A room with a view - overlooking beautiful Jones Street
Chippewa Square, location of Forrest Gump's bench scenes
Back in November 2010 I took a micro-vacation to Savannah, Georgia. Even though my visit was less than 24 hours long, I packed a lot of sightseeing into my short visit. I was traveling from Atlanta, Georgia, to meet up with Mojo in Orlando, Florida, and took an extra day to see Savannah. As I left Decatur, Georgia, I was thinking of the Civil War and the destruction of Atlanta. When I crossed the Oconee River I realized I was following William Tecumseh Sherman’s March to the Sea in November and December 1864.
I arrived in Savannah at about 3 p.m. in the afternoon on a bitterly cold late November day. I meandered through the historic district to the Eliza Thompson House, an exquisite 1847 inn located on W. Jones Street. I settled into my room — the tiny but lovely Lee Room, with a 12-foot ceiling, plantation shutters and a bay window overlooking the beautiful oak trees on Jones Street. A charming exposed brick wall separated the bedroom and bath.
Then I set out for a pre-dinner walk through some of the famous squares of Savannah. As I walked down the Factors Walk, where cotton was bought and sold, I figured an early dinner was in order. I didn’t want to walk the mile back to my hotel, and it was about 20 degrees outside. As I wandered along River Street, I found just the restaurant and view I was looking for. And so I ended up having fried green tomatoes plus wild Georgia shrimp and grits at Vic’s on the River Restaurant and Bar, watching the sunset darken the skies over the Savannah River as I ate.
During my Wednesday afternoon, and Thursday morning walks the next morning, I visited half a dozen of Savannah’s famous squares, the Colonial Park Cemetery, the Savannah River, writer Flannery O’Connor’s childhood home, the birthplace of Girl Scouts of America founder Julia Gordon Low, and the Savannah College of Art and Design. Why not take a stroll through Savannah in my photo essay? I’m sure it will whet your appetite for a visit to this lovely city!