But I digress. We called on William Shatner and his people at Priceline to find us a room and we got a very nice one just off the freeway. After a quick check-in we got back in the car to head downtown to the historic district so we might get to the Savannah College of Art and Design's store to see their offerings. Then we meandered downtown to get a sense of the place.
Not a bad vibe at all.
Our first view of the trees as we drove down the road headed to downtown.
General James Ogelthrope, Savannah's founding father, came up with the idea of the city being made up of 22 squares that each have their own identity. When we pulled up to the shopSCAD store, we were just off Madison Square, which featured a statue of Sgt. William Jasper. Wait, what? You heard me, the square was named for President James Madison, but features a statue of a Revolutionary War soldier. Think it's weird? Tell me about it. Josh and I were in stitches as I read aloud from one of the free booklets we had picked up at the Georgia visitor center at the border. I marked off the silliest of square names that seemingly had nothing to do with the contents therein.
6 West Harris Street, off Madison Square.
We did not go inside because by this point in the trip, our pockets were feeling empty. Emptier than they were supposed to be, in fact. But it was an interesting house to see. Not only for it's loud color that didn't seem to match the city, but also the style. Additionally, we learned - from the banner hanging outside - that it's supposedly the most haunted place. It's been featured on a lot of television shows, as you can learn from the house's Web site: http://www.sorrelweedhouse.com/ Also, in case you didn't know - I didn't - several scenes from Forrest Gump were filmed in Savannah. The bench he sat on and talked to strangers about how life was a box of chocolates? That was set up in the area just for the movie. Also, the opening sequence with the feather? Apparently that was shot in Savannah too. I tell you all this because if you go to the Sorrel-Weed Web site, you'll see a video tour of the house. Sadly, I could only make it through a few minutes before getting terribly annoyed with the crappy Forrest Gump impersonator they have offering the tour. Waaay too slow a talker for me. Then again, maybe it's not that I'm a southerner at all. No patience for all of that. Oops. You don't care. Moving on!
Next we headed to Pulaski Square, named for Polish Count Casmir Pulaski, another Revolutionary War hero.
It's one of the few squares without a monument...but it ain't so bad looking, is it?
The free guide we picked up also said it has some of the most beautiful live oaks in the city. I'd agree.
I just kept walking around and taking pictures of the trees. They were HUGE and so difficult to photograph because I kept wanting to make the photo wider and larger to try to get in all the limbs snaking up into the sky and way out beyond the square.
Mission impossible.
The chimes at St. John's Episcopal Church drew us over. The lateness of the day kept us from exploring interiors, so we meandered around, shot photos and marveled at the scenes.
Not a bad shot for a mere writer, eh?
Alright, I took this picture to mark where we were. The man burned a lot of Georgia, but he apparently knew when to stop. Check out where he made himself a home in Savannah: http://www.visit-historic-savannah.com/green-meldrim-house.html
Here's a fish in the fountain that now lives between St. John's and Sherman's old quarters (now the church's parish house)
Magnolias are my favorite flowers. I fell in love with them when I lived in Washington, D.C. and I was like an A.D.D. case when I saw them as we walked around Savannah. (insert Josh's eyerolls here)
Hey look! It's the Sorrel-Weed house. A nice view when the ticket booth is blocked by tall hedges from here, huh?
Pop quiz. Who is this? (You've already met him, you already love him...he doesn't have a square named after him, but he is located in a square named for someone, uh, else.) OK, you guessed it. (Great hint with my shot of the Weed-Sorrel House, huh?) I took his photo again because I thought I had some better light. At least in this shot you might be able to see he's carrying a flag.
After our walk around a few squares, we headed down to the riverfront. Our mission? To get to the Village Craftsmen store before it closed. We had 30 minutes. We got all the way down to River Street - which required we ride down a cobblestoned hill and into this one-way nightmare with a trolley riding straight at us. We discovered the stupidest people ever drive the road because when the trolley got stuck several people blocked it assuming it would somehow figure it's way off the track and around them. We had unfortunately passed out destination, but couldn't escape the traffic. Here, Josh jumped out of the driver's seat to shoot this picture of all the cars trapped with us inside a tunnel. To the right, a conference room at the hotel that looks out over the river. (not pictured)We made it to the store. We got ourselves more souvenirs and supported local artists. (Don't worry, Mom, I only bought a magnet that's made of shells and looks like a MAGNOLIA!) (insert another eyeroll from Josh)
After our shopping excursion, we kept our parking spot and headed out for dinner. Josh said the crab soup - laced with carrots - was fantastic. My food was only OK. But the building we were in had once hosted a visiting George W. - the original prez. Neato. After dinner, we walked the riverfront and were assaulted by several sculptures and statues, like this.
But this actually turned out to be one of the coolest things to see. This big dude was blowing his horn, turning everyone's head in his direction.
And then this little boat answered him (not tiny, but compared to the other...)
Here's the front of the big guy.
And over there, to the left, past the back of the big guy? That's the one I referred to as small, get it?
Pretty bridge. 
Josh and I spotted the containers that were not flush with the others and dreamed of Doritos or wine that might spill out and land at our feet. Alas, it was not to be.
There it goes. 
And there's the building in which we ate and George Washington once visited.
Just a look at River Street.
Another look at River Street in the sunset.
Did I mention earlier that Josh likes fire trucks and ambulances? This was also a source of interest. I snapped the photo before he could even get the whole question out. Who's your buddy?!
All along the river were these life rings. Interesting.
We both enjoyed the difference in opinions.
Ooooh...magnolia. (Josh, stop, your eyes are going to start hurting from all that rolling. Last one, I swear!)
Another view of River Street...but check out the tour vehicle.
Yes, Bob is my uncle. (I wonder how they knew...)
Oh, right, the tour vehicle. I liked also that they stopped in front of a place called Spanky's. When I pointed it out to Josh, he agreed and copied my photo. That's right - COPIED ME. Just had to make that clear...I did it first. Thank you, that is all.
Remember those life rings? It seems someone used one and didn't return it. Uh oh. Don't drown in this exact spot, OK?
The Waving Girl statue. Well, we hadn't heard as much about her as we did "the book." (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Also a point of humor in the free guide that endlessly pointed out that the book was based on someone in Savannah, featuring shots of a house in Savannah and a statue that used to be in front of the house in Savannah and was now in a museum in Savannah and there's a special "book" store surrounding the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.) But I digress. This statue was erected in honor of Florence Martus who died in 1943. According to the state Web site, she was known as "Savannah's Waving Girl" because of her practice of waving to ships entering and leaving Savannah's harbor. She was waving a neckerchief that her true love had given her before he left on ship, never to return. The story is great, but I wasn't a huge fan of her statue. It's bigger than life and it lacks a lot of elegance that I think should go along with her story...but I'm not the artist and it's a landmark. However, I kinda dig the photo I took. I thought it came out nice.
Here's what's written on the back of the statue.
Continuing along the river front we found this huge, weird sculpture that didn't really make sense. I recall Josh saying how annoying it was when art just didn't seem to say what it meant. But when we read the plaque we each agreed it was a symbol of something pretty cool.
The sculpture in question. I hope you can see why we were so perplexed seeing it without explanation.
From the river front, we crossed back across River Street and climbed one of those steep cobblestoned hills of Factors Walk - which is basically the back door access to all the River Street buildings, hotels, etc. We then climbed the steep stair case up to Bay Street. As we walked we found lots more statues and historic remembrances of days past. In this case, Josh educated me on the great Irish community in Savannah. Who knew? (besides, Josh I mean...smart alecks)
The Cotton Exchange used to have a beautiful sculpture of a griffin in the fountain, which is surrounded by an iron railing. See below to find out what happened.
Check out the gun show. George Washington's cannons.
The two guns were very different. Here, you can see the intricate design of the French cannon (Thanks to Josh for working so hard to try to get the shot almost completely in the dark with an uncooperative flash)
The name of the guy who made the cannon holder...though I'm sure there's an actual name for this part of the cannon.
Here's the British cannon.
So, it turns out they've built their city hall at the end of Bull Street. Thanks to Josh for illustrating this fact so well.
When we arrived at Moon River Brewing Company, Josh quickly scanned the menu and ordered before I got to the bar. "Who's your best friend?" he asked and then slid this glass over to me. It's their version of bourbon barrel ale! Not the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, but pretty darn good.
A shot of the Savannah College of Art and Design.
You'll have to trust me, this is the fire station with several firefighters sitting around out front.We headed back to the hotel for the night and then back on the road the next morning for North Carolina. Sigh...the true end of the trip.
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