Day 9-Savannah

It rained all night but by 9 AM there was sun, and by 9:30 we were heading into Savanah for breakfast.  We cross several rivers and streams between Skidaway Island and Savannah, the most famous of which was immortalized by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini.

 

Mercer grew up in Savannah, and from his bedroom window, he could see the Moon River.  As a young boy he spent a lot of time collecting huckleberries along the river bank with a playmate, his huckleberry friend.   In those days the river was known as the Back River, but the popularity of the Mercer/Mancini collaboration led to the name change.

 

For breakfast we returned to “Café M”, a little slice of France in this beautiful city.  Joni ordered ½ a tartine with butter and apricot jam.  I ordered a scrambled egg sandwich with cheddar and bacon, also served on a tartine.  Both were trés bon.

 

Leaving “Café M” we drove to Chippewa Square, where Forrest Gump waited for the bus.  We were waiting for a bus, but we did make our weekly FaceTime call to our grandsons Jack & Billy.

From Chippewa Square we proceeded to the Georgia Railroad Museum which is located on the railyard built by the Georgia Central Railroad in 1853.  The railroad was built in order to find a faster way to transport cotton from Macon to Savannah.  Prior to the creation of this railroad, cotton was moved by boat which was a much slower process.  Every aspect of operating a railroad was constructed on this site.  The railroad employed over 1000 workers at this location, making it the single largest employer in Georgia. 

 

There were multiple kilns and furnaces on this property, but all the smoke was directed up a single chimney which stood 125 tall.  At the base of the chimney was cistern that collected rain water which was warmed up by the chimney and provided workers with a hot showers at their end of their shifts.  

Our tour of the railyard included a short train ride that included a spin on the turntable that was used both to turn engines around 180° as well as feed engines into different garages.  The turntable was designed to allow a single man to rotate the track without any other mechanical assistance.  

 

We left the railroad museum around 2 PM, and moved on to “b-mathews’ eatery” where we enjoyed a delicious brunch that included peach schnaps cocktails .  Joni added the “Bay Street Scramble” and I had their “Fried Green Tomato and Crabcake Benedict” with a side of cheese grits.

 

From “b-matthews” we drove to Joy and Paul’s home where we simply chatted for several hours, 

Returning to the campground by 7:30 we thought we were just in time to listen to the Bruins game, but apparently the game started at 6:30, so we missed the first period.  Considering the end result that was no loss.

Our dinner tonight was at Leopolds….Savannah’s oldest and best ice cream parlor.  For those of you who have ever been treated to ice cream at Bailey’s in Boston, this was their Southern cousin Hot fudge sundaes were the choice for both of us.