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We were supposed to visit Savannah in April 2020, and then thanks to the COVID pandemic, our trip got pushed to June. Life in quarantine played havoc again, and we moved our trip to October. Finally, in October 2020, we traveled south to Savannah. However, due to the Trump Virus, we only visited outdoor sites, and we dined al fresco or back at our hotel room. We took social distancing very seriously. While in Savannah, we stayed at the historic McMillan Inn (pictured at the right). For information on the Inn, click HERE. Why Savannah? Well, this trip will be part fun -- we hear that Savannah is a beautiful (and walkable) city -- and part research tied, of course, to Emmett Lee Dickinson. |
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1. Savannah, a city of many parks and squares (shown in an aerial photo at the left) has one park named "Emmett" after Emmett Lee Dickinson. 2. American lyricist, songwriter, and singer -- and native son to Savannah -- Johnny Mercer attended the Emmett Lee Dickinson School for Boys in Savannah. He said that he was inspired to become a lyricist and songwriter because of the poetry by Emmett Lee Dickinson. 3. Poet Conrad Aiken, who saw himself as a "cosmos mariner," is from Savannah. He was inspired to become a poet and to travel to "destinations unknown" because of the life and poetry of Emmett Lee Dickinson. Aiken always said that he was profoundly impacted by Dickinson's poem "From Us He’s wandered now a Year" (below on the left). Dickinson's poem also inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem, "From Us She wandered now a Year" (below on the right). |
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By Emmett Lee Dickinson:
From Us He’s wandered now a Year, Destination unknown, A Wilderness beneath his feet Of an Ethereal Zone Mine eye hath seen he lived A Cosmos Mariner – I only know he Engineered A life of Mystery. |
By Emily Dickinson:
From Us She wandered now a Year, Her tarrying, unknown, If Wilderness prevent her feet Or that Ethereal Zone No eye hath seen and lived We ignorant must be – We only know what time of Year We took the Mystery. |
Below, left: Singer, songwriter Johnny Mercer. Below center: The Emmett Lee Dickinson School for Boys -- which once served as headquarters for General Sherman. Below right: Poet and cosmos mariner, Conrad Aiken.
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I will say that we loved Savannah, but traveling in the south can be unsettling. It is disturbing being in the heart of the modern-day Klan when the Grand Wizard occupies the White House. On the highway we saw as many billboards for adult sex stores (Fantasy Land, The Lions Den, and others) as we did for Grand Wizard Trump. Some of the billboards actually read, "Only God and Donald Trump Can Save Our Country" -- certainly laughable that the "true believers" have rallied behind a truly godless man who is profoundly immoral -- offering proof that their religious beliefs are as hollow as a rusted out garbage dumpster.
We were pleasantly surprised, though, at a stop for gas at the wacky roadside attraction South of the Border. in South Carolina. I walked into the wild and retro South of the Border Motor Inn and was surprised by how pleasant and clean the lobby and public areas were. I expected something dingy and run-down, but the place was spotless and inviting.
We were pleasantly surprised, though, at a stop for gas at the wacky roadside attraction South of the Border. in South Carolina. I walked into the wild and retro South of the Border Motor Inn and was surprised by how pleasant and clean the lobby and public areas were. I expected something dingy and run-down, but the place was spotless and inviting.
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We arrived in Savannah on Sunday night, and as stated above, we stayed in the McMillan Inn -- within walking distance of Savannah's Forsyth Park. The Inn provided a contactless check-in, the room was clean and just as lovely as the rest of the Inn, and the owners/hosts (whom we met the next day) were extremely professional and personable.
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On our first full day in Savannah, we started at Forsyth Park -- an esay walk from our Inn -- and then we strolled through the streets, squares and parks of the city throughout the day. As you can see from our pics and slide shows below, Savannah is truly a beautiful city (NOTE: slide shows don't always work on Androids, so our pictures are best viewed from a laptop, an iphone or an iPad).
The fountain in Forsyth Park was erected in 1858, and many of the city's homes date back to the Civil War era -- that's because Union General William Tecumseh Sherman was convinced not to burn the city to the ground at the conclusion of his March to the Sea. Instead, when he and his troops captured the Port of Savannah on December 21, 1864, he is said to have offered the city to President Abraham Lincoln as a Christmas gift.
There is a monument in the park to a couple of Confederate officers, and it is time for that to come down and/or be moved to a museum -- but overall, the park provided a beautiful setting for out introduction to the city.
The fountain in Forsyth Park was erected in 1858, and many of the city's homes date back to the Civil War era -- that's because Union General William Tecumseh Sherman was convinced not to burn the city to the ground at the conclusion of his March to the Sea. Instead, when he and his troops captured the Port of Savannah on December 21, 1864, he is said to have offered the city to President Abraham Lincoln as a Christmas gift.
There is a monument in the park to a couple of Confederate officers, and it is time for that to come down and/or be moved to a museum -- but overall, the park provided a beautiful setting for out introduction to the city.
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Below left: Random shots of homes in Savannah. Below right: The infamous Mercer House, site of the murder featured in the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."
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Below left and right: The historic Emmett Lee School for Boys in Savannah where Johnny Mercer -- and many other Savannahnites attended school. For a time during the Civil War, the building served as headquarters to Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman.
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Below: Miscellaneous shots from around many of Savannah's public squares.. The statue of the "pirate" that looks like Captain Hook -- that's James Edward Oglethorpe, who founded Savannah in 1733. The photo that comes after Oglethorpe is where Forest Gump's bench was located for the movie "Forest Gump."
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Below and right: Savannah's Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.
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Below left, center and right: Savannah's City Hall and shots from around the river front.
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Below: There is a cemetery that dates back to the 18th century in the historic downtown area of Savannah, and a portion of the graveyard includes grave sites from a pandemic 200 years ago. Today, we are plagued by the Trump Virus. 100 years ago, it was the flu, and 200 years ago it was the Yellow Fever.
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Below & right: Colonial Park Cemetery
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Below: On Tuesday, our second day in Savannah, we visited the Bonaventure Cemetery -- formerly the site of the Bird Girl statue (seen on the cover of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil). The statue caused quite a commotion in the cemetery, so the city moved it to a museum.
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Below left: The Mercer family plot (Johnny Mercer included). Below middle: The most-visited site at Bonaventure, six-year-old Gracie Watson. Below right: Poet Conrad Aiken.
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Johnny Mercer is second from the right at the top of the photo.
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Below: After our visit to Bonaventure Cemetery, we drove down to Tybee Island. Our first stop was a view of the Tybee Island Light.
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Below: Miscellaneous shots from Tybee Island. We had a delicious lunch at the North Beach Bar and Grill. Later, back in town, we enjoyed a coffee break at Maté Factor Café, and dinner at Bull Street Tacos.
NOTE: Slide shows don't always work on Androids -- so pics are best viewed on laptops, iPHones, or iPads.
NOTE: Slide shows don't always work on Androids -- so pics are best viewed on laptops, iPHones, or iPads.
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On Wednesday, we drove south to the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge. However, before we hit the road, we stopped by the Savannah Botanical Garden. It was smaller than botanical gardens in other major cities, but it was very nice with some very beautiful flowers.
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Below: We visited Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge -- mainly for bird watching -- but while we were there we saw five alligators, four of them are shown below. The first is of "momma" gator; the second is one of her babies (another baby surfaced, but dove back under water before I could get a pic); the final pic, far right, has two gators in the shadows. Click the images to enlarge.
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Below: Miscellaneous shots from around town as we strolled through Savannah. NOTE: Slied shows do not always work on Androids, so the pics below are best viewed on a laptop, an iPHone, or an iPad.
