Day 8,
Friday, December 23, 2022
When I woke up and checked the weather, it was 27 degrees outside. I could hear the wind blowing as it rattled the motel window. So yeah, I got out of my warm motel bed, put on multiple layers and walked out to the beach for sunrise. The layered clouds offered some promise.
Multiple weather guessers all said the same thing. It wasn't going to get any warmer, and the wind would continue all day. So, after breakfast and some hot coffee, I decided to head into Savannah for the day. It's less than a half hour from the beach to Bay Street, the heart of the tourist district.
After ditching the car in a poorly marked and illogically designed parking garage, it was an easy walk a few blocks up Bay Street to Savannah City Hall.
I found Bull Street and started walking deeper into the city. The city's Christmas tree was just a few blocks away. Somehow it didn't have that same magic during the day time. You can see the lit tree in this report from local station, WTOC.
Outside a random bar....
Seen along my walk...
At one point I slipped into Gallery Espresso to get out of the cold. Their website says they've been here since 1993 and bill themselves as the city's oldest coffee shop. I only mention it because of the bagel. They had one labeled as a Cinnamon Crunch Bagel. I asked about it, then ordered one. Imagine a plain bagel, dusted with cinnamon and brown sugar, then toasted. It made for a gooey experience, but oh so good.
Two blocks further sits the Forsyth Park Fountain, all decked out for Christmas.
An always welcome bonus...
By the time I got back to Bay Street, I was thinking lunch. A few years ago, I stopped into the Moon River Brewing Company simply because they were one of the only places open on Christmas Eve. So, I decided a revisit was in order.
The building began its life as the City Hotel in 1821. The hotel closed and the last guest checked out in 1864, just before General Sherman's army arrived. After the war it was turned into a warehouse and a temporary hospital during a yellow fever outbreak. It was eventually boarded up and abandoned. The Moon River Brewing Company bought it in 1995, renovated it and turned it into a brewpub.
Savannah bills itself as the most haunted city in America. The brewery has it's own ghost stories. In the basement pool room, people have reported cold spots, the feeling of being touched and seeing random things being knocked over. There have also been reports of a male apparition wandering about. The staff named him Toby. Similar storied have been told of the main floor.
On the third floor, people claim to have seen a woman in white, as well as having heard the sounds of children running and playing. People have also claimed to have been shoved, some violently.
Numerous ghost hunting shows and groups have investigated the brewery. Two guys from Buzzfeed Unsolved did a more humorous investigation. They found nothing.
There was one more place I wanted to explore before leaving downtown. The Plant Riverside District took a 1912 power plant that had been decomissioned in 2005 and turned it into a new shopping, restaurant and hotel area. The project also extended the existing waterfront walkway by about a quarter mile.
As I walked long, a band was setting up. I felt for them. It's not easy playing when it's this cold.
At the far end of the Plant Riverside District you'll find the brand new Marriot Hotel. In a section of the lobby is a small museum dedicated to Gretsch, makers of guitars and drums. Fred Gretsch started the company in Brooklyn in 1883. In 1988, his great grandson moved the company to Savannah.
The band was playing by the time I headed back. They were pretty good, but no one seemed to be paying any attention.
After working my way out of town and back to Tybee Island, it was time to head out for sunset, after adding a few layers of course.
Just how windy was it?
The wind was blowing so hard, it was blowing the tops off the waves.
The sunset, not that inspiring. But still worth going out for.
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