The Inland Empire

(click on the image for a larger version) 

Not sure where the Inland Empire came from but that's what the local TV broadcasters call the Savannah, GA area.  After visiting Beaufort which was settled in the late 1600's, Savannah seems like a newcomer.   Founded in 1733, Savannah is just a baby in early American cities.  Historic Savannah is, however, one of the more beautiful cities we have seen.  Not touched by the Civil War, much of the early architecture and city plan are undisturbed.  The city plan, with numerous squares, is great.  Savannah was the primary port city of Georgia (still is actually) and was a city of great wealth.  The houses reflect the wealth and many are true city mansions.

We started our exploration of Savannah on a freezing cold day with a trolley tour.  We decided to do a two day tour, and given the weather, it was a good decision.  The first day we rode around on the trolley and picked out places we wanted to return and see up close. We did spend some time walking around the City Market and river front but were quickly frozen by the damp, cold temperatures.  As it turned out, most of what we wanted to revisit was along Bull Street between Forsyth Park and the river front.

The tour company we chose would transport you point to point on demand which helps when you get tired of walking.  On the second day, the sun came out, the temperature rose 30 degrees and we had a lovely day for a self guided walking tour.  So off we went to Forsyth Park and its great fountain.

Along the way to the river front, we saw a number of the houses we wanted to get a second look at.  

This house featured a abundance of cast iron details.  The railing and the window surrounds are all cast iron.

The Washington Post had published an article about these types of down spouts in Alexandria, VA.  I spotted this one on the cast iron house above.  I believe it is cast bronze given its coloration.  Pretty neat.

Some of these houses are available for house tours but we have seen a number of houses of this era in areas where we used to live and didn't feel that it was worth our time to visit more of the same.  

As I mentioned, the city has a number of squares that are green oasis throughout the historic area.  Nice to see so much green in December, by the way.

We did take a detour from our due North path and visited the cathedral of St. John the Baptist.  The congregation dates back several hundred years but the church is much newer thanks to several fires.  The latest was around the turn of the last century when the main sanctuary was burned to the ground.  This iteration is just over one hundred years old.

The docent giving the tour mentioned that about half the congregation was Irish.  It was an inspiration!  After making it to the river front and walking around a bit more, we headed to the City Market area where we had spotted an Irish pub the day before.  After a pint of Guinness, we declared our tour complete and bade farewell.

Next week we are off to our winter home, er. parking spot, in Williston, FL.  This will be a first for us as we have never set in one spot for three months.  We have learned that every thing that we need (i.e. stores) is 20 miles away in either Gainesville or Ocala.  Twelve miles to the Walmart (like it is here in Hardeeville) is starting to seem convenient.  Oh well, life's an adventure.