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Published: June 21st 2009
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Guess what this is?
This is where the Forrest Gump Bench sat for the movie. Well now Savannah is the kind of place it would be easy to settle at if you were looking to do that. Old, quaint, historic atmosphere and culture that you never tire of at all. The way America still ought to be.
Naturally the first thing to see is the Forrest Gump Bench. Yes, that movie along with about 100 others was filmed right here. For some reason they took the bench away after filming. Who knows why, there are more than 20 "squares" in the town and they all had benches that would have been just fine. Not really a special bench. A Home Depot purchase and then off to a museum with it. Oh well. Each Square in town is named and it is really what makes the city so beautiful along with the architecture of course. Mature oak trees hundreds of years old covered with Spanish moss are everywhere. We were told repeatedly that it isn't Spanish and it isn't moss either. That stuff is a kin to the pineapple family believe it or not. Also there are nice lawns and statues of famous dead people in history of which there is a lot of since
Marilyn
The actual bench was removed after the movie was made for some reason. this town was founded in 1733. It is note worthy that there are more than a few homeless alcoholic guys laying on the benches wearing rags and smoking cigarettes and fishing through garbage bags and that is always a nice touch. No grocery carts though. I did sort of miss that but the city has to draw the line somewhere.
St. John's Episcopal Church is here. It was built in 1841. It's a nice one alright, inside and out as you can see by the pictures. Holds about a thousand people.
No visit would be complete without a walk down River Street. It was a damn roudy place in the pirate era with drunkeness, wench chasing, and general hell raising. That has not changed a whole lot. The buildings date back to the 1700's and so does the brick street. Of course it is mostly a tourist trap now dominated by t-shirt and gift shops which I pretty much deplore. There is a great view of the river and it is the fourth largest port in America with huge ships coming and going. There are 3 tunnels that go from different sights in town out to the river.
Church
St. John's, It is a big church that holds about a thousand people. These were used to smuggle people and goods like rum out to the tall ships. You did not dare get too drunk and fall asleep here. One guy did that and woke up on a ship that was out to sea already. They put him to work and he spent the next two years getting back to Savannah. Talk about a nightmare.
Next was the Juliet Gordon Lowe house. Who is that you might ask? Well it turns out she started the Girls Scouts. She was an upstanding citizen and got a lot of awards for her work but I let Marilyn go on that tour by herself and I went across the street with all the other men that could not possibly be bothered with it. Indeed Marilyn said there were no men at all in there. In fact it was mostly girls scouts, a bunch of feminists and maybe one gay guy.
As you can see there is a picture of Marilyn standing in front of a hotel. It is the Marshall House. It has been a hotel since the beginning except for when the Union soldiers used it as a hospital. It is good to
Marilyn
Inside St. John's. Very beautiful. We are talking 1841 here so a good twenty years before the Civil War. remember that this is where General William T. Sherman's march to the sea ended, or I should say took a break because from here he turned north and started rampaging again. It must have been a fine time to be had by all. Charleston got it worse because that is where secession started. He would have destroyed the city just like he had done to Atlanta and everything in his way until he got here. Quite the marauding general he was. The city fathers and a few prominent citizens rode out to meet him and ask for mercy. That was a daring thing to do. They offered to let him stay in one of the nicest homes and use it as a headquarters if he spared the city and he said okee dokee. He stayed 6 weeks all total and it is from here that he wrote to Lincoln on Christmas day offering him the city, guns, and other supplies, etc. as a Christmas present.
Anyway, that comes close to wrapping it up here in this fine city. The market area is fun with good food and I took Marilyn's picture in that area in front of a horse
Marilyn
This is the famous River Street. I think because it runs right along the Savannah River. and carriage. They treat horses great here. Well fed and groomed and watered. They also quit when it gets too hot....like right now. It was 102 today and humid for a total heat index of 112 degrees. As I write this we are already up in Charleston to start touring tomorrow.Oh I almost forgot a couple things. Dueling was a perfectly accepted practice back then and there was a specific field set aside for it. One duel required 4 shots before one guy was killed. A rather lenghty affair considering how long it took to reload one of those pistols. Also this morning, they were giving free tours of the house where the Marquis de Lafayette stayed. It was an amazing old house way ahead of it's time with indoor plumbing. Last but not least is Big Duke. That is the name of a bell that was used as a fire alarm.
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paul
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Exciting
I found the info on the Spanish Moss riveting. Tell me more. And I liked the picture of the homeless guy pointing to the flowers.