Given how much fun we had in Savannah, and that Savannah is only 30 minutes away versus 2 hours away for Charleston, South Carolina, we chose to return to Savannah for another day. We also discussed that finding a narrated tour would help us understand Savannah better than what we were able to glean by walking around.
Since today is Sunday, and hence parking on the street is free all day, we decided to see if we could find parking along Oglethorpe Avenue. Sure enough there was more parking and we were able to find a open spot at the end of a line of parking not far down Oglethorpe.
We walked north up a side street, and took the elevator by City Hall down to River Street. At the alley and River Street corner was a small store front counter for The Old Town Trolly Tours. The saleswoman offered us their which included the Hop-On-Hop-Off narrated Trolly Tour, the narrated Savannah Riverboat Cruise, and entry to the American Prohibition Museum. This package seemed like it would give us a broad understanding of Savannah history.
After purchasing our tickets, we proceeded the 10 feet to the curb where the Trolley would stop. A short time later, the trolley stopped and we were seated.
On the tour we learned that Savannah was a planned city. General James Oglethorpe‘s plan was to build a buffer city between Charleston, South Carolina and Spanish Florida. He designed the layout of the city, and proposed that the colony would be a place to send “the unemployed and the unemployable”. The people sent to the colony would serve as both soldiers and farmers, making the colony “South Carolina’s first line of defense”.
We also learned that Savannah became the hub for the cotton trade. Raw cotton came in by rail, and shipped to global markets from the cotton market along River Street.
After the tour we headed over to the quay where the riverboat was waiting. It was a modern ship with a mock paddle wheel that turned as we headed out on the river.
We grabbed a small table on the open top deck and as it was past lunch time, had some french fries and white wine while the ship headed upstream to the first large cargo ship, an auto carrier.
Further upstream we could see several container ships. Savannah is one the busiest container ports in the country. We turned around here and headed down river. As we headed down river, Deryl snapped this photograph of the dome on Savannah City Hall.
There were a number of interesting businesses along the river below the city that received materials and some that created cargo for export. Imports included fuel oil and cement while exports included minerals such as Limestone and Gypsum Products, cotton and such. We turned around to head back at Fort Jackson where they saluted us with a canon shot. Across the river is a large island created from dredging the river and contains a large convention center and casino. On the other side of the island is a secondary branch of the river but that branch is too shallow for commercial traffic. By the time we returned to the quay, we really were looking for a substantial lunch.
We decided to walk back uphill to W Bay St and look for something that appealed to us. This led us to Churchill’s, a British pub and restaurant. Entering, we noticed a sign for a roof top bar so, into the lift we went. There were a bunch of tables and a bar all out in the open with views of the old city rooftops. We settled in to a table but decided the bar looked more interesting so we moved. The menu was decidedly British Pub fare which suited us just fine. Deryl ordered the Scotch Egg and Rob selected a Cottage Pie. Both turned out to be excellent.
After lunch it was time for a nice afternoon walk exploring several of the “Squares” along Bay St and Oglethorpe St. When the city was planned, 24 square parks were incorporated into the street plan. Many are 2 small blocks square and feature a statue in the center with descriptions and stories on plaques throughout the park. Park Benches are plentiful and great to sit on and watch the people.
We eventually ended up down at the Marketplace where we had fun last night with all the people in costume. While today was actually Halloween, yesterday, Saturday was when the crowds were out and about. Today there were still some in costume but far fewer than yesterday. As we walked about we started thinking about dinner and after looking many restaurants, we decided we liked Sorry Charlies, the same place as last night. This time, instead of the raw bar, we took the elevator up to the roof to see what it was like. After hanging around for a few minutes enjoying the views, a corner table emptied and we moved in. It was low like a coffee table with a fire in the middle and couches on two sides. Not too much table but just enough for drinks and dinner.
The views of the sunset over the tops of the buildings were spectacular. After dinner we decided to call it a night and head back to camp. It had been a long two days.