Savannah was our destination for the Thanksgiving weekend. My friend, Debbie, and husband Paul from my days living in Sumter, SC graciously invited us to join them. It was a fantastic weekend reunion.

First of all, Debbie recommended a marina off the ICW near their home, Coffee Bluff. Once a fish camp, the city of Savannah purchased and completely rebuilt the facility. The floating concrete docks were the widest we have seen. They 'float' with the tide on rollers surrounding square concrete pillars... all eight feet of tide. We were the only transients there this weekend, in fact, the dockmaster told us we were the first to use shorepower and the first to use the shower!
Whisper was safely left to her own devices while we stayed with Debbie and Paul up the road at their spacious home.

Second, they lent us Debbie's car to run errands at convenient shops just a few miles from their home. We resupplied the various lockers and purchased the ingredients for Bill's famous Carmel Apple Pie. Driving a car in pre-Thanksgiving Day traffic was a bit disconcerting since it had been a long time since I was behind a wheel!

Thanksgiving Day was full of delightful surprises. Guests began arriving in late morning bearing wonderful food treats. Debbie and Paul's family members welcomed us as if we had always been a part of the gathering. Dinner found us sampling things we had only hear of but never tasted... collard greens, creamed corn, cornbread stuffing. We were instructed on the proper pronunciation for the pie...it is peCAN not peCON. And Bill's pie was, as usual, a great hit.

We couldn't tear ourselves away when Debbie offered an oyster roast, so the next day we feasted on steamed oysters and snow crab legs at an outdoor party with more family and friends until we couldn't move. I have never seen such big PILES of oysters and crab!!! They sell them by the bushel here.

Our final day in Savannah we became tourists to the historic district. A tour bus gave us an overview of the geometrically laid out city with its beautiful parks/squares surrounded by stately homes and grand churches. We walked the riverfront to learn about the early days when delivering goods to Savannah was a challenge with the fierce tides and current.

We left Coffee Bluff on a cool sunny morning with wonderful memories, thankful for the friendship Debbie and I managed to maintain for over 35 years and the opportunity to make new friends along the way.