Savannah --- A Hint of Paris in the American South

Maybe it's that everywhere I go I look for Paris. Recently on a breeze through one of my favorite Southern cities, I was reminded of Paris by the charming squares, historic monuments and beautiful old buildings, embellished with wrought-iron gates and balustrades.

Savannah was established in 1733 and designed by General James E. Oglethorpe, the founder of Georgia, around 24 squares (22 which still exist) providing shady respites from a hot, humid climate.    I've visited here many times, and each time discover something unique and special in this City of lovely parks, history and wonderful southern cuisine.

Strolling around Savannah last week, under majestic old oaks, dodging the dangling Spanish moss,  I  gazed through wrought iron gates back through centuries at 18th and 19th century houses and churches.

I stopped by a favorite piece of history, the Owens-Thomas house, built in the early 19th century in the Georgian style with massive columns so associated with the American South.  It's said that Lafayette stayed here when it was lodging house in 1825.  

I peaked in the windows of Juliette Gordon Lowe House, birth place of the founder of the American Girl Scouts.  

Later my companion and I had dinner within one of the oldest buildings in Savannah.  Built in 1771 as a wealthy banker's home and later a bank, the Olde Pink House has witnessed centuries of Southern history.  Early colonists held secret meetings on securing Independence from Britain.  During the Civil War after Sherman captured Savannah, General York set up headquarters here.   Then after years acting as various venues and ultimately falling into decay, it  was bought and restored as a restaurant in 1992.  

And it is  a beautiful restaurant -- flowing over with history and elegance with its  large but comfortably-sized rooms, wide plank wooden floors, high ceilings with crown and chair-rail moldings, and historic paintings and fixtures.  And of course, marvelous southern food....

We also chose to stay in one of Savannah's  historic hotels -- the Planter's Inn which stands on the former site of the first parsonage of John Wesley, who came to Savannah in 1736.  The original hotel was constructed from the remains of two 1812 residents, which was refurbished and reopened as the Planters Inn in 1984.)

After dinner, we again walked Savannah's  streets, buildings and trees now ablaze in the glow of the gaslights.

In the early morning,  the riverside, bustling in the evening, is eerily deserted and quiet. We cross a lovely iron bridge and pass the Old Cotton Exchange Building to get there. (In it's peak as a cotton port,  over two million bales a year moved through Savannah.)

Steamboats line up waiting early arriving tourists.

Much like Paris, Savannah is an intriguing city, drawing you in, creating impressions and memories more intense than present life.  Savannah, though has a personality of its own that wraps you in history and mystery.... and beckons you back again and again.

St. Simon's Island -- Georgia's Lovely Barrier Island Full of History and Charm

While on a jaunt up the East Coast from Miami to New York City, we stopped for two days on St. Simon's Island. I 'm not the first to sense that coming to the barrier islands that border Georgia is like coming home. Maybe for me, it's because of summers I spent as a child on a barrier island further north, and something about the look, feel, and most importantly the smell of these isles that reminds me of those summers.

I look over the sea grass and tidal creeks as we cross over the Sidney Lanier Bridge and ride along Route 17 past Brunswick and onto the causeway that connects to St. Simon's. The nostalgic aroma of the salt marsh brings on a most pleasant, comforting sensation, and even without directly connecting in memory to summers long past, I know my senses have already brought me there.

The state of Georgia is barricaded from the ocean by a chain of these small islands along its more than 150 mile coast line. Georgia's barrier islands, I learned from the film shown at the Maritime Museum at the Historic Coast Guard Station, are growing as opposed to similar barrier beaches further north which the sea is reclaiming despite man's attempt to hold on to them.

Shrimp boats lingering at the horizon at dusk remind visitors of what should be fresh in the many seafood restaurants here. Pamphlets and posters around the island proclaim the values of wild local shrimp vs. the imported or farmed fish with less nutrition and more potential for contamination. Unfortunately, the cheaper imported and farmed variety is driving the price down for the wild shrimpers..making it more and more difficult to make their living at this long-standing industry. I did manage to enjoy some Shrimp and Grits at a favorite spot on the Island: Barbara Jeans.

St. Simon Island also has a rich colonial history...going back to the early settlement, established on the island in 1732 at what became Fort Frederica, by General James Oglethorpe. The stated purpose of the settlement was relocation of poor Londoners, but Ogelthorpe's main mission was to establish a stronghold against further encroachment by the Spanish who claimed rights in Georgia. The remains of Fort Frederica (mainly excavated foundations of houses that made up the military town and the Fort) are now a National Monument worth a visit -- a short film provides a good orientation to the grounds and the history. It's a lovely setting cluttered with large live oaks draped in Spanish Moss. Many of the Revolutionary warships were made from St. Simon's oaks, including Old Ironsides.

St. Simon's is linked by a causeway to Sea Island, home to one of the top resorts in the country, The Cloisters of Sea Island, with a bit of history itself. At the Lighthouse Museum on St. Simon's, there is a photographic exhibit on the G8 Summit held on Sea Island in 2004.

In addition to visiting the National Monument, Lighthouse, and Maritime (with a great little video on the Coast Guard), we ventured up Lawrence Road which is dotted with historical markers telling about the plantations that once thrived on the Island. (Many very wealthy, powerful South Carolina planters and slave owners came to Georgia in the early 19th century and established plantations with cotton as a primary crop.) Today the road winds under canapes of Oaks with long strands of moss hanging like icicles creating an eery, yet sensual atmosphere. Large, splendid mansions line the edge of the savanna and river on the right of the road ending at the Hamilton River Club Marina where you can depart by boat for Little St. Simons's Island (A private island with 7 miles of untainted beaches that can be toured by reservation only).

Another restaurant we visited on the Island was Catch 228 in Redfern Village. A smallish local place, it might look like a hole-in-the-wall, but go on in. The food is outstanding, fresh fish of all kinds, and the service is friendly and efficient. I had the blackboard special of blackened mahi and shrimp with cheesy grits and the most delectable hush puppies ever.

For other particulars on visiting St. Simon's see www.comecoastawhile.com, the visitor's site for Brunswick and the Golden Isles. Their driving tour brochures are excellent.