When General Sherman marched the Union Army across the South, the soldiers burned every Southern City in their path (hoping to end the Civil War). Every city, that is, except Savannah, Georgia. Residents of Savannah proudly proclaim that their Southern Hospitality so charmed General Sherman that it stayed his hand and he spared their fair city from the flames.

I can believe it! I hadn’t been in Savannah for fifteen minutes, and I was fully enthralled!

Now I’ll confess that I was already intrigued about Savannah. I wanted to go there much more than I wanted to go to Charleston. Long ago, I had read the book Midnight in The Garden of Good And Evil, by John Berendt. Recently, we watched the dvd movie of the same name. I was so delighted by the Southern accents that I mimicked them for days and drove everyone around me crazy.

Also, our son had been accepted at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), but chose not to go there in favor of a full scholarship at the University of Texas at Dallas. Our pocketbook thanked him for that choice, but I was secretly disappointed not to have someone to visit in Savannah!

I was thrilled by the opportunity to visit the city, even though we only got to spend one night there. We could have spent a week and not been bored for an instant!

When we exited the freeway, the first thing we did was stop at the Visitor Center in the historic district to get maps and information. An elderly woman, with the most delightful Southern drawl that has ever reached my ears, gave me directions to Bonaventure Cemetery. She strongly suggested we take a trolley tour of the city.

Ordinarily I would have scoffed at the idea of being cooped up on a trolley, driving through town for an hour and a half, and listening to a tour guide drone. But, we thought that since our time was limited it might be a good way to get our bearings.

We bought a ticket with Old Savannah Tours and THEN found out that for $2.00 more we could upgrade our tickets and be able to have their “On & Off Tour.” We could get off the trolley at any of their fourteen stops, prowl around, and get back on another trolley to continue the tour. A trolley comes by every fifteen minutes. All we had to do was be sure we got back on a trolley by 4:30 p.m. so we could get a ride back to the visitor center.

If we had missed the trolley, it wouldn’t have been a catastrophe: the visitor center was within walking distance from every stop. The streets, even late at night, were safe. They were well lit and were thronging with tourists just like us. If our tootsies wore out, and we just couldn’t walk another step, there were bicycle taxis (maneuvered by college students) at nearly every corner.

That trolley ride was the best move we made all week! It saved gas, parking, and agitation.

We bounced off the trolley at the very first stop, so we could take pictures and shop. Thirty minutes later, we boarded another trolley and ventured a bit further. We got off the trolley to have lunch at Clary’s Cafe.

If you saw Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, you might remember the that’s where John Cusak’s character met the eccentric fellow named Luther Diggers. He’s the character who had flies attached to strings tied to his shirt. They buzzed around his head as he stopped at the lunch counter and set a bottle of poison on the counter. If Luther ate, it was a good day. If he didn’t eat, Savannah could expect to have Luther poison the water supply. Town folks were pretty laid back about it.

After eating there, I can surmise why Luther didn’t eat. May I suggest that you take a picture and move on?

On and off the trolley we were. All day! It was fantastic. We had a different guide each time, and all of them were informative and engaging. When I go back to Savannah, I’ll take that tour again just to get me around town without having to walk too much.

We drove past most of the 23 squares in Savannah (it was the first planned city on American soil, built on a grid). We saw the old homes, the shops, the parks, and even saw “Forrest Gump!”

Our tour guide called, “Run, Forrest! RUN!” And, he did!

When we finished the tour, we went to Bonaventure Cemetery hoping to see the Bird Girl statue featured on the cover of the book. It isn’t in the cemetery anymore, because people were damaging it. But, there were many other interesting gravestones and some lovely statuary. We did find Johnny Mercer’s grave and put pennies on it.

Though by this time we had experienced a pretty full day, we just couldn’t get enough of Savannah! We checked into our hotel, freshened up, and walked back across town for dinner on the river front.

We just didn’t have enough time in Savannah; in fact, this post is almost as long as our stay! Historic Savannah is one of the most elegant places I have ever seen in my life. I am so glad that General Sherman spared it! That’s one of the smartest moves he ever did!