The Ides of March

Lucky us! We are blessed to be in the gracious city of Savannah, Ga. The photo is of the Mercer House on Bull Street at Monterey Square that was used as the mansion in the movie, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, with Kevin Spacey and John Cusack. The house was built by songwriter, Johnny Mercer's great-grandfather. Johnny Mercer wrote, "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby", "The Days of Wine and Roses" and "Moon River".

There is nothing not to love in Savannah, at least in the Historic District that is the largest urban historic district designated in the U. S. The founder, James Oglethorpe, was a great city planner. The city, founded in 1733, is laid out in a grid pattern with wide boundary streets, ample side streets and a major boulevard/parkway splitting the district in half. The district is dotted with small parks, called squares. The azaleas are in bloom so the squares make the city look quite festive and southern.

We first viewed the city on a narrated tram tour for and an hour and a half. This was quite helpful in orienting us to the area. We had lunch at the Pirate's House, built in 1753, for seafarers. It is said that Robert Louis Stevenson's Captain Flint, from Treasure Island, died in an upstairs bedroom and his ghost still haunts the tavern. To help my laryngitis, I had a snifter of Chatham Artillery Punch. It did nothing for my voice, but I didn't care. After lunch, we decided to run the street grids of the Historic District. By crisscrossing the district, we were able to thoroughly view the spectacular assortment of house and architectural styles. I took many pictures and will have trouble deciding which to discard. We stopped at a charming small bookstore totally devoted to what is termed "The Book", no not the Bible, but "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." Of course, I had to buy The Book. Once we finished our tour, we parked and walked the river walk along the Savannah River. This was a bit disappointing after the wonderful Historic District. It is an area of bars and kitschy shops, definitely appealing to spring-breakers and St. Patrick's Day revelers. Note to self: Get out of Savannah before St. Patrick's Day.

On our way back to Tybee Island, we stopped at Publix for provisions, after deciding to just eat in the RV. Another happy day on the road!