Day 25 -- All day in Savannah, Georgia -- no miles

Today we played hookey from our constant driving and spent the entire day, well from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., in the beautiful southern city of Savannah. Yesterday we picked a camp that boasted being a stop for the morning Savannah-bound shuttle. All we had to do was line up at the front office at 9:00 a.m. and the shuttle would pull up and spirit us away in air-conditioned comfort for the fourteen-mile drive into the city.

Then, just before ten, our driver deposited us at the collection point for the hop-on, hop-off, orange and green trollies. Before we scarcely had time to collect a map and talk about our preferred destinations, the trolley arrived, loaded us aboard, and away we went into one of the most romantic cities in America.

Oddly enough, our driver was an expatriot from Colorado, and so at first we didn't get to hear that soft southern drawl of the Georgian natives. Driver Ewell might have only been piloting a trolley for eighteen months, but he knew his material like he'd been telling folks about Savannah all his life.

We learned that Savanah had been planned and laid out by James Edward Ogglethorpe back in 1733. Ogglethorpe, known as the father of Savannah, was responsible for America's first planned city. He laid the city out in a series of grids that allowed for wide open streets intertwined with shady public squares and parks that served as town meeting places and centers of business. Savannah had 25 original squares; 22 squares are still in existence today.

The trolley does its best to cruise around as many of the park-like squares as possible while the driver describes the statues located in the very center of the squares. Most of these green spaces are notable for their huge, mosss-draped live oak trees that bear the brunt of the hot summer sun and ensure lovely cool places for Savannah residents to gather and meet. The squares are also notable, said our trolley driver, for their two and three story historic homes and other structures that line all four sides of the street across from the parks.

One structure we remember was the house where Julliete Gordon Low lived, the prime-mover of the Girl Scouts. Another home we passed a massion that could boast of none other than Robert E. Lee as a house guest in 1861/62. Of course, after Union General Sherman's march through Georgia to the sea, many of the historic residences became homes for Union officers as well as hospitals for Union soldiers. Still, I don't think the southern folks in Savannah minded too much, as it was General Sherman who actually "saved" Savannah from being put to the torch. Sherman thought the city was just too beautiful. General Sherman cleverly gifted Savannah to President Abraham Lincoln as a Christmas present on December 22, 1864, which ensured its survival.

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When you've been on the trolley long enough, all the history you hear begins to fill your head to overflowing. Once that happens, it's best to pick a stop and get off. We picked the city market area for its potential to provide us with lunch. It was a tad early since we got off around 11:00, but we spent some time perusing the shops in the area. When we finally picked a restaurant, it was Belford's that we chose. The menu looked good, but even more important, two Florida ladies standing with us at the gate said that they had heard really great reviews.

When we were shown our outdoor table by a very polite and bright young woman named Brittany, I knew we had chosen wisely. We just love how polite and helpful southerners are. Soon we were scanning the menu and saw many entres that we would love to try. Finally, when pressed, Concetta chose the crab cakes, and I chose the fish and chips and a glass of a beer called "Scofflaw Brewing Basement IPA" from Atlanta.

Concetta found the crab cakes exellent. My Scofflaw Brewing Basement IPA from Atlanta was truly wonderful, and I thought my fish and chips was the best I ever had! And I'm not kidding!

In 2008 when we were driving south of Scotland in the county of Northumberland, we happened upon a wide spot in the road where a small bar seemed to be the only structure around. Since the bar advertised food to eat, we stopped, went in, and ordered fish and chips and a couple of beers. Granted, the place didn't look like much, but we had the best meal of that traditional Enlish dish we had ever eaten. And until today that record had not been broken.

And a further endorsement of Belford's, Brittiany helped us with our maps and directions. Then, moments later, a young man approached our table and asked how long I had been in the Navy. When I told him three years, he said he had been in for fourteen years. Then we proceeded to have just the greatest conversation about our respective lives. He said that he had considered submarines after I told him I had been trained in anti-submarine warfare. But he didn't get to become a submariner as he was assigned to the Pentagon. Eventually we learned that the young man's name was Alex and he'd been born in Savannah.

Eventually, Alex wished us well and made his way back into the restaurant. When I asked Brittany if Alex was the owner, she laughed and said no. "That's the owner," She turned pointed at a man standing at the front entrance. That man broke into a giant grin and told us to "watch out" for Alex. I laughed and said, "Don't be saying anything about Alex. He's great." Later Brittany would tell us that Alex was the bartender.

We all laughed together and we knew that the owner wasn't insulted. Later when we left, we stopped and shook hands with the owner whose name was Kevin. We told him we loved his food AND his restaurant and maybe someday we'd be back.

During lunch we had decided that perhaps we could walk the couple of blocks and visit the maritime museum. We had tried to see it on our last visit to Savannah in 2014, and it had been closed. We're not up to doing the kind of long-distance walking we once enjoyed, so a couple of blocks would be great.

Since Brittany had told us exactly how to proceed, we set off at a determined pace and were soon strolling up the garden path to the entry door. Once inside, we received a very fast-paced disertation on the contents of the museum, the things that we shouldn't do, and something about photography, which I totally missed and decided not to have him repeat.

The museum was pretty incredible, but certainly was meant for those who have an avid interest in maritime history. I wasn't sure that applied to us, but we soldiered on anyway. Many of the exhibits were minutely-crafted vessels in glass cases which proved almost impossible to photograph, with or without a flash. I had set my camera to 1000 ASA and was able to shoot most of the displays without flash, which lessened the potential for reflection.

However, there were so many interior lights and so much light coming through the plethora of windows, that the glass cases just bounced whatever light was near and right into the camera. Still, there were other things not in cases. Quite a few figureheads stood in corners just begging for a shot. There were dozens of informational plaques that were outside the glass, or were situated so that they could be shot inside the glass while excluding reflections.

In the end, the displays that stuck in our minds were the shipwreck stories. They had a model of the Titanic, of course, and it came complete with passengers and lifeboats. The shipwreck that fascinated Concetta most was of the Pulaski. The boat was named for a Polish Count Kasamir Pulaski who fought with the patriots in the Revolutionary War.

The boat named the Pulaski sailed from Savannah on June 14, 1838, and after one stop had a passenger complement of about 187 counting both passengers and crew. Later that night the starboard boiler exploded, and the boat sank within 45 minutes. Fifty-nine people survived, and 128 died. Incredibly, the bow portion forward of the explosion area didn't sink and 23 of the survivors lived by clinging to the wreckage. They floated for five days without food or water, but were eventually picked up by a passing steamer.

The display that I found the most memorable was that of the scrimshaw, usually crafted by crew members of whaling ships. The sailors, when not actively hunting or processing whales, suffered from extreme boredom. Whaling cruises could last a couple of years before reaching port again. Scrimshaw turned out to be the perfect free-time activity for the crew members. All sorts of scenes could be found carved on whale teeth. Everything from nautical scenes with ships and whaling activities, to fantasy scenes with mermaids were displayed.

After our trip to the maritime museum, we walked back to the City Market area. It was a tad too early to ride the trolley back to our point of origin, so we chose a restaurant that advertised peach cobbler, and went in to appease our sweet tooth with cobbler, ice cream, and black coffee. Once done with our midday snack, we walked to the nearest trolley stop, boarded, and very soon our afternoon in Savannah had come to an end. There was nothing left but to catch our shuttle back to camp and our rig waiting peacefully underneath the sheltering pines. Tomorrow we will be setting our GPS for Naples, Florida and a much anticipated reunion with Concetta's sisters and other relatives. So, until then, we wish you exciting adventures of your own. Ciao!