The Spanish Moss of Savannah

If you read my most recent post you’ll know my friend Hilary and I embarked on a Southern adventure. We spent three days in Charleston, SC and then headed out to Savannah, GA.

On our way to Savannah we stopped at Middleton Plantation. Wow! The grounds of Middleton Planation are phenomenal, green and vast. We signed up for a house tour and enjoyed the two hours we had before its start. We walked through the property and explored the gardens, ponds, riverbank and manicured lawns. The grounds were designed by a landscape architect who also helped design the Versailles gardens. As you can imagine they are impressive.

We spent a good chunk of time enjoying ourselves and pretending we lived there before our house tour started. The original plantation home is no longer standing after it was burned by unionists and later leveled by an earthquake, but we were able to tour the remaining South Wing building. The South Wing was used as the family home for the last hundred years. Did you know that planation owners only lived on their plantations from November through April to avoid the mosquitos that the summer brings? We learned a lot of interesting information on the tour that helped me understand the history of the area.

After we finished at Middleton Planation we continued to Savannah, Georgia. From Charleston it’s only a two hour drive, so it’s an easy trip! When we got there we drove down the enchanting Oglethorpe Road. The road is encased by a beautiful cascade of Live Oak Trees covered in Spanish Moss. There are so many trees covered in Spanish Moss. I absolutely loved it, I couldn’t get enough of them!

We checked into our B&B, the Kehoe House, and settled into our historic (and unbeknownst to us at booking time) haunted room. The B&B had a historian come and give a talk that night about the house and the area which was really insightful. It was at this chat Hilary and I found out our hotel was supposedly haunted and on a ghost tour. Luckily we had no ghost encounters but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit we were both a little spooked after hearing that!

The Kehoe House was really cute and central to downtown.This was my first true experience at a B&B and I loved it!

We had turndown service each night where they put our robes and fresh baked cookies on our bed. In the morning we had amazing breakfasts served on cute balconies or in the formal dining room. They had drinks and snacks out throughout the day and wine and appetizers each night. That first night we enjoyed wine and appetizers with the other guests (we were the only non-couple at the B&B) and then ventured out to River Street. We ate at Huey’s and had Po’Boy sandwiches with fried shrimp.

Savannah River Street is a lot of fun and a little less proper/swanky than Upper King Street in Charleston. Savannah has no open container law so people can wander the streets as they drink their beers. There was live street music and a diverse crowd as Hilary and I wandered around and soaked in the nightlife scene.

After enjoying our breakfast at the B&B the next morning, we headed out to Forsyth Park. Have you read Midnight at the Garden of Good and Evil? If not, you should. It’s a great book that chronicles a 1990’s murder in Savannah. It describes the city and people spectacularly (another reason I couldn’t wait to travel to the South).

Forsyth Park plays a big role in the book and I couldn’t wait to see it. I was not disappointed, it’s amazing! The park is wonderful. Between the trumpet player, the fountain and the buzzing cicadas, I was enchanted by the atmosphere. The Oak trees and the Spanish Moss provide what locals call “Savannah air conditioning” and it’s true! The shade from the trees lowers the temperature by a good ten to fifteen degrees.

From the park we went to the Paris Market. This place is adorable! The staff was less than friendly but they sold some of the cutest things. There is also the Paris Market Cafe where we got iced lavender lattes and macarons. 

After our snack at Paris Market Cafe we were ready for some more exploring and drove to Jones Street, the most photographed street in America.

The houses are picture perfect and the street is covered in Oak trees with Spanish moss. We had a lot of privacy while we explored because as it turns out a lot of Savannah is closed on Sundays (keep that in mind when planning your trip). 

Hilary and I were hot so we took a pedicab to the famous Leopold’s Ice Cream shop. Talk about an old school ice cream parlor! I had ginger ice cream, it was refreshing and delicious. 

We enjoyed touring the historic houses in Charleston so much we knew we wanted to see a few in Savannah and so we headed to the Davenport house. Again we were impressed with their craftsmanship and the durability of these homes. 

We really enjoyed ourselves at the River Street the night before so we headed down there again for a few local beers at Warehouse Bar and Grill. We ended up making friends with two middle-aged locals and talked with them for a few hours. They were great! Side story, at the airport the next day we ran into them while eating lunch. They were headed out of town too, what a coincidence! 

That night we had made reservations in the City Market area (where the Paris Market Cafe is also located) at A-Lure. This was our priciest meal yet but I enjoyed my upscale, southern meal a lot. I had filet mignon meatloaf, so good!

It was a beautiful night out so we stopped for a sweet treat afterwards at the Savannah Candy Company (you must try a praline) and then got beers from Wild Wings. We drank our beers while we sat in the square listening to live music (got to love those open container laws).

Savannah has such a great vibe going! The city was revitalized by the Savannah College of Art Design about twenty years ago and the horde of SCAD students makes for a fun crowd.

The next day we had a few hours before we needed to go to the airport so we enjoyed our final meal at the B&B and then wandered around the different squares. Savannah was designed to have a square every two blocks and they’ve pretty much maintained this layout. It makes for a beautiful and green city that has tons of small oasis.

Our final stop was the Sorrel-Weed house. It’s still being renovated so it was interesting to see how the process works. This house is also supposedly haunted and we learned a lot about the ghost stories associated with the home. It was a fun and spooky way to end the trip.

Hilary and I had a great time on our Southern adventure and I was sad to see it end. We went to the airport where she flew back to Arizona and I flew to my next stop, Miami!