April 4 - 7, 2000: Savannah, Georgia

Day 1: The Drive Down

4:00 AM: Up Early and Out the Door

I stumbled out of bed at 4:00 this morning and staggered into the shower. I stood there for a couple of minutes in groggy confusion, clinging to my bar of Irish Spring as if to dear life, wondering:
 What the heck am I doing up so early?
 What's so great about Savannah anyway?
 Why am I still dry?

After a minute I realized what was wrong and turned on the water; I immediately let out a blood-curdling scream—it takes a while for the hot water to make it from the water heater in the basement to the shower in my upstairs bathroom.

Okay, I made all that up: I was so excited about the impending trip that I woke up a little after 3:00 and couldn't get back to sleep. I got up, had some coffee, watched a little TV, and went upstairs to get ready around 4:00. By 4:45 Molly, Anna, and I were in my car and heading for the airport—Anna's sister Molly (Hi, Molly!) was visiting from Connecticut for a few days, and our first task for the day was to get her to the airport in time for her 6:27 AM U.S. Airways flight.

We made it to the airport in good time, but, sadly, I was off in search of coffee when Molly boarded, so I didn't get to say a proper goodbye. So...

Bye, Molly! It was really nice to meet you!

Anna and Molly right before Molly's departure

Molly boarding the plane

6:30 AM: Out of the Airport and Heading For Savannah!

We left the airport at about 6:30 and were on the road before 7:00, but we hit a huge and very frustrating traffic snarl at 7:07 (I know because I looked at the clock). There was apparently an overturned tractor-trailer or something of the sort; it delayed us by about forty minutes, finally ending when a nice policeman in an orange rain slicker with a flashlight to match guided the approximately one million cars that were backed up on I-75 into one lane, through a maze of orange cones, past the accident, and back into the nearly traffic-free expressway beyond.

As we traveled, we listened to the unabridged audio book of the second Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Annie was dozing off quite a bit, though, and I wasn't really paying attention that closely, so we're now a third of the way through it and have no idea what's going on.

We stopped for breakfast at a McDonalds in Dublin, Georgia; for just a second I got excited, thinking somehow we had crossed over into Ireland, but as soon as the woman behind the counter asked in a thick Southern drawl, “Kin I hep yew?” I realized we had not.

Can anyone tell me what this is about?

12:00 PM: In Savannah!

We made it to Savannah proper around noon, after several stops along the way, including a rather disappointing stop at a rest area—no little chocolate donuts! Since the check-in time at the Fairfield Inn wasn't until 3:00, we went to the Savannah Visitor's Center. After spending about a hundred years looking for a parking space (you probably think I'm exaggerating. I'm not.), we went in and went through the museum and watched the 18 minute history of Savannah movie (narrated by the statue of James Oglethrope).

Next we dined at the Whistle Stop Cafe where, conventional southern wisdom to the contrary, we decided against the fried green tomatoes.

Finally, at just a little after 3:00, exhausted, well-fed, and even a little bit educated (see previous comments about 18 minute movie narrated by statue), we checked into the Fairfield Inn on Lee Boulevard. After unpacking and checking the room for hidden cameras, we took a much needed nap.

One of the many interesting things in the Savannah Visitor's Center Museum

Room 250 of the Savannah Fairfield Inn

6:40 PM: River Street

After a couple of hours rest in the hotel, we ventured back out again, this time ending up on River Street, right by the beautiful Savannah River.

We walked along the river for exactly 49 minutes (there were 11 minues left on the parking meter when we got back to the car), seeing all sorts of cool things. Just as we walked by it, one of the river boats was taking off for a two hour dinner cruise. Had we gotten there a bit earlier we probably would have joined them; I know they had room, because I could tell that the table by Mr. and Mrs. Howell was available.

After leaving River Street, we went to the Wal Mart on Abercorn to get a bathing suit for me in preparation for our Thursday trip to Tybee Island, then had an elegant repast at Arbys, and finally returned to the hotel room a little after 9:00, where I found myself too exhausted to come up with a better ending for this narrative than this.

Me, sitting by a fountain in front of the Savannah River

The S.S. Minnow, skippered by Jonas Grumby

Maybe this is the S.S. Minnow

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