VanNice Travels: Savannah, GEORGIA

Lady and Sons, Paula Deen's restaurant; it was fun to find this place but we were disappointed with our first lunch in Savannah. I did have a good time shopping in her cooking store next door!

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

City Hall

The gold leaf dome is illuminated in the evening. Built in 1906, City Hall was the first building built for exclusive use by the municipality.

Statue of James Edward Oglethorpe, founder of the colony of Georgia, 1696-1785, in Oglethorpe Square.

The "presidents and poets" cast iron fence.

George Washington

Forest Gump

Remember when the dove feather floated down from the church steeple in the Forest Gump movie? This is the steeple...

"Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

Scottish Rite Temple

Historic Masonic Temple was designed and built in 1912. Freemason James Oglethorpe established the first lodge in Savannah in 1734.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Mercer-Williams House, where Jim Williams lived and was tried 4 times for the murder of Danny Hansford - the 4th time he was acquitted! Want to read more about it? Check out the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt.

The parlor light is left on at night - just behind this window is where Danny Hansford was murdered.

Bonaventure Cemetery

Bonaventure Cemetery is a public cemetery on the banks of the Wilmington River near Savannah and became famous because it is featured in both the book and movie, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It has many old, ornate, beautiful markers. Below are a few I found interesting.

The Bird Girl statue was featured on the cover of the book and actually in Bonaventure Cemetery but now, to protect her from vandals, she is in the Telfair Museum of Art.

Singer, songwriter Johnny Mercer's family plot.

Johnny Mercer wrote many famous songs such as Moon River but I think you'll recognize his holiday songs; Winter Wonderland, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, and Jingle Bells.

Conrad Aiken, southern poet, epitaph.

The Olde Pink House

A stately Georgian mansion that was built in 1771 was originally called the Habersham House but later referred to as The Olde Pink House when the native brick bled through the plastered walls mysteriously making them pink. Today it is painted pink.

There are eleven dining rooms, the Ballroom is where Scott and I had dinner, prior to the restoration this room was part of the carriage house.

At one time you could purchase a "house kit" from Sears and Roebuck and then build it yourself. The original owner of this home in historic Savannah didn't read the instructions or held them upside-down because all the windows were installed upside-down!

Carriage door latch.

Savannah-Chatham County Metropolitan Police Barracks

Two old police cars in front of the oldest continually operating police headquarters in the nation. The Barracks opened it's doors in 1870 complete with stables.

King-Tisdell Cottage

This is the only black history house museum in Savannah. We stopped by and got a personal tour of this small Victorian home, built in 1896, and once owned by Eugene and Sarah King. The King's worked to buy the house during the Great Depression. After the death of her husband, Sarah remarried Robert Tisdell giving the museum the name: King-Tisdell.

Notice the haint blue shutters and porch ceiling - superstitious homeowners would paint the shutters and ceiling haint blue to keep the ghosts away! Not superstitious? Porch ceilings in the south were painted blue because it helps keep the bugs away in the evenings.

This block in the historic district was used as a step to make it easier to get into your carriage.

Fish downspout.

SCAD ( Savannah College of Art and Design) is historically preserving this building but what I found so interesting is all the palm trees they are getting ready to plant along the street. They look like telephone poles!

Jimmy Carter announced his run for president from this bar in 1975. Now it's his grandson Jason's turn! (Read the sign in the window)

At first we thought this was someone's attempt to guarantee a parking spot but then we realized we were in front of the FBI building.

Leopold's Ice Cream

Oh so yummy ice cream and a Savannah institution!

Cotton Exchange

Savannah ranked first as a cotton seaport on the Atlantic and second in the world. During it's heyday over 2 million bales of cotton were moved through this port. Much like the Stock Exchange today, many of the world's cotton prices were set on the steps of the Savannah Cotton Exchange.

River Street is paved with the ballast from ship's that plied the Savannah River.

Old cotton warehouses that are now shops.

Scott relaxing on River Street.

Seashells are the aggregate in this sidewalk concrete.

The ferry is free that takes people across the Savannah River, from Georgia to South Carolina and back.

Waving Girl Monument

For 44 years Florence Martus greeted all the ships that entered the Savanah Harbor; by day she waved a handkerchief and at night a lantern. She was often accompanied by her faithful collie and it is thought that she greeted over 50,000 ships in her lifetime.

Red Doors of Savannah

What does a red door mean? There are actually several meaning but here it means that your mortgage has been paid! It also means "welcome" in an early American tradition so tired travelers would know that they could stop for the night. Some think a red door also signified a safe house on the Underground Railroad.

McDonald's