Savannah and Parts South

Sabbatical (Part 1b)
Last time we left off we’d made the trek to Charleston. While there we stayed at one of those ‘mod’ hotels that seem to be in fashion these last few years, except the hallways weren’t dingy and the elevators didn’t ‘laugh’ in transit.

When it was time to leave we headed south for a bit and visited many of the barrier islands off the South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida coasts. Some, like Kiawah Island were very posh…beautiful homes and cars, and even more beautiful golf courses. Others, like Tybee Island, were more like Santa Cruz in the ’70s on a down day…just seedy enough to be interesting. The kind of place where, if you order a beer, they ask you if it’s ‘to go.’ If the answer is ‘yes,’ it’s poured into a plastic cup for your ambulatory drinking pleasure. My kind of place.

Since I’m not keeping strict track of where we went in chronological order, this post will cover Savannah and a bit of Cape Canaveral. We timed the trip so that Matthew could meet up with us in Savannah and he was able to make the long drive out there. We stayed at a similar (same chain) ‘mod’ hotel there as well, but the hallways and decor were what I’ve come to expect…dark hallways, ‘edgy’ decor. Overall, not nearly as well done as Charleston. However, it was close to most of the historic areas of the town.

Before we left, Amy decided that it would be interesting to read books based upon the region we would be visiting. For Charleston it was Pat Conroy’s My Losing Season, an autobiographical work about his days playing college basketball at The Citadel. I started reading it but just couldn’t finish it. For Savannah, the book was Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. It’s a supposedly true account of the author’s time spent in Savannah and covers many of the local scandals and colorful characters. Not to do a book review here, but he was clearly trying too hard. Every character was too quirky. Every situation was wholly unbelievable. He was seemingly writing to get the novel made into a movie. On that account (and no other) did he succeed. Read at your own risk.

What the book did do well was describing the physical layout and structure of the old part of the city. It is laid out in a fairly regular grid with picturesque and incredibly green, subdued squares situated every few blocks. Within those there are the usual statues dedicated to the city’s founding figures and/or battles. These squares are a welcome, shady respite from the brutal heat and humidity, if only by a little bit. They also feature huge live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss. You almost expect to see Captain Jack Sparrow sleeping off a rough night on a park bench. Some of the older homes are truly spectacular built of brick and stone, many with mansard roofs reminiscent of Disney’s Haunted Mansion. From certain vantage points it looks like a movie set.

So the old part of Savannah is beautiful to look at, but at the same time seemed a bit more superficial than Charleston, its reputed ‘sister’ city. Savannah is a place you visit as a tourist (and there seemed to be too many of them). Charleston is a place where you can live. Just my take, of course.

We left Savannah, said goodbye to Matthew, and headed south on the final push to Florida and ultimately, Cuba. On the way to West Palm Beach to stay with Amy’s folks we stopped at St. Augustine and Cape Canaveral. St. Augustine bills itself as the oldest continuously occupied European-founded city in the U.S. That may be so, but it is also one of the tackiest. I’ve never seen so many ‘touristy’ t-shirt shops and take out food joints packed into one small area in my life. If you haven’t been there yet, you’ve been warned.

Cape Canaveral on the other hand was a pleasant surprise. I expected something basic…old rockets and rusted buildings. But somebody had the idea to turn it into a kind of amusement park with a space theme. The buildings were new and the attractions were presented as rides might be at Disneyland. As a self-identified ‘space nerd’ as kid it was very interesting. It was a bit pricey I think, but it was the first time I’ve ever been able to take advantage of a discounted ‘senior’ ticket. That’s good I guess…it means I was able to save a few dollars that I can put towards a scooter or long black socks to wear with my Bermuda shorts. On the other hand, it’s one of those ‘what the hell’ moments…kind of like the first time you remember not being carded when buying liquor, or when the young grocery cashier calls you ‘sir.’ It was not run nearly as efficiently as Disney when it came to waiting times, etc., but would be a great place to visit especially for kids, assuming they have a bit of patience.