Savannah is one of those towns where the more I see, the more I want to stay so I can see more.
After finishing my update yesterday I ventured out to drive around the city. I couldn’t seem to decide where to stop because every street was filled with gorgeous houses, small squares, parks, stunning churches and interesting people.
I was saved by my indecision by the amazing Nishant, a fellow couch surfer who was bicycling around the US (Seattle to CA to FL and on his way to NY). We met up and spent the next 3 hours wandering through the streets of Savannah while thunderstorms rolled by overhead. The downpours, broken by periods of drizzle, kept me from bringing my camera along, but the experience proved just how endlessly charming Savannah is. No matter the neighborhood, people on the street greet you with a warm smile. People who back home might make some cross the street are friendly and endlessly polite. I’ve been informed that this is the norm throughout the South and I believe this more than makes up for the mosquitos.
Eventually, I had to say goodbye to Nishant so I could get some sleep in preparation for this mornings dawn photography. I returned to my hosts’ home where a shower made me feel 200% better after such a long day of bug spray, bugs anyways, sunblock, 95• heat and walking in the rain. My plans to sleep were put off a bit as I took the opportunity to chat with my hosts a bit more. Really, I don’t think I could’ve lucked out more. Dickie and Abby are amazing and Savannah would’ve been worth it just for the opportunity to meet them.
I headed off to sleep around midnight, slept like the dead til my alarm went off at 6:30 and I was on my way within minutes. The sky was heavily overcast, but as I reached the beach on Tybee Island, the clouds broke up enough to allow soft colors and light to filter through. I left me sneakers in the car, rolled up my jeans and walked down the beach. It wasn’t warm enough to venture into the water, but walking along in the sea scented breeze was about as perfect a moment I could ask for.
After a while I returned to my car and returned to Savannah. A pesky headache (likely due to my caffeine addiction and lack of caffeine yesterday) kicked in and I thought that a fairly good excuse to check out The Sentient Bean for some coffee and tofu scramble. The Sentient Bean has convinced me that on my next trip through the South I need to arrange to spend at least a week in Savannah.
My headache has departed, but I think I’ll sit here a bit longer before moving on. There’s a cemetery nearby that I’d like to photograph in the rain before I continue on to Florida later today, but I’m in no hurry…