up a post and upload some pictures.
That cafe contributed to the charm of Savannah’s Historical and Victorian districts. The area seemed to be a place where I could hang out, draw, write, and generally be creative. It helps that the Savannah College of Art and Design is stationed in the area, with multiple buildings scattered around the street. We saw art students collaborating here and there on their projects in Photoshop, making the very best use of their MacBook Pros.
We knew we couldn’t take in all the city has to offer in only part of a day, so we didn’t try. After some nice experiences around the Historic District, we traveled to Bonaventure Cemetery. It’s super-haunted, etcetera, etcetera. It’s the kind of place I’d like to wander through for hours, but we didn’t have that kind of time. We drove around and took pictures. There’s something creepy about a graveyard set in a landscape of southern foliage, something that suggests you might find the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis and get yourself into big trouble. But we saw no books bound in human flesh, and so we left for Tybee Island.
Tybee Island was a mixed bag. The lighthouse and old coastal forts impressed us. The light that stands today was constructed from the remains of the 1773 structure, which was itself the third day-mark/lighthouse built on Tybee Island. Fort Screven constituted an integral part of America’s Coastal Defense System from the late 1890s to just after WWII; troops were stationed there during the Spanish-American War and both World Wars. Most of the fort is gone now, but the structures that remain exhibit some wicked masonry defenses. The beaches on the south of the island, in contrast, weren’t especially interesting (i.e., trashy). And the Marine Science Center was a joke.
This pit stop to Savannah almost didn’t happen. We thought about spending one more day in Charleston, then heading straight to Jacksonville, but I’m glad we chose to investigate “America’s Most Haunted City.” I’ll be back!
