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Down to Savannah, GA

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We reached Kiawah Island on Saturday afternoon.

 It is a barrier island and the home to a number of acclaimed golf courses, beautiful beaches, upscale homes and a few hotels. We hired bikes and at 9am on Sunday morning we headed out to explore the island on our bikes. Even though the temperature was in the high 80s and the humidity was high we had a lovely morning biking along by sea marshes, through golf courses and admiring some fabulous real estate. 


Once again we went for a walk on a long, golden sand beach. 


All too soon our stay on Kiawah was up and it was back to the car on Monday morning for our journey to Savannah, GA. We drove through Beaufort, SC (pronounced BYOO-fert as in beautiful in this neck of the woods) and made a short detour to visit the Cypress Wetlands in Port Royal. We took a walk along the raised boardwalk through the swampy wetlands. It was very hot and even the wildlife were hiding in the shade but we were lucky enough to see an alligator at one point. 

We had lunch in a cute little cafe in Port Royal. 


Then it was on to Savannah, GA, a beautiful city with manicured parks, elegant townhouses and Antebellum mansions. Its Historic District contains many beautiful houses and is filled with cobblestoned squares and parks such as Forsyth Park. 


On Tuesday we took a tour of the city on an open Trolley Bus where we learned about the city’s history and wonderful architecture. 








On Wednesday morning we made the short drive to the Moon River District and the beautiful Isle of Hope to visit the Wormsloe Historic Site, one of the most photographed places in town. We drove through a 1.5 mile corridor of mossy, ancient live oaks known as the Avenue of Oaks. 


Then we walked along some pine trails to see the ruins of Noble Jones’ fortified tabby house. Tabby was a form of concrete made from crushed oyster shells, lime, sand and water.  Noble Jones, an Englishman, was one of the first colonists to come to Georgia in 1733 and his  descendants still live on the plantation. 


We had lunch in Clary’s diner back in Savannah. This Diner has been in existence since1903. 
After lunch, I visited the Telfair Academy, the oldest public art museum in the South and the first art museum in America founded by a woman. Highlights include masterpieces of American Impressionism as well as the beautiful statue of The Bird Girl, which became famous in 1994 
when a photo of it appeared on the cover of the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. 

Across the road from the Telfair Academy is the Jepson Center for the Arts, a strikingly modern building, which looks pretty space-age by Savannah’s standards. It opened in 2006 and focuses on 20th and 21st century art. 


We strolled along the riverfront and historic River Street which was once the site of a bustling cotton industry with many warehouses to store the cotton. Huge cargo ships go up and down the  river as well as riverboats such as the Georgia Queen. 



We enjoyed Savannah very much in spite of the higher than usual temperatures - the mercury rose to 96 degrees! Also the humidity was very high! 

Thursday morning saw us leave Savannah and head west towards Macon, GA for an overnight stop on our way to Montgomery, AL. 

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