SOLO ROADTRIP: SAVANNAH [GA]

sorry for the delay. i started a new assignment at work with overtime, and boy is it exhausting. anyhoo the next day, i decided to have a late start on the road so i could visit the mcleod plantation. i had planned to do this when i arrived to the city, but ran out of time. also it was recommended by a ranger at fort sumpter (rangers always have the best recommendations).

but first, coffee. i went to a small local place.

the mcleod plantation home was built in 1858 and constructed by slaves. the family made money off of sea island cotton. the area is a gullah heritage site. the culture was influenced by african, low country, and coastal culture. they speak a type of creole. not only is there still a large community in charleston, but savannah. also the freedmen's bureau was temporaily located here.

the family stayed in the home until the 1990s.

one of the original structures has the fingerprints of a child slave. children were forced to make the bricks.

a magnolia. honestly this was the only one i noticed during my trip, even thought the carolinas and georgia are known for them.

original slave cabins. crazy to think people, mostly blacks, rented these until the 1990s.

this is either the wappoo creek or ashley river.

i then made my way to savannah. the drive was not too far, but along the way i found a cute little old gas station that was transformed into a local goods market. it mostly has preserves, cider, and dessert. i bought a rocky road pecan bark and had a cider sample. it was a cute little stop.

once i arrived in savannah, i went to old fort jackson (named after james, not andrew). it is located along the savannah river (south carolina is across the river). the brick structure was built in 1808-1812 on top of a revolutionary war battery. president jefferson built it for the expected war with europe...again.

during the civil war, the fort saw battle in the attack on savannah. the fort was confedorate headquarters until the surrender of the city in 1864.

there were 2 cannon demonstrations while i was there. the first one is for tourists. the historical reenactor shoots the cannon towards a boast of tourists sailing along the river. the second one is an actual historical demonstration. in between, there was a an educational demonstration about the fort.

the reenactor was walter. turns out he's from echo park and moved to georgia as a child. he also has a degree in history (and is a cutie patootie).

after, i drove to the georgia state railroad museum (i looove the one in sacramento, ca). this one was definitely not as big and there was not much to see, but it was worth the ticket. there is a combo ticket you can get where you can visit 3 out 5 museums thats are run by the savannah coastal society. the train museum, old jackson fort, and the savannah city museum were all under this ticket. the museum consists of locomotives along a roundhouse and passenger trains.

one interesting fact is after diesel trains beat out steam engines, the train depot was literally sold brick by brick. the bricks were seen as very valuable. they were made in the city and to this day, nobody knows how they were made and of what. also, i was able to see a segregated passenger train from the 1960s. there is only one other in the country.

driving to my hotel, which was an econolodge, was a trip. every street was just filled with oak trees and moss. it feels like you are in another world or something out of dr. seuss. i was hungry, but didn't want to drive so i ate somewhere within walking distance. the only place was a panda express, so that was dinner.

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the next day i was going to take a bus to the historic area, but the hotel receptionist advised against it. so i sucked it up and paid for parking in a lot. the first stop was the savannah history museum, which was okay. the museum was a bit outdated and i did not think the most interesting, but it was one of the attractions that opened up the earliest.

after, i walked through several squares. savannah is known for its public squares, which are really small parks with benches and maybe a statue.

i think this is pulaski square.

lafayette square.

i bought a sandwich and iced latte at a little cafe across from chippewa square. i knew this was where the famous box of chocolates scene in forrest gump was filmed. while i was eating, i was trying to google my way to find out where in the square was it filmed. funny thing, it was filmed literally in front of me. also there wan't a real bench. it was a movie prop that is now inside the savannah history museum (i saw that too).

the scene was filmed below the one way sign.

colonial park cemetery.


the next museum was the american prohobition museum. it was a bit gimicky, but i had fun. i still don't really understand why in savannah, but georgia was a state where the discussion was polarized. for being gimicky, it was still quite immersive. there was a lot that you can touch (and also a ton of wax figures). you can also buy a combo ticket and get a drink at the speakeasy.

now for some interesting facts. prohibition contributed to walgreens growth. during prohobition, liquor was only legal through presctibtion and walgreens issued the most medicinal liguor prescribtions than any other drugstore.

"mother's in the kitchen washing the jugs, sister's in the pantry bottling the suds, father's in the cellar mixing up the hops, johnny's on the front porch watching for the cops."

i felt weird taking this photo, but the worker offered. apparently this is a real gutted tommy gun, whatever that means. the worker had to show me how to hold it. across from my view were wax figures of people shot to death in a car. lovely.

also on a side note, the older woman at the gift shop register called me sugar. i love the southern terms of endearment. i then made my way to the riverwalk, along the savannah river. there is not a ton to do, just eat and shop at touristy shops. the buildings are cool. they were early 20th century cotton warehouses. 

a cool antique store.

to go down to river front, you have to go down steep, dangerous, and historical staircases.

a memorial to those brought over during the slave trade, and the irony of a cargo ship sailing down the river in the distance.

funny story about this. i love affogatos, vanilla ice cream with a shot of espresso. i saw this little greek place that also sold ice cream and coffee and thought maybe they made these. i have seen them sold in the most random places including old town san diego and oatman arizona (a mining ghost town). when i went inside and asked, the worker got the owner (i did not mean for it to go this far). an older man with a thick greek accent came out, asked what it was, said he would make it, and broke me off a piece of his graham cracker. he was very nice and i got me my treat :) 

my affogato.

after walking along the storefronts, i took a free bus to forsyth park, the biggest park that i visited in the city. i would also say it is the most popular. the fountain is a famous photo spot. there were even wedding photos being taken when i was there.

the fountain is from 1858.

instead of taking the bus to my car, i walked. there were so many little details.

i then made my way to my hotel and picked up some panera. sometimes you just need a good ol' salad.

my room in savannah.

now for a song. i have always enjoyed kasey musgraves' music and my favorite song from her album is slow burn. i also discovered this song during my trip. enjoy!