Savannah

S took the picture above, it's awesome. If you enlarge it you will see some kind of red berries in the tree

Yesterday, Dec. 22, the Saturday before Christmas, was a dreary, cool, rainy day. This is the day we decided to visit Savannah, Ga. Three hours later we arrived in Savannah to a dreary, cold day.

Ever since we watched the movie, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” we both have wanted to visit Savannah. The movie kind of instilled preconceived notions of what Savannah, Ga. was going to be like.

We decided to first drive out to Tybee Island to see the beach and take some pictures of the lighthouse. To get there we had to go through town. As soon as we entered the historic district we were immediately engulfed in a sea of green. The Live Oaks laden with Spanish moss covered the road like a tunnel. The Ivy climbing the walls of beautiful homes of unknown age. There were parks every so often placed right in the middle of some of the most beautiful homes we have ever seen. Green was not the only color we were swimming in. The homes were every color you could imagine, pink, white, blue, purple, each one was more beautiful than the last.

We asked directions from a gentleman walking along the boulevard. FYI the route he gave to us took us right past “Uncle Bubbas Oyster House”, . More on that later. Off into the misty, gray day we went. We drove by beautiful marshlands with what looked like a hundred rivers flowing through it this way and that. The road was only a foot or two above sea level. I believe that this area has been underwater many, many times. We wished we had a kayak and some warm weather with us because there was so much to see and explore. Sadly we had neither. So to Tybee Island we went. The island had been battened down for winter but was charming nonetheless. We enjoyed walking around the lighthouse but S has never seen a lighthouse that she didn’t like. It was to cold and blustery for us so we headed back into Savannah.

The streets were alive with Christmas shoppers. The Streets and light poles were all adorned with Christmas décor. It was still raining so we decided to just cruise back and forth through the city. We went down the main street and were amazed at the variety of shops. There were some that you could tell were there for tourist purposes, but they were far outnumbered by many little boutique shops. We think it would take somebody the better part of a few months to peruse all of the shops. I am not an antique shopping kind of guy but I wanted to go into these shops, they looked cool.

We had only been down a couple of streets when she spotted “Mecca” for Southern ladies, Paula Deens “Lady and Sons.” I knew she wanted to see this holiest of places, but I didn’t realize until she laid eyes on it, how excited she would be. Suggestion for those hoping to dine at Paula’s, go in the morning and make a reservation. It wasn’t the dining I was interested in. I wanted to get her a Christmas gift from the store next door. Men, I want to tell you, when I walked in this store the stench of estrogen was so heavy, I thought I was a goner. The women were in a frenzy and the great surprise came when it was divulged to us that Paula had signed all of the cookbooks for sale in the store. My trip had been made because S was happy.

We continued our criss-crossing of Savannah taking in all of the sites. There were a few tour trolley’s going here and there but not many. We were pretty much alone, site seeing at our own leisurely pace. We would stop every so often and she would take pictures while I walked the dog. The parks in this town are beautiful and I would have loved to just sit down and have an iced tea. In one of my conversations with a local they advised me to go to Bubba’s Oyster House for Dinner. We decided to take their advice and headed back out that way.
Bubba’s opens up for dinner at 5pm and we were there like “snowbirds” at 5pm. It was a nice little restaurant very understated set along the marshlands. We were seated and started discussing how many different ways people like their cornbread. (I like mine sweet) The gentleman seated across from me at the next table was a big man. The kind of guy that no matter what your age you answered him yes sir’ or no sir’. We quickly struck up a conversation and found that we were both 3 hours from home because they live minutes away from us here on the Southside of Jacksonville. We chatted as all of us had dinner. BTW I had Shrimp n grits and she had the fried chicken. Boy was it good, I mean if you like this kind of cooking then don’t miss it. I haven’t had a meal this good since I was a kid at grandmas’. They finished their meal before we did and we exchanged pleasantries and wished each other a “Merry Christmas.” We asked the waitress for some to-go boxes and our check. She said well I have a surprise for you. (Later my wife would tell me in confidence that she thought we were their millionth customer, I thought that was funny) Anyway the waitress said that the folks we were just talking to had paid our bill and wanted her to tell us, “Merry Christmas”

Here as of late both of us were really questioning the decency in people. Lo and behold a power much greater than ourselves placed these people in our path to remind us what Christmas is all about. We will never forget this trip or that couple. One day soon I will do the same thing for a stranger. I hope that it brings them as much joy as it brought us.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERBODY