Savannah, Georgia

Arne had a doctor appointment in Gainesville yesterday afternoon. From there we drove to Savannah, arriving around 7:30 PM. Today we toured the historic district via trolley, which had 14 stops. We could get off and on at any of the stops. While on the trolley, the drivers gave a history of the city, pointing out landmarks.

Some Savannah history:

*Gen. James E. Oglethorpe and his settlers founded Savannah, England's 13th and last colony in February 1733.
*Residents embraced the revolt against England, but British forces captured the city by surprise in December 1778 and finally departed in 1782.
*Nineteenth-century Savannah grew and flourished with King Cotton, becoming a vital shipping port.
*In 1862, Union forces closed the port and in 1864 Gen. Sherman blazed a trail of destruction across Georgia. He entered Savannah on Christmas Day and offered it to President Abraham Lincoln as a gift.
*Oglethorpe set up Savannah in 24 squares, 22 of which remain today, thanks in great part to the Historic Savannah Foundation. Each square has a park, one of which is shown in the picture above.
*Established in 1775, First African Baptist Church is reputedly North America's oldest African-American church.
*Birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA.
*Birthplace of Johnny Mercer, writer of over 1000 songs, among them "Moon River" and "Tutti Frutti."
*Savannah is America's most haunted city.

One of the "ghosts"

Oak tree with fern growing along with the Spanish Moss

We bought these "roses" from this man who made them out of palm fronds.

The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. European look.
Beautiful stained glass windows.

For dinner tonite, we went to the Pirates' House. I took a picture of my dinner because I couldn't believe they served me THREE thick pork chops!! The other mound is mashed sweet potatoes. They were delicious but this is a crime when obesity is such a big problem in this country. They charged $23.95 for this platter. How about one chop and charging $8-10 less? Yes, I ate most of them with some help from Arne. We're traveling tomorrow so couldn't bring one home.

The Pirates' House has many rooms, as a result of many houses being put together, and the spirit of a 5-year-old boy, who died in one of the houses, has been seen by some patrons. As we were leaving the restaurant, a ghost tour entered. They were heading to the rum cellar hoping to see...ghosts, of course!