Echoes of Savannah

So I've been adventuring in Savannah again. That makes two times in as many weeks, and I haven't even yakked about the first trip yet.  I'm sure you've all been hanging on the edge of your seats waiting.

This purpose of this second trip was actually practical rather than whimsical. It started at the  Savannah/Hilton Head Airport.

 Guess who's coming to dinner...

If you guessed the Practical One, you would be correct. I drove to Savannah to retrieve her yesterday, and this afternoon, I'll drive her 60 miles in the other direction to Augusta to be a bridesmaid in a wedding.

I have exactly one more day to spend with her.

  Soooo....  

In lieu of a post about my recent Savannah adventures, I thought I would venture back three years into the echo chamber and repost my first post about Savannah. instead. To the half dozen people still around who have read this, my apologies.

To the new friends who haven't,  

Welcome to Savannah.

If I'm asked one question more than any other about Savannah, it's this one:

How does it compare to Charleston?

Well, I love them both, and I highly recommend a visit to each, especially when kids are old enough to enjoy the history. They are similar, true, but they are not really identical.

I guess I would sum up the difference this way:

Charleston is a city with great character.

Savannah, on the other hand, is a city with great characters.

Savannah is full of legends, and it gets a new legend with each generation.

Spanish moss covered live oak trees line just about every street in the Old Savannah, whether residential, commercial, or historic. I’ve enjoyed just about every version of the Savannah tour, and the legends of the mossy stuff vary about as much as the modes of tourist transport. Basically, every legend includes a maiden, a suitor, and an unfortunate hair snagging incident.

In truth? It’s just an hairy distant cousin to the pineapple which may or may not be infested with red bugs depending on whom you ask. I personally wouldn’t recommend eating it or sleeping on it, but that’s just me…

The Waving Girl

Florence Martus was the unmarried sister to the lighthouse keeper on a nearby Island who waved to greet every ship, every day, for 44 years. During the day, she waved a white cloth. At night, she waved a lantern.

Legend says that she was waiting for her long lost love, a sailor who never returned from sea, but there has never been any evidence to support that. Personally, I wonder if she might have just been a little odd and in need of a hobby. Today, she would probably blog all about it.

Tomo- Chi-Chi’s Grave

If you believe the 4,789 Savannah ghost stories, you will not want to visit Wright Square at night. It's the grave site of Tomo-Chi-Chi, a Yamacraw chief critical to the settlement of Savannah. Actually, that monument behind the marker is not his grave site.

It's really this big rock. 

Legend says that if you run around his grave three times and ask, “Tomo-Chi-Chi, what’s for supper?” he will appear with the answer. I once took a group of 6th graders on the Savannah tour who insisted on trying to conjure up the hungry native. I have no idea whether he appeared or not. My eyes were closed.

The Olde Pink House

This is an absolutely lovely old home which is now a wonderful restaurant. The husband and I went there once on an anniversary. The thing that I did NOT like about it is that the restrooms are located downstairs in the historic creepy old tavern. During dinner, I ventured down there out of necessity, but could not turn the knob on the ladies’ room door.

So I waited…

and waited… and waited.

Then, I tried the knob again. It still wouldn't budge.

Finally, I knocked on the door, but no one ever answered.

Years later, I heard the legend of the Olde Pink House.  According to legend, it is inhabited by a mischievous ghostie whose favorite haunt is that very ladies' room. Apparently, women claim to feel someone touching their hair and blowing in their ears. Upon trying to leave, they find themselves locked in by a knob that will not turn.

No wonder I have a complex.
 I am the only woman of record  to be locked out
 by a dirty old ghost.

There are so many more, but this post is way too long.

 However, I probably should answer the other most commonly asked question about Savannah.
It's about this place:

Legend has it that this place is inhabited by a silver-haired southern lady
who is the biggest character of them all.
  Apparently, you'll know her when you see her.
She cackles… and then tosses butter willy nilly into every pot.

Personally, I think that last one is a bit far fetched,
but stranger things have happened in Savannah...

*****
(Possibly) sharing this tomorrow at Oh! The Places I've Been!