Sojourn to Savannah, GA

A couple weeks ago I went on the first trip I’ve made outside the DC metro area since February 2020. I didn’t travel at all during the pandemic, so within hours of making my appointment to get vaccinated, I looked on a calendar, figured out when I would be fully vaccinated, and bought a plane ticket for that weekend. The destination – Savannah, GA.

The Great

Owen-Thomas House and Slave Quarters
I will admit, I was skeptical of this museum. It was one of the most highly recommended sites in Savannah, but it’s difficult to do Antebellum Houses well, as many places still tend to gloss over the horrors of slavery. This place though, was incredibly well done. It centered the focus of the tour on the enslaved servants rather than the Owen-Thomas family. It talked about daily life, including unflinching information on things beatings, sexual assault, and deliberate family separations, and above all focused on their humanity and lives as people. It was empathetic.

Due to COVID, everything was done by audio-tour, and people went in on a staggered 5-minute basis, with no more than one group of a few people in a room at any given time. I highly recommend checking it out.

Wandering Around the Historic District
The truly cool bit of the Historic District in Savannah isn’t the museums or trendy bars and restaurants, but the fact the whole this is something of an open air museum on the history of the city. There are a least a dozen squares scattered throughout the district, which, for the record, is fairly small, all of which have beautiful trees with the Spanish moss, monuments, and informational placards. I spent the better part of a day just wandering from square to square, reading the placards and taking in the atmosphere.

Probably my favorite was Franklin Square which had a monument in its center dedicated to Haitian troops fighting for US and French against British in the Revolutionary War. They were called the “chasseurs volontaires,” were the largest unit of troops of African descent who fought in the war and were all free men. Extra fun fact, some of them became key leaders in the Haitian Revolution. And I’m extremely entertained by the fact that the giant monument to James Ogelthorpe, the founder of the English colony of Georgia, is not in Ogelthorpe Square. It’s in Chippewa Square, which isn’t even on Ogelthorpe Avenue, but an entirely different street.

My wanderings

Worth It

The Olde Pink House
The Olde Pink House was one of the first recommendations I received when I told people I was going to Savannah. The Olde Pink House, which is in fact pink, is a 250-ish year old building, which was started in 1771 and finished in 1789 and has been a number of things before its current incarnation as a fancy restaurant. They had plenty of vegetarian options, including artichokes filled with goat cheese and then breaded and fried, which were amazing. I love taking myself out to a fancy dinner when I go on trip and this was a wonderful place to go.

The Meh

Food
Maybe it’s because I’m a vegetarian, but for the most part, the food there was, for the most part, just fine. Not bad but not great either. Everything was perfectly decent and acceptable. Even the beer was very middle of the road and nothing to write home about. I was never unhappy, but few things really wowed me. There were a few exceptions to this: the apricot-cream cheese kolache I got at The Coffee Fox, the peach cobbler waffle I got at Mirabelle, and, of course, the dinner I had at Olde Pink House.

Forsyth Park
Maybe my expectations were too high. Every guide on Savannah said how great Forsythin Park is, and there are so many cute squares that I figure this place must be pretty impressive to see and a delightful place to sit. When in reality it was just, fine. Forsyth Park is basically just a giant green square with a paved path through it. It’s fine, but the least interesting place I took a walk through while in Savannah. Also, there was a giant Confederate monument in the park which is upsetting and put a bad taste in my mouth about the place.

Conclusion

Savannah is a really fun long weekend trip. It was relaxing and I got to wander around and learn stuff and take a real vacation for the first time in over a year. It’s also has a one and done kind of vibe. I didn’t see everything I wanted to, but I also see no reason to go back to it. It’s absolutely worth visiting though, and was a really nice re-entry into travelling.