When we arrived at the Isle of Hope Marina David and Cathy had pulled in ahead of us and arranged for us to check out the courtesy card for the evening. They really wanted to do some provisioning and we were eager to see Savannah. We drove to Savannah that evening. Downtown Savannah parking is similar to Chicago parking - it is hard to find a spot or you must use an expensive parking garage. However after driving around for a while, we did find one in the historic district. We noted that a lot of people in Savannah were walking around drinking cocktails. It turned out that even while this was part of their Christmas Walk in downtown Savannah it is also a common practice any time. In fact, we are told that the people of Savannah love to bar hop and each bar/ restaurant has “traveling” cups for you to take your drinks with you. We were able to find Paula Deen’s Restaurant - Lady and her store. Southern cooking must be dearly loved because it was packed! We dined at a Tappas Bar, stopped at the Piggly Wiggly on the way home (our boat) to provision.

David and Cathy are economically wise travelers and they found out about the buses that run in the area. We were able to take buses to downtown Savannah the next morning. Merry had found Savannah Bike Tours - 41 Habersham Street. The day was sunny, clear, and perfect for a bike ride. Savannah’s city was planned around a number (22) squares (parks) planned throughout the city. Our tour guide Dee was charming, knowledgeable, and he even extended our tour for an extra hour. We heard all about the places that are mentioned in the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt If you have never been to Savannah you must read this book either before or after a tour. Dee showed us the house that was General Sherman’s headquarters during the civil war - the owner prudently offered it to General Sherman so that Savannah would not be burned nor pillaged. The statue of General Oglethorpe - he founded and designed Savannah as well as defeated the Spanish at the Battle of the Bloody Marsh. As we toured we saw many gorgeous old homes, including the Mercer home (This is where the murder happens in the book.) This was a home that was once owned by Johnny Mercer’s family, thought he never lived in it. Johnny Mercer is a famous lyricist and composer who was born and returned later in his life to Savannah. There is a bench and statue honoring Johnny Mercer who wrote Accentuate the Positive, Blue Moon, Jeepers Creepers, Lazy Bones, etc. Dee shared that Johnny Mercer was a humble man and when the city wanted to create a statue to honor him they knew that he would insist that he “not be put up on a pedestal” and he had expressed that he did not want to be in the center of the park. After his death his statue was put in place and is where there is often free music. He appears to be watching a performance off from a corner of the park. We also so the home of Julliete Low the founder of the Girl Scouts. Dee pointed out the fancy iron work on many of the older homes - including iron storks, acorns, filagree etc.. We toured the waterfront where “king cotton” was shipped many years ago. We went to the city graveyard - which is also used as a park. We rode our bikes on a path through Bonaventure Cemetary where Minerva worked her voodoo magic. Dee informed us that Savannah is a very Irish city and that St. Patrick’s Day is considered a non-working holiday. Savannah is a very social, friendly, fun place and one where we understand “partying” is a high priority. We wandered about Savannah for a while after the bike tour. We stopped and dined at The Olde Pink House on Abercorn - a fabulous home of a revolutionary soldier that included cozy fireplaces, lit Christmas trees, and lots of holiday garland. Everything about the experience at the Olde Pink House was fabulous. Our bus ride home turned into a somewhat lengthy experience , as well a dark walk back to our boat. We laughed as I attempted to use the “flashlight” on the IPAD to light our way - or at least keep cars from running us over. Savannah will definitely be a "party" stop to look forward to on our way back up the ICW.