Hey, Y’all from sunny Savannah, Georgia.
We arrived here after an uneventful five hour drive through canyons of South Carolina trees that tend to make wide-open-spaces-Midwesterners like us feel a little claustrophobic and pining for an occasional clearing to clear our heads and get our bearings.
It was sad to leave Lake Keowee and the home of my brother Tom and his wife Ilene; our most accommodating and generous hosts for the past four days. Memorable boat rides, marvelous meals and glorious golf in which I managed to actually tie Tom on his home course because he had an off day and I played out of my head until running out of gas from the heat on the back nine.
We’ve learned something from this trip that perhaps most of you travelers already knew: stop at the welcome centers when you cross the border into another state. They not only give you a chance to stretch your legs and visit a rest room..but the staff is a wealth of information about what to see and do. But even more importantly, they have coupons for great deals on motels. So far, we’ve saved much more than whatever discounts we can claim through AARP, Priceline or my lame attempts at negotiating a cheaper room rate from stubborn motel desk clerks.
While in Savannah, I had hoped to dine at the restaurant of Food Network superstar, Paula Deen; a place called “Lady and Sons.” They don’t take reservations, though, and none of us felt like joining the long line of sweaty people waiting to get in.
Didn't see Paula or either of her "Sons."
I’m sure the food is good and the experience would have been memorable but that’s too big a price to pay on a 95 degree evening. Instead, we tried a nearby Italian restaurant called (get this) “Corleone’s.” The food was good and the amounts were ample but I half expected a revenge minded Michael Corleone to come in blasting away with a special untraceable pistol prepared by Don Vito Corleone’s cappo Peter Clemenza and left for Michael behind the restaurant’s old fashioned toilet by cappo, Sal Tessio. Too many Godfather references? Sorry.
Despite another stifling day in the forecast, we’re heading downtown this morning to climb aboard an open air trolley for a tour of all the sites tourists come to Savannah for; the historic river district with it’s many old cotton warehouses and the beautiful neighborhoods filled with mansions from another era in which a privileged few made fortunes off the backs of an oppressed many.
Oh, and for those of you wondering, Big Red has kept her cool and performed admirably though these hot muggy conditions.
Tomorrow, it’s off to Charleston and our first chance to walk along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean…then to Myrtle Beach for golf and on to Charlotte to visit the brand new Nascar Museum. Yes, our necks are getting redder from both exposure to the sun and our surroundings but we’ve all commented on how there really IS such a thing as Southern Hospitality. It’s fun to be called “hon, or sweety or darlin’ by people who work in restaurants, hotels and convenience stores…even the guys.
